If you are remodeling your home, and installing baseboards is on your list of things to do, we have some tips and tricks to help you get it done right and as quickly as possible. Before installing new baseboards, it is important not only are the old baseboards removed, but all nails, screws, and staples be removed as well. Once the old baseboards are removed, it is a perfect time to use a vacuum cleaner and clean up any excess dust or dirt that has built up over the years.

If you’re planning on painting your baseboards, painting them before they  are installed is a great way to save time. Some of the tools you need for installing baseboard are as follows: a chop saw, hammer and nails, or nail gun, tape measure, pencil, wood filler, caulking, and paint.

When cutting baseboards, you have four main angles that you will be cutting. Most common rooms only use a flat cut, or an inside 45° angle cut. More complex rooms will use an outside 45° angle cut, or an outside 22 1/2° angle cut. We will touch on the basics of installing baseboards, using inside 45° angle cuts, flat cuts and outside 45° angle cuts.

Now that you have your materials, and your tools set up, begin by measuring each wall one at a time. If the baseboard is going into an inside corner where it will meet another baseboard, this cut will be called an inside cut. Here is an example of how you could write down an inside cut so that when you go out to the saw to make your cut, you would not be confused. First, always measure from left to right. If the left side of the baseboard is going into an inside corner, and the right side of the baseboard will be hitting up against a door trim, this is how you would write that measurement down on a piece of paper if the measurement was 68 inches.

I – F 68″

The I. stands for inside, while the F. stands for flat. You will make your first cut on your baseboard at a 45° angle, all the way to the left side of the baseboard. Do this by rotating your chop saw to the correct angle, stand the baseboard up right along the fence of the chop saw, ( good side facing you) and cut. Now you will measure from the furthest point of your 45° angle cut, 68 inches and put a mark. Now you will cut a flat cut on that Mark and the piece is ready to install.

Now if you have an inside cut, to inside cut, this is how you will write it down.

I – I 68″

Once again, measuring from left to right, the I stands for inside, and the measurement is the 68 inches. To make this cut, using the chop saw again, start with your left cut and cut a 45° angle with the baseboards standing upright against the fence of the chop saw. Then measuring from the furthest point of your 45° angle cut, measure 68 inches and put a mark on your baseboard on the upper back side. Sliding your baseboard down to the opposite side of the chop saw, and rotating your saw to the opposite 45° angle mark, cut your baseboard on the you made on your baseboard, with the 45° angle cutting from the mark, inward.

Now moving on to the final type of cut, which is the outside 45° angle cut. So in this next example we are going to go from a flat cut to an outside 45° angle cut. So let’s say on the left side it is a flat cut up against a door jam or door trim. You will measure from the door trim to the outside corner in your room. This is how it will look on paper.

F – O 68″

The F. again stands for flat, and the O stands for outside. So taking a piece of baseboard out to the chop saw, starting with the left side, cut your flat cut first. Now measure from your flat cut 68 inches and put a mark on the back upper side of the baseboard. Putting the chop saw a 45° angle, cut on the mark away from your flat cut. Your baseboard is now ready to install. Now that you know how to mark correctly your baseboards for installation, it is a good idea to practice on a few pieces of scrap base and making sure that your angles matchup.

All that is left to do now, is to physically put the baseboards in place and either use a hammer and nail to install them, or use a pneumatic nail gun. Go back and fill in all holes, gaps, and gouges with wood filler. Caulk along the top of the baseboards and in the inside corners, allow to dry and paint.

There are more ways then one to remodel your kitchen cabinets. The easiest and most inexpensive way, as mentioned in an earlier article is to simply repaint them. What about if you’re just tired of the actual overall look of your cabinets. You thought about replacing cabinet doors to give your kitchen a new look?

In most cities, there are cabinet stores that specialize in replacement cabinet doors. Replacing your kitchen cabinet doors is almost as nice as replacing your entire cabinets yet saving a lot of money. Depending on where you live geographically in the United States, the price of replacing your cabinet doors will vary quite a bit.

Choosing different kinds of wood, and different profiles for your cabinet doors will also play a role in how much it will cost replace them. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, and can pull your old doors off measure for the new ones, and replace them yourself, then replacing your cabinet doors can actually be quite inexpensive.

So before you can order new doors, you will need to take measurements for your new doors. You can take measurements from your old doors and ordered them that way, or if you want to have larger or smaller doors the best way to measure is, find the exact opening from top to bottom and from left to right for each cabinet door. On average you would add half an inch to the top and half an inch to the bottom to give your over all measurement from top to bottom 1 inch larger than the opening itself. You will do the exact same thing from left to right, simply get your measurement and add 1 inch total.

Most cabinet stores will carry a brochure or catalogue with many different cabinet door designs. They should also carry different styles of wood, and wood combinations to allow you to choose a price range in which you wish to spend money on in replacing your doors. You can expect to wait about two weeks for your cabinet doors to come in. There are also online cabinetmaking shops that will allow you to order your cabinet doors on the Internet and have them shipped directly to your home.

If you are tired of your kitchen cabinets, and are ready for a new look, you may not need to replace them. Simply painting kitchen cabinets is a great way to remodel your kitchen inexspensively. Painting cabinets sounds great in theory, and actually sounds easy. For the most part youll find that it is not hard to paint cabinets, it is just time consuming, and teadious.

The most important part of painting wood cabinets is the prep work. If your working with painted cabinets allready, the prep may be a little easier. If the paint job on your cabinets is in good condition and not pealing, cracking, or too old you can simply clean the cabinets and paint over the existing paint job. However, sanding is allways recommended.

If you are painting over stained cabinets, sanding is a must. This is where the tedious part comes into play. Use high grit sand paper, like a 220 grit. Sand either by hand or with a hand sander, the gloss off of the cabinets. It does not have to be a deap sand, you are simply roughing the surface a bit, and knocking the shean off of the cabinets.

It is a great idea to take off the cabinet doors, and pull the drawers. Sanding outside will help keep your home dust free. In most cases, you do not need to paint the inside of the cabinets, but if you do, make sure to sand inside as well. Unsanded cabinets will allow the paint to peel quickly.

After you have prepped your cabinets and have them ready for paint, you need to decide if you want to spray, roll, or brush your cabinets. If you do not have a sprayer, using a sponge roller is a great way to give your cabinets a professional look. Using a brush for the inside of your cabinets is usually easier, and since its inside, the brush strokes are not as noticeable. Take your time, and you will be happy with the outcome.

The key to maintaining a beautiful long-lasting deck, it to make sure you have a great protective finish over your beautiful wood deck. Wood deck cleaning should be done on a regular basis throughout the lifetime of your deck. There are many deck cleaning tips available online, on TV, in magazines, and from your local hardware store.

If the finish on your deck is looking older, or is chipping or peeling, deck refinishing might be the next task on your list of things to do around the house. It is important to remove mold from your deck, and mildew as well. With a good finish the deck, and mildew would be a thing of the past.

Before you can accomplish refinishing your deck, it is important that you are able to do a good deck cleaning. The kind of dichotomy I referring to, is not your typical sweep and spray off with a water hose, kind of cleaning. We need to do here is actually remove the remaining stain or finish that is on your deck. In order to do this you will need some chemicals to help you remove your deck’s previous finish. It is good to apply the deck cleaning agent or product onto your deck, scrub lightly and then wash off with a water hose.

You may also use a pressure washer to clean your deck. It is important that you do not apply to much water pressure to the deck because it can actually eat a hole through the wood. Deck refinishing is a lot of work, but will pay off in the end. If you use good practice, and clean your deck on a regular basis, your stained or refinishing job will last a long time. Your deck is readily maintained, refinishing it again later on in the future will also be easier.