Replacing stained baseboards - Costs?

15 years ago

I ballpark estimate that I've got about 200-250 linear feet of stained baseboards on my first floor alone that I think are original to my 20 year old home. They're stained a golden oak color, but not sure if the baseboards are actually oak. They're all pretty dingy looking, in desperate need of at least a shiny coat of something (not sure what to use), and in some places a total replacement. In fact, it appears as though whoever last installed them did not leave any gap between the subfloor and the baseboards to allow for the carpet. So, when you look at our living room and family room the 2 inch baseboards only stick up about an inch or so. Looks pretty stupid.

How expensive is oak trim? How much should I expect to pay to have something like that installed? OR, should I just pull out what I've got, put some sort of clear coat on it and put it back at the appropriate height?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

User
15 years ago
Cannot answer the cost/installation part---it varies too much place to place.

Go to a real lumberyard---NOT a home horror store. Look at oak/pine/poplar baseboard and price it. Figure 10% more than what you actually need.

If the carpet was installed up to the old base----installing new base the same size will leave a gap---you need to get taller base.
brickeyee
15 years ago
Stain grade oak trim is not cheap, especially compared to pine.

A real lumberyard can provide costs per foot for the trim you are looking for.

Expect the price between paint grade softwood and stain grade hardwood to be around 10x higher for stain grade hardwood.

Watch out for molding that has been milled from 1x lumber.
It will be thinner than what you may have.
Quarter round used to measure a full 3/4 inch thick in both dimensions.
It now is sometimes supplied as only 5/8 inch.

Baseboards that used to be a full 3/4 inch thick are often now only 5/8 thick.

Just about all the molding at the bog box places is like this.
The real lumberyards will have the thinner junk, but the older full size also.
Related Professionals
Avocado Heights Cabinets & Cabinetry · South Riding Cabinets & Cabinetry · Birmingham Carpenters · Loveland Carpenters · Mokena Carpenters · Snellville Carpenters · Apopka Flooring Contractors · Highlands Ranch Flooring Contractors · Marietta Flooring Contractors · Melbourne Flooring Contractors · St. Johns Flooring Contractors · Strongsville Flooring Contractors · Chambersburg Furniture & Accessories · Nashville Furniture & Accessories · Woodstock Furniture & Accessories