Could anyone tell me how they do it, and what sort of adhesive? And if they know of any issues with the adhesive and fiber cement?
I checked out a couple of websites, and the installation looks pretty straightforward. Before I go do it today I’m hoping someone who’s done this before will have some wisdom to share. Thanks-
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Replies
mike, here the adhesive is marketed as: Cove Base Adhesive.
If you can go to a commercial supplier there's qt. tubes and a spreader tip you can use. Fans out the adh. and applies it in grooves. You can do similar with a can of it and a notched trowel (half moon) I usually cut to the width of the base.
To turn an inside corner, you can two pc it, cope the bottom of the cove. Or, flip it over, score (not too deep) the backside and bend it in. You still have to "cope" the cove to get it to lay right. Outside corner, cut a not too deep V-groove in the back, heat up the cove and bend that around. Some use a contact adhesive at the outside corners to hold the base quickly, allowing the adhesive to set.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
thanks Calvin.
Any ideas on making the butt ends pretty? Maybe they'll turn out OK as long as I line em up right. I'm dealing with the 4' lengths here, never done this, and am concerned with this feeling I have that it's gonna turn out ugly.
The guy that was supposed to do this ain't doing it, he was working on a seperate project in the same office, and talked the doctor into vinyl cove instead of the real wood that I had proposed. He took the work out from under me (his motivation was that he had the stuff laying around at his place and wanted to get rid of it.) He then half-azzed his project and split, before I finished installing the VCT. Now I'm stuck with the vinyl install unfortunately. And I'll bet that he's even going to bill the poor guy for the installation.
You know, I might not do it come to think of it. Screw that guy.
Uncut, the butts should be as pretty as you get. Get a pc of 1x4 to use under the base while you spread the adhesive, it will make the trowell go easier working on a firm surface.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Edited 7/30/2006 11:09 am ET by calvin
HD and lowes sell cove base adhesive by Henry, and it's pretty good stuff. I always used the can and a spreader, rather than the tubes. A scrap of the base makes for an ok spreader, or you can buy one.
Caution: the stuff can get messy real quick. Be sure to stay down 1/2" from the top of the base when you're spreading, cuz it will ooze a bit when you press it in place. Have a can of solvent and a rag handy to clean your hands, and the floor, and the wall, ...
Butt joints usually come out real well with factory ends. It's the corners that will get you, trying to keep the base tight to the wall.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks, I'm sure I'll buy the Henry, just because I think it's all HD has. I'm going tomorrow, and armed with these tips I think I'll be able to lick it.
Most gracious!
No solvent is necessary with the henry product, just a damp ragis all you need for any squeze out. On any cuts that you have tomake on the ends just overlap and do a "double cut", cutting bothpcs at the same time, makes an invisible joint. Gots to be careful doing this as I know 2 guys just about cut the tips of there fingers off. Good advice on the inside corners from calvin about barely scoring theback side and cutting a 45 degree angle on the face side of the lip.Hard to do when the corners aren't at a true vertical. I always use the quart tubes w/the spreader you attach to the end ofthe tube. Homer despot sells that also. I put my pcs. up and do anycutting and then apply adhesive w/spreader on the cove base. Makingsure sufficient adhesive is on to allow for good transfer...cause ifthere isn't enough glue you'll have a gap at the top edge between thewall and cove base, which looks real tacky. Another trick is to useyour fist on the cove base to push the cove base into the glue, alwayssliding your fist towards the last pcs. installed.
The hardest part in doing cove base(at least for me) is doing outsidecorners. Like Calvin said you have to cut a v=notch in the back sideand what I would do after I cut the back side is fold it flat and "crease" the front side working it so that the bend would tend tostay in naturally. One way of cutting the "v" notch is to take thecove base and bend it face to face with the mark where you need tocut in the apex of the bend. Squeze it tight and take a utility knife and slice out the back side about 50% of the thickness of the base. Then fold it back to back and crease it on the front side. The cheaper vinyls are very difficult to do whilethe rubber cove bases makes it a lot easier. Also at the outside corners I always added extra glue to help w/adhesion.
All That ought to be clear as mud
when you talk about overlapping and cutting the ends, do you go straight up and down or at an angle? Nice tip
and thankfully...NO outside corners
I only cut ends as a last resort, but the way I do it is to holdfirmly with the free hand as close as possible to where I'm cuttingand start at the top of the base and cut straight down scoring repeatedly(is that a word) until I'm all the way through.
Try a dap of hot melt glue on those outside corners next time calvin. It is faster and won't lift latex paint on the wall. hold better too.
dave
Thanks Dave. A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
You know, they even sell the 4' sections with adhesive backing.... peel and stick.
And one addition to Calvin's advice. They make a tool for gouging the backside of the base for corner bending. (I've never backcut for an outside corner though... just inside ones). Gouging by hand can be a real pain. You may have to get the tool at a commercial supply but I've had mine for 15 years so who knows where you'd find one these days.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -Albert Einstein
http://www.peteforgovernor.com
"You know, they even sell the 4' sections with adhesive backing.... peel and stick."Those might be OK, but I use some 12' (or it might have been 20') rolls with peel and stick on it and it was HORRIBLE. Did not go on well and after about month it was all slumpping off and leaving a pile of goo everywhere.
I found that the self adhesive base is thinner than regular stuff. And I agree it doesn't seem to look as good.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
just got home an hour ago. I feel obligated to tell you all how it went...
I get there at 6:00. Took the wife and 2 month-old with me. My wife is a wonderful help and loves helping me at work. I figure this is only gonna take about an hour. WRONG. The first 45 minutes it took me just to get the first two pieces in (an inside corner with an unlevel floor there in the corner). I was cursing the stuff and swearing it off for life. I'm accustomed to working with wood, and trying to get this floppy plastic stuff to cover the gap at the floor while getting my corner nice and tight seemed darn near impossible. I discovered eventually that you can push the vinyl down toward the floor and it will contour itself to a nice, tight fit. The inside corner I eventually figured out to cope against the butt end of the other piece (OK, with a little help from my wife, who played around with some scrap pieces in another corner and cut herself a nice little piece that fit perfect). She used that as a template for the rest of the inside corners, went around the rooms and laid out every piece for me, cut to perfect lengths, with beautifully fitting inside corners. Still took 3 hours (including a quick trip to HD- I had only bought one 30oz tube), with as much getting done in the last :45 as was in the first 2. The butt joints turned out nice, too- hardly visible.
I used the Henry cove adhesive, big tube with a spreader, that was pretty cool. Turned out beautiful (as vinyl can be) thanks to the help I got here in the forum, but mostly thanks to my wife .
I'm still not crazy about vinyl cove base, but I think I'd do it again.
Now aluminum, you'd have to put a gun to my head. But that's a different story.
Next time, make it easy on yourself.
Sub it out, to your wife.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time