Carpentry and Woodworking - baseboard corners has little gaps

Hello, some of my angles have little gaps when i nailed my baseboards on the wall, (not a perfect angle) what kind of caulking can i use to fill in the gaps and the nail holes to make it look perfect. i will be doing touch up paint over the caulking.

Thank you.:o

Use painter's putty or paintable caulk.

I am waiting on the dreaded 180 second rule between posts. Isn't that the same as 3 minutes?

Ken, no, it's the same as eternity when you have succinctly answered a poster and need to get on with your life. I think the powers to be think we have time for dissertations between posts. I'm waiting, too.

Always caulk the inside corners. Most siliconized acrylic latex caulks are a good choice and they are paintable. On outside corners it is usually easier to use putty but caulking will work fine.

Unfortunately we are stuck with the 180 sec rule and it does slow the spammers down although it can be a hassle for the rest of us. Fortunately I'm on dial up :eek: :wall: . . . . . so I seldom get hit with it:rolleyes:

But back to the question........had you coped your joints instead of mitering, this conversation would likely not be needed. Pick up a book form big box on trim carpentry, and look up "coping joints". Works much better, never have gaps again.

....but even coped joints should be caulked unless it's stained/natural trim. It just makes for a more professional looking job:thumbup:

I always cut 2 - 3' pieces of base trim with a miter on one end so they make a corner. When my guys come to a corner they have an option. If it fits, slam it. If it doesn't either cope it or adjust the miter on each piece according to 1/2 the gap of the test pieces. Works pretty well. I still prefer to cope. Most of what we do is painted, but coping really tests your mettle on stained surfaces.

I quit coping corners a long time ago. When I got an accurate miter saw the need to cope corners for a good fit disappeared. I use a Starrett angle finder and set the chop saw to the exact angle of the corner.

One trick that you can use if you have to caulk a corner. After you sand the caulk smooth use a razor blade to etch a light joint line in the caulk. Once painted it will look like a perfect fit.

I've found that coping also helps prevent the connection from opening up when you drive the nails in. This is less of a problem if you are using a pneumatic nailer, but can still ruin your joint.

Dashman,

To make your miters look perfect you need to have perfect miters - otherwise -acrylic latex caulks.

Remember the old saying "caulk and paint make a carpenter what he aint."

Here I go way out in left field again. A pesky situation I have dealt with in the past is the thin drywall edge at the bottom of the wall. The drywall is made this way to allow a level finished mud joint where two sheets meet. If the baseboard gets nailed too close to the bottom edge, the baseboard tilts in toward the wall at the bottom edge. This plays havoc with mitred corners. Work arounds are: nail baseboard near the top edge; shim behind bottom edge of baseboard to hold it vertical; drive a drywall screw into the bottom plate at just the right depth to hold the bottom edge out at a vertical position. I prefer nailing at the top edge.

As stated before nail at the top of the trim board to help eliminate rolling the bottom too far. Also, add an 1/8" to your measurment. This will help push the joint together using the opposing wall. If the joint is still open you can use a small 90 degree pry bar, slip it under the bootom of the baseboard and pry it to meet the adjoining(coped) piece then shoot a nail in it to hold. Although the carpet installers can still separate the joint while installing carpets while stretching.

The biggest problem we have in our area are the drywall installers. The inside and outside corners are usually built up with mud at the bottom making for a difficult trim installation.

As far as your ?, cualk it and paint it! (assuming the gap is not too large)