Recessed Baseboard

Maplehead

Anybody know how to remove baseboard quickly and efficiently?
My problem here is that the baseboard went in before the oak flooring? The floor planks are abbutted right to the baseboard, and the baseboard must be sunken in three quarters of an inch down or more. I've got to do this in a timely manner and without disrupting the floor planks.

Greg Di

Slowly and patiently if you want to reuse it.

Use a 5-in-1 tool to get behind the base and then use a little wonderbar to pry it off. Use end nippers on the back of the base to pull the nails. Don't do it from the front.

Work in reverse order of installation.

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Dustball

I recently did a similar baseboard removal and it was a pain in the ass! Cork floor tiles were glued down sometime after the base was installed so I couldn't just pry the base away from the walls. Making things worse was that it was plaster walls so there was damage from the nails when prying upwards. In your case, I'd think I would opt to cut the base flush with the floor then removing the upper part leaving the lower part in place.

Here's a thread with the saw you'd need-
http://www.contractortalk.com/showth...t=flush+saw%2A

Maplehead

Thanks for the replies.

To clarify some things:

I'm not saving the existing baseboard so I don't care if it gets abused.

The walls are about a 1" thick sheet rock plastered over. A 1960's split level in Massachusetts.

As I said, the baseboard is sandwhiched between the wall and the ends of the oak floor plankings. These ends I can't disrupt as they're visible. So I must be very careful working around them.

I was considering chiseling the visible portion of the baseboard, leaving the sunken portion in as the new baseboard would cover it. But it seems to me that it would be a lot of chiseling and way more time than the client ever expected.

Another thought here is to remove as much board and then split/chisel the hidden portion and pull out in "halves".

needthingsdone?

If there is a lot of base, I would use a power jamb saw to cut it flush with the floor and then either cover it with the new base or carefully pry it out.

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mdshunk

Jamb saw

Casework King

Yeah a jamb saw if you don't mind hitting a couple nails with your fine tooth blade, and changing it every ten feet. I usually first with a small flat bar carefully pry the base away from the wall (pry against the base not the wall) to allow movement pull upper nails if necessary (the pieces near the end grain of the floor boards are tougher beacause when the floor is installed they smash 'em tight to the base.) then drive a junk chisel starting at one end of the plank working to the other in 2' increments or what ever it takes to carefully split the wood (it must be wood being from the 60's) just watch that floor!! leave the hidden portion in, then use your chisel and run with the grain to make sure the crap is below floor level then install new base, it's just as fast and there's no risk scuffing the floor with an out of control jamb saw when you hit a nail!!!

Maplehead

Thanks for all the replies.

I figured what Casework King described was what I'd have to do. It seems like a time consuming thing though. Oh well. The jamb/undercut saws are cool though. I didn't know about them. In this case they probably would be hitting nails often so no good here.

One last question: Is this an incorrect installation of floor and baseboard?

Too my knowledge it's supposed to be installed in the reverse order - floor first. A small gap is supposed to be left between floor planks and wall to allow for expansion and the baseboard covers this, not sits inside it tightly.

Casework King

I never install base board before hardwood unless I lift the bb. off the floor with a guage the thickness of the flooring to be installed, not having the bb. installed makes for a quick and easy install for the flooring installer (Me). Installing bb. first is definitely incorrect for laminate flooring and maybe a little more forgiving with hardwood but still not right..., because laminate is not nailed if it expands it would have nowhere to go but up or down same with hardwood but like I said a little more forgiving,

Maplehead

Well I did the job today.

It was a pain in the ass but went a little quicker than I thought.

If any wants to know, here's how I did it.

I first scored the top of the bb with a razor then I wedged it open with a 5-in-1 too using a mallet. Actually it was a combo of a 5-in-1 to start, the a small pry bar in front and a plastic dust pan behind the 5-in-1 to protect the wall. I did all this to get as much bb ripped out to the floor. Afterwards I used a junk chisel and went all the way down the line chiseling. Afterwards I took the rest out and left the sunken part in.
Note:
I used the bevel side down on the chisel when the ends of the floor planks were against the bb. When a floor plank ran parrallel with the bb I turned the chisel over to the flat side, thus preventing me chiseling out the floor.

Like I said, it was a pain in the ass but I got it done without any blemishes incurred.

Thanks all for your help.

WNYcarpenter

I would have used a jamb saw as well, but depending on thickness variations of base, would have set the blade higher than flush to the floor to avoid nails (maybe!) and damage to the hardwood with a strip of felt, and then applied shoe molding.

I admire the no nonsense pick a plan and just do it. Some people spend too much time looking for the easiest way out when they'd already be done!

THE HOUSE DR.

The tool you need is a FEIN MULTI-MASTER. It has an oscillating saw tooth blade that will cut flush with the floor, but not damage it. It will take a little longer than any kind of circular saw, but with no chance of damage. It also has an available blade that will cut through nails. This tool has proved to be the best addition to my tool arsenal, and paid for itself on the very firsy job, installing automatic light switches in closet door jambs. you can plunge cut these with precision and speed. when the electrical sub saw it in action, he left the job site and drove 1 1/2 hours round trip to buy one. I do not work for this company, but I should.

woodmagman

If Quick is the predetermining factor, a utility knife to score the wall and top of base then a flooring chisel along the base to chisel flush with the floor. Hardwood flooring requires space for expansion and contraction, it is best you pry the balance of the base out.