Dos & Don'ts with Hardwood
Moldings
The following guidelines are presented as an overview of steps the
installer can take to assure the hardwood molding installation goes
well. These "dos and don'ts" have been gathered from the experiences
of many installers across the country and can help to assure your
installation goes well.
Prefinished moldings must be handled carefully to avoid chipping and
marring of the face. Moldings must be pre-drilled to avoid splitting
whenever they are to be secured with nails or fasteners. Avoid
splits in moldings by controlling the size of the fastener and its
proximity to the end of a cut or the edge of the molding. If a
pneumatic nail gun is to be used, test it on a scrap molding before
the installation to assess possible damage due to fastening. The
tool of choice for cutting hardwood moldings is a 10 or 12 inch
motorized miter saw with :pre-set adjustments for the basic miter
cuts at 22.5°, 45° and 9O°. A carbide tipped blade makes the best
cuts. Always use miter cuts rather than butt cuts when splicing.
Decide the direction of the miter by cutting the molding with the
long point oriented in the same direction as your natural line of
vision when you enter the room. When installing Wall Base molding,
eliminate the need to putty holes on the molding by placing the
bottom nail below the finished line of the Quarter Round molding. On
Wall Base or Quarter Round moldings, never restrict the hardwood
floors natural contraction/expansion movement by driving the
fasteners at a downward angle. Rather, attach the moldings to the
wall or vertical surface
