Replies

1. 
   john7g | Feb 15, 2009 04:04am | #1

   how much can you flex the 1x4?  Tough thing for me to remember is that most baseboard is never seen after it's painted as the furniture covers it nearly all of it. 

1. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 04:27am | #2

   Hi John,1/2" is just too much to flex. Also, there is no furniture in this corner. The only thing I can think of, short of laying down some baseshoe on top of the carpet, is to rip a 3' length of 1x 6.

2. 
   brucet9 | Feb 15, 2009 05:50am | #3

   "One corner of the room's floor drops 1/2" over a length of 3'."

   I think I'd be more concerned about what is rotten or broken under that sagging floor than how to make base moulding fit.

   Since the area is carpeted, why not pull up the carpet in the corner and level that part of the floor? Then the base would look right and Furniture would stand straight.

   BruceT
1. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 09:06pm | #16

   Bruce,I've been under the house. A very shallow crawl space that is dry and covered in thick plastic. I think settling is more likely, not rot, etc. However, and maybe someone can address this: I did notice that some of the "posts" under the joists are round pieces of firewood on top of concrete pads. Isn't that a bit whacked? Should they be replaced?

3. 
   KenHill3 | Feb 15, 2009 06:04am | #4

   Use MDF. That'll flex. :o}

4. 
   Frankie | Feb 15, 2009 06:45am | #5

   Scribe the baseboard to the floor.

   F

   Flay your Suffolk bought-this-morning sole with organic hand-cracked pepper and blasted salt.

   Thrill each side for four minutes at torchmark haut. Interrogate a lemon.

   Embarrass any tough roots from the samphire. Then bamboozle till it's al dente with that certain je ne sais quoi.

   Arabella Weir as Minty Marchmont - Posh Nosh

5. 
   Shawn_Prentice | Feb 15, 2009 08:06am | #6

   Scribing is the way to go, as Frankie said.  I would use a 1x6 like you were thinking.  So that means the 2 low corners will have 4" base as they work there way out to their respective corners to meet at 3-1/2" with the other 1x4s.

6. 
   AlexeiM | Feb 15, 2009 04:33pm | #7

   Hello,
   Definetely scribe. Find a level all around the entire room. Then you'll be able to determine wether you need to get a 1x6, or you might be able to get away with 1x4. But the top of the baseboard has to be level, otherwise it looks out of wack.
   As far as why things are sagging, there is probably nothing rotting or broken it is just normal settlement of the house. There is not one old house I've worked on were the floors remained sag free and level.
   Alexei

1. 
   mmoogie | Feb 15, 2009 04:54pm | #9

   >>the top of the baseboard has to be level, otherwise it looks out of wack.<<Depends. I work on a lot of stuff from the mid 1800's and sometimes level looks wrong if everything else around it is not level. I find I have to judge on a case-by-case basis whether it's better to go level or to follow the house.Steve

1. 
   AlexeiM | Feb 15, 2009 06:47pm | #12

   Hey Steve,
   Most of my work is in historic homes as well, but I would have to agree with you. In some cases you do have to cheat things out of level. Not for a 1/2" drop, however.
   Alexei

1. 
   mmoogie | Feb 15, 2009 06:59pm | #13

   I did a porch once where we built it 3" out of level for the 28' length of the porch. We started out tacking the ledger to the house level. The guy I was working for at the time could not bring himself to build it out of level until the homeowner came along and said how screwed up it looked. We then tacked the ledger on following the house and it looked fine.

   View Image

   
1. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 09:23pm | #20

   mmoogie,Yeah, the porch looks fine. I do think you've got to be flexible. Whatever looks the best, level or out of level.

2. 
   KenHill3 | Feb 15, 2009 09:53pm | #21

   Sometimes ya just gotta say "put that level away!"

2. 
   AitchKay | Feb 15, 2009 07:42pm | #14

   I’m definitely with mmoogie on this one! Ya gotta work to the structure you're dealin' with!Can you imagine what the baseboard in mmoogie’s example would look like? 3” tall at one end, 8” tall at the other!Unh-unh.Here’s a good one:Contractor I worked for back in the '70s installed shelving in his new van using a level.At least he realized his mistake and told us all the next day.AitchKay

1. 
   Sphere | Feb 15, 2009 09:04pm | #15

   You may have seen my house..talk about out of level.

   One of the first things I had to get done was get the workbench in the shop part both FLAT and level, given the floor being all over. I then could have at least ONE plane of reference for both making new parts and tieing into the existing .  Sometimes all I have to do is sight the bench, and compare to the other conditions to get my bearings straight..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

    

   They kill Prophets, for Profits.

    

    

1. 
   AitchKay | Feb 16, 2009 06:44pm | #24

   “Sometimes all I have to do is sight the bench, and compare to the other conditions to get my bearings straight..LOL”Whenever you start getting dizzy, right?My house is a bit over 100 years old, and not level, of course. Some of it I can figure out: it’s natural to have a bit of sag in the floor joists, and it’s not too bad. And the whole house slopes out of level diagonally a few inches. Well, OK, sloppy mason.But why, although the North and South walls lean out-of-plumb by over 1 1/2” in 8’, are the door jambs plumb, with the casings scribed and tapered to fit? At what point did they find out, and why didn’t they fix it? I guess the plaster was already on the walls...Finishing the attic was interesting, too. I ran the GWB all the way to the peak in the downhill half, and put a ceiling in the uphill half. The downhill slope, combined with the natural swayback that any old house gets, meant that a LEVEL ceiling would have been WAY trapezoidal, and ugly as sin.So I ran the board on the slopes to well above my 8 1/2’ ceiling height before I set the collar ties, so that I could really see the planes. Then I sent the guys home, and played around with strings for a couple of hours.I ended up with a compromise ceiling that’s a couple of inches wider AND a couple of inches higher at one end, but looks like a million bucks.Now if I’d had a rotary laser that could be set to vary the grade, I could’ve laid it out in about 10 minutes. That’s my main complaint about my always-level RoboToolz -- let me be the one to decide what looks best!AitchKay

1. 
   Sphere | Feb 16, 2009 07:15pm | #25

   Yeah, I think its 4" out in 42' here E-W. N-S is only 16' ( of the log part) and its held pretty good. Where the PO's added the addition is the hard part, they built close to accurate..and should have "winged it" where they nailed it dead on, and did wing it, where it should have been dead-on..like the tub drain..woulda been nice to have that empty the tub after a shower, instead leaving a small pool.

   I have a small bubble center dot level like youd see in an RV, I keep it handy by the drill press, seems wierd to see it way off and the Drill press tilted a tad, but still drill square in one plane..LOL Makes no big deal unless I'm drilling something fairly large with outrigger support.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

    

   They kill Prophets, for Profits.

    

    

3. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 09:21pm | #19

   I went with scribing as some of you guys suggested and found some odd lengths of 1 x 6 Doug Fir in my garage. I was not able, however, to keep the baseboard completely level, so I got it as close as I could. No one will likely be able to tell the difference.Thanks, all of you, for posting.

7. 
   McDesign | Feb 15, 2009 04:53pm | #8

   Just the way I would scribe it: 

   Cut to length and tack up all the baseboard in place, but with the top on your level line, and the lowest part a bit above the floor highest spot.  Cut a 2-3" long block of wood, just thick enough to go from the lowest part of the floor to just kiss the lower edge of the baseboard.

   Hold a pencil on top of the little block of wood, and slide it around the perimeter of the room, marking on the baseboard - easier than trying to hold dividers exactly vertical.

   Forrest - in an old house

1. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 09:10pm | #17

   McDesign,Thanks for this tip. I'll remember this next time. The room is carpeted, but this would have probably worked better than dividers would have.

8. 
   epsaklas | Feb 15, 2009 05:39pm | #10

   If most of the rest of the baseboard is relatively level and fitting reasonably tight to the carpet, rather than going with a 1 x 6 and removing 2 inches off most if its length, add 3.5 feet of half inch  stock to the bottem of the 1 x 4 at the end where you need the extra depth, and anywhere else where you need it.  Glue it on with clamps .  After it sets, block it up a half inch off the floor through the area where the floor is level, scribe it and cut it.  Doing it this way saves lumber, and you only need to cut the bottom where you have added extra depth.  You don't want to attach the extra stock with nails or screws becasue you will need to cut through them, but if you remove the nails ors screws after the glue sets you can avoid the need for the clamps.  Also, I have found that if you sand the joint shortly after gluing and wiping off the excess glue, the dust created by sanding mixes with the glue at the surface of the joint and often makes a joint  is nearly invisible after it is painted.  I would not do this for a stained finish.

1. 
   AitchKay | Feb 15, 2009 06:35pm | #11

   Careful, though! I've done that too many times! A 10’ poplar 1x6 only costs $5 more than a 1x4. Somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes of your time, I’m guessing. And that’s not counting the cost of whatever you glue on.You’ll end up using that 1x2 for something anyway, if only glue for blocks.I also like to cut scrap into wedges, usually about 8” long, 3/4-1” thick at the butt. Also, there are never enough hours in the day!When faced with the choice between saving materials or labor, it’s usually better to save labor.AitchKay

1. 
   epsaklas | Feb 15, 2009 10:04pm | #22

   No arguement from me, time is money, even for us DIYers -- but, every one has a 1/2 (or 3/4, or 1 or 1 1/2) by 3 ft piece of scrap around, and there would be time spent to scribe and cut the full length of the baseboard.  Also, if the 1x6 requires a trip to the big box or lumberyard, the time for my option is probably less.  I only wanted to point out that if the circumstances were right, (i.e., this is the only area oit of level, and the finish can tolerate a glue line) there is a simple and inexpensive way to solve the problem.  But, in general, I agree with you.

1. 
   AitchKay | Feb 16, 2009 01:09am | #23

   Gotcha. And, as I said, BTDT. Especially on the honey-do jobs, when I'm the one paying for the materials. Of course, those jobs are the ones I've got the least time for, since they're evenings and weekends, so I obviously don't walk my talk.AitchKay

2. 
   redoak | Feb 15, 2009 09:14pm | #18

   I thought of doing it your way, but found some odd lengths of 1 x 6 Doug Fir from previous remodeling projects. I appreciate your concern with saving on lumber. Also, this piece of baseboard will be getting Profined, so the glue option, I realized, wasn't the best solution.