Baseboard and Trim Installation

[husdaman]

Hi,

I need some information. I recently got a quote to do baseboards and trim installation in my basement. The quote was $350 for doing 155 liner footage. This includes stairs. I have to buy my own material which I figure would cost around $100 for what I want. In total this would cost $450. The room is around 500 square feet including the stair area.

I have thought about doing this myself but I have not experience with it so I am not sure. I know I need a hand miter saw (not the power one cause its too expensive) to cut the 45 degree cut.

What do you guys think, is it worth trying or giving it to some professional and is the professional quote a good one?

[fireguy9]

try doing it yourself. Corners are the only thing to take some time. seems high to me

[thebuilder]

yes that is a reasonable price you don't have to do anything except watch
carefully and next time take a shot at it

[Pete_Coach]

yes that is a reasonable price you don't have to do anything except watch
carefully and next time take a shot at it

That is about $45 per hour based on an 8 hour job. Seems a bit high for handyman services to me. I am not even sure that it is an 8 hour job either? 155 feet isn't that much, depending how many corners. If it is only a square room, it should only a take a few hours, 3 maybe?

[Drthorne]

Home Depot has mitre saws and cordless nailers for rent if you wanted to try it yourself without having to lay down cash for tools you're only going to use once or twice. Should be no more than 8 hours including painting, especially if you get the 14 foot long baseboards

[patrob]

That is about $45 per hour based on an 8 hour job. Seems a bit high for handyman services to me. I am not even sure that it is an 8 hour job either? 155 feet isn't that much, depending how many corners. If it is only a square room, it should only a take a few hours, 3 maybe?

You cannot calculate jobs like that per hour. Do you think $45 is a lot? You have to come to the job with your truck, use your tools, supplies like nails/dap, etc., & then spend time to install it. $45 is nothing for a carpenter. Some charge a lot more. Of course you can do it yourself but not everybody wants to play with it. 3 hours if you slap it on but if you want perfect miters, everything dapped & clean, add extra couple of hours. Calculate it as $2.25 per ln. ft., sounds nicer ;)

[Pete_Coach]

You cannot calculate jobs like that per hour. Do you think $45 is a lot? You have to come to the job with your truck, use your tools, supplies like nails/dap, etc., & then spend time to install it. $45 is nothing for a carpenter. Some charge a lot more. Of course you can do it yourself but not everybody wants to play with it. 3 hours if you slap it on but if you want perfect miters, everything dapped & clean, add extra couple of hours. Calculate it as $2.25 per ln. ft., sounds nicer ;)

I get what you mean but, I said a handyman, not carpenter. I am fairly certain I can find someone willing to do the job for $25 per hour or at worst, a couple hundred to do the job. Who knows though.:)

[MaDgamEr]

Just remember that you get what you pay for... Good installers aren't cheap.

Installing baseboards and trim isn't quite as straight forward as it may seem... if all corners were square, and all wall were straight, it would be a fairly simple job. But that almost never happens. Outside corners are almost never 90 degrees, bottoms of walls tend to slope in, and inside corners are usually sunken in.

A power miter saw is the ONLY way to do this professionally, along with an air nailer. Period.

Also in regards to buying your baseboard, not sure if you calculated right, because 155 ln.ft. @ $100 is $0.65 before tax, not sure where you plan to get it at that price, but also make sure you calculate about 10% more material than you'll need.

[patrob]

I get what you mean but, I said a handyman, not carpenter. I am fairly certain I can find someone willing to do the job for $25 per hour or at worst, a couple hundred to do the job. Who knows though.:)

OP said the quote was from a "professional" :)

[caltran]

Just remember that you get what you pay for... Good installers aren't cheap.

Installing baseboards and trim isn't quite as straight forward as it may seem... if all corners were square, and all wall were straight, it would be a fairly simple job. But that almost never happens. Outside corners are almost never 90 degrees, bottoms of walls tend to slope in, and inside corners are usually sunken in.

A power miter saw is the ONLY way to do this professionally, along with an air nailer. Period.

Also in regards to buying your baseboard, not sure if you calculated right, because 155 ln.ft. @ $100 is $0.65 before tax, not sure where you plan to get it at that price, but also make sure you calculate about 10% more material than you'll need.This.

Also, inside corners are not mitres. They are coped. This requires a hacksaw and very precise hand cutting.

The original quote is a pretty good price. I got my basement done for $1200, but that included window and door trim, door installation and stairs.

$0.65/ln ft isn't that cheap; basic MDF trim can be as low as $0.25.

[loudsubz]

This.

Also, inside corners are not mitres. They are coped. This requires a hacksaw and very precise hand cutting.

The original quote is a pretty good price. I got my basement done for $1200, but that included window and door trim, door installation and stairs.

$0.65/ln ft isn't that cheap; basic MDF trim can be as low as $0.25.

Inside cuts can be mitres, but for the most precise cut look you can cope. Allot of guys mitre inside cuts and just fill with dap when they are done and it looks good. If its a million dollar home and you have a really picky client and walls are finicky then cope is probably the best way to go, but for a regular job id say mitre is a good compromise.

Home depot has a 10 pack of 8ft long basboards for $22 thats about $0.28-.30 a lin foot

[husdaman]

Thanks people,

I'm gonna give this a shot. My uncle has all the tools and is letting me borrow them. The worst I can do is mess up a few boards and then I will see my options .

I installed the door myself last night so now I wanna try this too.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

[pshch]

Home Depot has mitre saws and cordless nailers for rent if you wanted to try it yourself without having to lay down cash for tools you're only going to use once or twice. Should be no more than 8 hours including painting, especially if you get the 14 foot long baseboards

Or for 350$ you can buy a decent compressor/nailer combo and electric miter saw and it still will be cheaper then pay a contractor. You may not use them often but next time they will be free.