Paneling and Trim - Baseboards and crown moulding

I saw the post for "caulking baseboards", but I have a question.. My baseboards and some of the crown moulding caulking is wearing out... How do I remove the old stuff to
redo it? I dont think its going to be a touch up job, because
a lot of it is wearing out. Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Eiskween

I assume by 'wearing out' you mean the caulking has dried and cracked. Old caulking usually removes fairly easy if you cut both sides with an utility knife, grab hold of the caulk and pull.

For best results/life use a siliconized acrylic latex caulking - it's paintable.

Thanks for the quick reply.. Is it normal for the caulk to do
that? The house is only 5 years old...

Eiskween

Not all caulks are created equal:eek:
Some of the cheap caulks won't hardly hold up for a year while the better caulks can last a few yrs or a lifetime depending on how they were applied and the conditions they have to endure.

Rarely have I ever had caulking failures [using good caulking] on base boards or casing but crown moulding can be another story. Often there isn't sufficent nailing areas to hold the crown securely to the wall/ceiling. Add humidity changes from heating/cooling and that can push the best caulks to their limit.

Good morning:
I removed the carpet and have refinished the wood floors on my upstairs landing. One wall is curved. the baseboard is in place [wasn't removed to lay the carpet] but it needs the quarteround installed. I would appreciate information on how to curve the quarteround around this curved wall. I tried nothching out the back of the wood on my table saw but it still wasn't flexible enough to bend along the curve.
Thank you, in advance, for any help with this problem.
Gerry

Welcome to the forums Gerry!

Can you use shoe mould instead of quarter round? it's a lot more flexable.

How far apart and how deep are the kerfs you cut?

Hello:
I put the cuts very very close together. I have been soaking the quarterround overnight in water and it is more flexible today. I am still afraid to bend it too much. Sorry but I don't know what shoe mould is. I have the quarteround on all the other wall/floor space in the hallway. [there is only 1 rounded wall in the house but the section that needs to curve is about 20 inches.] I appreciate your taking the time to respond to my post.
Cheers,
Gerry

p.s. I cut the "kerfs" to just below the actual surface of the quarteround -so they are quite deep. I tried about half way but there was no flexibility at all.
Gerry

Is the trim painted or stained? If painted, flexible trim might be the easiest option without getting into steaming the wood and building a form.

Where are you located btw....?

Hello:
I am located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The quarteround is pre primed and after installation will be painted an off white the same as the baseboard.
Yestaerday I triend PVC quarteround as it is so flexible but it wouldn't work. It wouldn't lay "flat" against the baseboard.
Gerry

Sorry self...I looked at the original post and didn't realize.

When I mean flexible...I mean something like "FlexTrim" or similar. Not PVC or polyurathane

http://www.flexmolding.com/flexsearchlist.asp

You can order it at any Lumberyard or Home Center, as far as I know.

Thank you. No, it wasn't your mistake, I added my location after you asked.
Again, thank you for the info.
Gerry

I just found the following text on line [after much looking] but it seems a bit complicated for one 2 foot curve.

"From the center point, or apex, of the kerfed portion, the team lays out 3/32-thick kerfs 3/8 apart for a total span of 8—4 on either side of the apex. This spacing allows for maximum flexibility and stress relief right in the middle of the bend. After that, the spacing of the kerfs widens to ½ apart over another 4 per side.

To cut the kerfs, the team uses an 8 table saw with a 3/32, carbide–tipped thin-kerf blade. The team chose a table saw over a radial arm saw because it was more stable. The cuts run the width of the board and are deep, extending nearly three-quarters of the way through its thickness to leave only 3/16 of wood beneath them. It is important to make the cuts uniform in size and depth. Irregular cuts can hamper the uniformity of the bend, telegraph through the wood, or stress the board and even cause it to break. Uniform cuts are also more visually appealing, and help the board bend easily"

Shoe mould is similiar to quarter round but narrower. I'm a painter so don't fuss at me if the dimensions are off, but quarter round is 3/4" wide and tall, shoe mould is 1/2" wide and 3/4" tall. It's quite a bit more flexable than quarter round without kerfs and should bend easier with kerfs added..... but it won't be an exact match to your other quarter round.

Thank you.
And I contacted a flexmould dealer who will mail me a length of quarter round. Additionally, I have been soaking the piece after I cut the kerfs and it is almost flexible enough, so I am going to leave it in the water for 1 more day, then try it.

Thank you all for your help.
Gerry