I have found that this makes projects go much faster. After 7 or 8 corners the sugar rush from eating so many popsicles helps me whip out the rest of the project in no time!!
I trimmed houses For a living. When running base board in a new house, you use 3/8" shims to hold the baseboard up high enough for the floor covering. There is no time to try sticking shims here or there to make the joints fit. I could have a corner cope, and ready for my laborer to nail it. The outside corners were mitered, glued, and nailed. The painters were always glad, knowing I was the one that did the work.
When inserting the popsicle stick from the top down, don't force it all the way down till it bottoms out. Pull it back up a little bit, snap it off, and then push it down behind the baseboard so that it is hidden when you caulk the top to the wall.
@@StayHandy pushing it down a bit assures that there will be no interruption as you are laying down a bead of caulk. Thanks for your comments and videos!
When I install hardwood base boards for staining, you can't caulk your errors, so I usually do compound miter cuts with some test pieces before I do use the actual piece. Although, I will do coping sometimes. The shim behind the piece is my last resort, if I still see an opening. I always cut the piece a 1/32-1/16 longer to make sure I get tight corners.
HA! Today I decided to do baseboards for THE 1st TIME EVER 😅 oh no pressure I’ve watched THOUSANDS of UA-cam videos about how to do it and don’t cut too short or sneak up on the cut. Well luckily I started on a small closet 😅 4 hours in I just FINALLY finished the little closet 😂😂… finished as in cut the pieces but they are not nailed in as yet. So glad I found this video because I’m having a lot of rocking, because the walls are uneven 🤦🏽♀️ THANKS FOR THIS TIP I’m off to dollar tree now 😅
As a veteran carpenter I reject this. Coping will always be better and you made all my points for me pretty much. The pressure fit of a coped joint keeps it closed tight as well. And it is faster than this shimming method. I have no adjustments to make, I can simply spring my piece into place and nail it off. Doesn't take me more than a minute tops to cope a piece of base depending on how long it is using a normal Coping saw.
I'm not a capenter nor professional woodworker and I would agree with you, learn to cope; it's much more effective and quite satisfying once you get it right.
you betcha. retired now. you know you're good at coping when you have two 16' runs to a 14' wall, 16' baseboard and want no seams. then you cope both sides of the 14' wall. snap it into place and perfect. you really know you're good when you do this with crown moulding too. that takes confidence and experience, but can be done. i know.
@@johnfischer_2 I've tried both. I still go for my coping saw. Just as fast, no dust getting thrown around the room. Only time I reach for the grinder is crown when it can be tough to make a big enough back cut.
Fun fact, this tip helps get tight joints in coped baseboards also. Even easier and cheaper, use drive a drywall screw into the wall about 1/2 inch from the floor and use a square to adjust the screw so the head is flush with the drywall above it. Its a "trick" thats been around for years. You cope baseboards to account for strange angles in corners. Drywall mud in corners often builds up and results in a wall that is slightly curved in the corners. Its difficult, time consuming, and often material intensive to get inside corners right when mitering, especially when using thinner baseboard material that flexes easily. This tip can help with that to an extent. Coping allows for greater flexibilty in that you get 5 or so degrees (depending on the profile) of play where you still get tight joints. Coping gives superior results, limits recuts (often saving time in the long run), and avoids material waste. However, not all profiles can be coped, so learning to miter trim is still important to learn.
A guy showed me a trick years ago. It works much better than shims or popsicle sticks. Put a drywall (or any) screw in the bottom corner of the wall, you can adjust the depth to control how far the boards sticks out. 👍
Sorry about my earlier comment. I was taught to make a homemade miter box. We cut with a handsaw, and we drove our nails with a hammer. My grandfather would have back-slapped me if I would have mitered an inside corner. I was even taught how to cope 45 degre and similar angled corners. I feel like it was an advantage to first learn the old way.
hey hey! glad to see you still make content. i watched your yard transformation videos with the retaining wall, and completed my yard project two years ago. i was looking for a video about how to build a T intersection with moulding to get great results (e.g. building a latice on the ceiling), do you have a view for tips on that?
Wood does not expand in the direction of the wood grain. It expands across the wood grain. So wooden boards or baseboards in this case would not grow or shrink in length. However, they may expand slightly in thickness or height. Otherwise great tip with the stir sticks. Shims are not cheap!
Despite no significant changes of length, as the wood thickness changes the slope of the miter cut effectively changes (i.e. thickness/length) so it no longer forms a proper joint. The wood is the wrong length for its new location.
Wood expands .1% with grain and between 6-8% cross grain. I have always used extra cardboard from material, foldable for size and compresses if needs be. Never had a call back.
If I'm not mistaken your title said, Handyman. Take it from a seasoned Professional Mr. Handyman, please don't go giving BAD Advice on how to cut and install inside corners using baseboard, crown molding, or any other type of trim materials. 1st, in most homes the sheetrock wall dosen't go all the way down to the floor, leaving a 1/2" gap between the bottom of the sheetrock and the floor. For the best results rip a bunch of 1/2"x1/2" stock and place short pieces at various locations in this gap. Especially in the inside corners. Then cut and COPE your baseboard. The purpose of the 1/2"x1/2" stock is to prevent the baseboard from folding in while the Carpet layers knee kick the carpet while it's being stretched. Oh, by the way, it doesn't matter what you are installing. Whether it's Baseboard, Crown molding, or Chair Railings. Whether it's paint or stain grade, Coping your inside corners is always better. Another thing for you Handymen to understand, wood of any type, whether it's natural or man made definitely will expand and contract. It's just the way it is, so take that into account as well.
I was a labourer installing dog-eared (coped) skirting (base boards.) They are superior as there is no gap - none, and no amateurish caulking to mask the error.
Coping is far superior. Only have to cope the top profile, flat part can be cut with the saw. If you're putting popsicle sticks in from the top, then it's too short. Only time you wanna shim the top of baseboard, is if the wall is bowed in and out
Yes, I take my measurements on the wall at the top of the base, if 4" base I measure 4" above the floor, then shim or plane the back of base as needed. I like the top of base to fit as tight to the walls as possible.
@@CroSensate79 No You might find it easier to cope the left side of the board vs the right side. Vice versa. Sometimes there's one thats coped on both sides. You can do it 💪
I like the idea of the popsicle sticks. I typically use shims as they are adjustable and I always have them around, but the pop cycle sticks make total sense. Also will try the screws, sounds promising.
I usually cut the inside corner baseboards larger than needed and bow them in the middle when installing. It will tend to push the drywall as needed to get a snug fit.
One thing I'd say, is keep the shim out of any expansion joints for flooring! Especially those engineered laminated click together type. I've used cardboard, screws, shims, scrap wood, whatever is available. I'll start stocking some popsicle sticks as they seem to be really good for caulk tools as well with silcone.
I had installed base board a few times but never coped them. I did coping on my last project, and it was really easy. Anyone can do it. Look up a video for some good tips. You should still use something behind the board in the corners because that's usually where the dry wall taper is, so there's a gap. I use a roofing nail, which unlike a popcicle stick has whatever depth you want, and is way cheaper.
It’s not so much about getting a perfect joint. It’s about getting a perfect joint that stays perfect over time when humidity changes cause the joint to shrink and swell. Remember the 2x4 studs are usually wood and they to will swell and shrink. Coping the joint (especially on a simple baseboard shown) takes the same or less time than your method of popsicle sticks and the joint will look good over time. It’s not a waste of time and it makes you a craftsman.
You can use an angle finder to get the right angle and then glue the pieces together with AC glue/activator. It'll stay super tight with no gaps but it's probably just as time consuming as coping.
I usually install taller baseboards… So I cut a piece of baseboard the width of my torpedo level and tape it to the edge of the level… Then put a screw in the corner using the taped trim to the level to get it plumb… A bit tedious, but these are high end houses… -Also use a pin nailer on all outside corners and scarf joints
I believe the coped method is better long term. The wood hardly changes in the length but in the width it will which will open up the front of the miter.
Timber expands and contracts across the grain due to moisture content not down it and coping definitely helps with cancelling out that problem and with the problem of internal corners not being plumb and square which u rightly pointed out they very rarely r in my experience it’s far quicker and neater to cope internal mitres
I’m a carpenter and I’m saying you don’t want to do that. Scribing/coping will always be the best way to do corners. It’s also better for older houses as the walls could be out of square.
Ditto ! Do it right the first time. Carpenters and handymen like this own stock with journeyman in a tube, caulk. It does not take any longer to do it right.
Keep in mind that this video is targeting DIYers who don’t want to take the time to learn these things to a competent degree. They don’t think trim matters and just want to move on to “more important projects in the house.”
I switched to coping, and no looking back. With a mitre, every mitre joint is visible from the center of the room. When properly patterned, a coped joint stays hidden, even with shrinkage. I start from the wall directly across from the door, as you enter the room, with a square cut corner. Then i cope the pieces that meet that corner, but leave the other end square (unless i have to scarf two lengths together). I then cope the closer pieces to the sides. Also. Dont cope at 90°. Do it say 93°, and it will hide the drywall tape flare, compensating for corners not square. Considering im only coping one end of the baseboard length, if offset the time the coping takes, with far better results, regardless of the material.
Hey, Mr. Handyman Startup - you must be a healthy - those are tongue depressors! 😆 Kind of big so they were probably purchased at a craft store. I get it! My house has NO corners that are square, no walls that are smooth nor 90° to the next so this skill will save me much time and many headeaches. 🙌🏻
Great tip! The size of what you used means they are tongue depressors. Popsicle sticks are not as wide (about half as wide as what you showed), they are typically less rigid, and they are thicker than tongue depressors. It may even be that there are times for the use of both to get the best fit . . .
I've been doing this but with shims, except I only put them on the very bottom. Thanks for the idea to use popsicle sticks, will be buying them from now on.
@@StayHandy there is another video I saw where a guy uses screws. I haven't had a chance yet to try either one yet but an idea came to mind, to use a closed combination square, that way you can lay it on the floor and guage exactly how much you have to add to the wall
I like the old addage, "caulk hides all sins"! 😂 Coping is faster if you invert the board and use the mitersaw to cut the straight, leaving only the top bevel to cut with the coping saw!
I really don’t like using shims for baseboard. This is super handy. Thank you SO MUCH. I can see the drywall screws working more precisely but holy cats that’d take a lot of time to get it just right
An old Craftsman once told me when I was a young finisher. That "Caulk and paint will hide what you ain't" Coping is a skill and like any skill when you master it it comes naturally with zero effect. There's a big difference between being a craftsman and a trim runner. Craftsman make more $$$$$$
You can cope colonial base on a table saw with ease. Just cope the shortest pieces and leave the the square ends on the long ones. It cuts down on using the coping saw. I couldn't bring myself to put popsicle sticks behind my work.
I wouldn't want to create a gap along the top using a stick as a shim; I guess this means you would caulk. While at the craft store maybe pick up some craft rubber cement (re-positionable) to hold sticks in place while figuring the needed adjustment.
And how much extra $ are you spending per inside corner. Multiply that by the number of corners per house! Plus, that extra time your saving from doing a correct coped joint, you’re now spending fiddling around with shims to do it the hack way, plus you now have to go around trimming all those shims of after install!! Just do it right in the first place. The more reps you have at coping, the better (and faster!) you get at it!
On square profile base sometimes architects call for mitered inside corners. It helps to be skilled at getting inside miters perfect. I wish I could post some pictures, I'd school you. Edit: mitered inside corners for stain grade.
Coping is fast and easy with MDF or plastic baseboards if you use an angle grinder with a sandpaper flap wheel instead of a coping saw. With little practice, you can cope it in a minute or so.
I love how all the pros discount this method because it’s not traditional and perfect to them. Wrong audience. Hats off to doing it differently and faster.
Wow! I've worked with many top level finish carpenters over the years, and I consider myself highly skilled at installing base. I've never seen any of them do compound miters for base.
As has been pointed out this is wrong. A scribed joint ain’t complex. Set your drop saw to 45 degrees cut. This will give you the profile. Turn it upside down, cut back the straight part of the scribe by a coupe of degrees, doesn’t have to that accurate. Then get a coping saw, run your dirty thumb across the fiddly bit your going to cut, this will make the profile stand out better. Then again back cut by about a degree to join the two cuts together. Once done the back side will look a bit shabby but when you interface the two parts you won’t see this bit. Now the reason for the back cut, give the skirting a solid belt with a hammer. The scribed part will crush gently into the other part giving you a really nice joint. What this bloke is doing is Mickey Mouse carpentry for bodgers. Learn the craft and enjoy the outcome.
This is the first video of yours I’m watching… 1 minute in and everyone knows your hack skills and much. Much.. MUCH!… Greater than your finishing skills.
Great tip. I installed trim in 800 Sq ft house a couple of months ago, wish I would have seen this video then I'm glad caulk was invented, it can fix a lot of problems 😊
It's easier if you put some glue or caulk on the back of the popsicle stick so it stays in place better and it won't want to fall over when you let go.
For the every day person who has never done trim work going to make it easier for them. And tapping the base board trim before painting that will help you out with the painting. I have done both free hand and taping I prefer taping baseboard
I'm a carpenter, and I'm saying coping is for primadonnas, especially when you're trimming a basic suburban home with vinyl flooring. Mitering, in this case will stand the test of time Save your Collins Coping Foot for your crown
Im unhappy by modern gappy installations. That space behind there is habitat for molds and mites and worse. I cut things like this by hand carefully with cheap dovetail saw and then back-butter everything with plaster before squashing into position. Zero hidden space. Perfection. Every time. Why isnt same required by code for habitability.
Here I finally thought I found a solution until its said "unless you are using stain grade wood baseboard..." which is what im using. Hemlock trim stained in the garage before hand... so now im back to square one? The house is going on 30 years old. Bedroom was redone with wood floor. I can't use the popsicle trick after all?
Coping is much better I have been a carpenter for 30 years just don't nail the bottom on an inside corner and let coped side push the bottom where it needs to be
I have found that this makes projects go much faster. After 7 or 8 corners the sugar rush from eating so many popsicles helps me whip out the rest of the project in no time!!
Nice!
I use no sugar added pop cycle sticks
I'll stick with the coke
🤣🤣🤣
HAHAHA....
I trimmed houses For a living. When running base board in a new house, you use 3/8" shims to hold the baseboard up high enough for the floor covering. There is no time to try sticking shims here or there to make the joints fit. I could have a corner cope, and ready for my laborer to nail it. The outside corners were mitered, glued, and nailed. The painters were always glad, knowing I was the one that did the work.
I’m a painter and I thank you on behalf of other painters
When inserting the popsicle stick from the top down, don't force it all the way down till it bottoms out. Pull it back up a little bit, snap it off, and then push it down behind the baseboard so that it is hidden when you caulk the top to the wall.
It’s pretty easy to cut if flush using a razor knife without that step, but that works too.
@@StayHandy pushing it down a bit assures that there will be no interruption as you are laying down a bead of caulk. Thanks for your comments and videos!
@@KenHill good tip
When I install hardwood base boards for staining, you can't caulk your errors, so I usually do compound miter cuts with some test pieces before I do use the actual piece. Although, I will do coping sometimes. The shim behind the piece is my last resort, if I still see an opening. I always cut the piece a 1/32-1/16 longer to make sure I get tight corners.
HA! Today I decided to do baseboards for THE 1st TIME EVER 😅 oh no pressure I’ve watched THOUSANDS of UA-cam videos about how to do it and don’t cut too short or sneak up on the cut. Well luckily I started on a small closet 😅 4 hours in I just FINALLY finished the little closet 😂😂… finished as in cut the pieces but they are not nailed in as yet. So glad I found this video because I’m having a lot of rocking, because the walls are uneven 🤦🏽♀️ THANKS FOR THIS TIP I’m off to dollar tree now 😅
Hang in there!
So.. in summary.. you re .. Out of the closet now?.. LOL damn I'm funny
@@mos8541 you got it! 😅
As a veteran carpenter I reject this. Coping will always be better and you made all my points for me pretty much. The pressure fit of a coped joint keeps it closed tight as well. And it is faster than this shimming method. I have no adjustments to make, I can simply spring my piece into place and nail it off. Doesn't take me more than a minute tops to cope a piece of base depending on how long it is using a normal Coping saw.
I'm not a capenter nor professional woodworker and I would agree with you, learn to cope; it's much more effective and quite satisfying once you get it right.
Agreed. Coping the only way for a professional job.
you betcha. retired now. you know you're good at coping when you have two 16' runs to a 14' wall, 16' baseboard and want no seams. then you cope both sides of the 14' wall. snap it into place and perfect. you really know you're good when you do this with crown moulding too. that takes confidence and experience, but can be done. i know.
@@johnfischer_2 I've tried both. I still go for my coping saw. Just as fast, no dust getting thrown around the room. Only time I reach for the grinder is crown when it can be tough to make a big enough back cut.
I don't think this video is meant for professional carpenters
Fun fact, this tip helps get tight joints in coped baseboards also. Even easier and cheaper, use drive a drywall screw into the wall about 1/2 inch from the floor and use a square to adjust the screw so the head is flush with the drywall above it. Its a "trick" thats been around for years. You cope baseboards to account for strange angles in corners. Drywall mud in corners often builds up and results in a wall that is slightly curved in the corners. Its difficult, time consuming, and often material intensive to get inside corners right when mitering, especially when using thinner baseboard material that flexes easily. This tip can help with that to an extent. Coping allows for greater flexibilty in that you get 5 or so degrees (depending on the profile) of play where you still get tight joints. Coping gives superior results, limits recuts (often saving time in the long run), and avoids material waste. However, not all profiles can be coped, so learning to miter trim is still important to learn.
Thanks for the tips!
is there a YT video that shows this?
@@nathanv6798 the screw trick or how to cope baseboards?
A guy showed me a trick years ago. It works much better than shims or popsicle sticks. Put a drywall (or any) screw in the bottom corner of the wall, you can adjust the depth to control how far the boards sticks out. 👍
That’s a great tip thanks
Works great
dude awesome tip thanks.
That's a great tip!
Great tip , but is that both sides , Cheers
Sorry about my earlier comment. I was taught to make a homemade miter box. We cut with a handsaw, and we drove our nails with a hammer. My grandfather would have back-slapped me if I would have mitered an inside corner. I was even taught how to cope 45 degre and similar angled corners. I feel like it was an advantage to first learn the old way.
hey hey! glad to see you still make content. i watched your yard transformation videos with the retaining wall, and completed my yard project two years ago. i was looking for a video about how to build a T intersection with moulding to get great results (e.g. building a latice on the ceiling), do you have a view for tips on that?
Wood does not expand in the direction of the wood grain. It expands across the wood grain. So wooden boards or baseboards in this case would not grow or shrink in length. However, they may expand slightly in thickness or height. Otherwise great tip with the stir sticks. Shims are not cheap!
Everything expands in all directions with heat.
@@StayHandy fluctuations in ambient humidity levels would be the cause of the wood expansion and contraction you are referring to.
Despite no significant changes of length, as the wood thickness changes the slope of the miter cut effectively changes (i.e. thickness/length) so it no longer forms a proper joint. The wood is the wrong length for its new location.
Wood expands .1% with grain and between 6-8% cross grain. I have always used extra cardboard from material, foldable for size and compresses if needs be. Never had a call back.
If I'm not mistaken your title said, Handyman. Take it from a seasoned Professional Mr. Handyman, please don't go giving BAD Advice on how to cut and install inside corners using baseboard, crown molding, or any other type of trim materials. 1st, in most homes the sheetrock wall dosen't go all the way down to the floor, leaving a 1/2" gap between the bottom of the sheetrock and the floor. For the best results rip a bunch of 1/2"x1/2" stock and place short pieces at various locations in this gap. Especially in the inside corners. Then cut and COPE your baseboard. The purpose of the 1/2"x1/2" stock is to prevent the baseboard from folding in while the Carpet layers knee kick the carpet while it's being stretched. Oh, by the way, it doesn't matter what you are installing. Whether it's Baseboard, Crown molding, or Chair Railings. Whether it's paint or stain grade, Coping your inside corners is always better. Another thing for you Handymen to understand, wood of any type, whether it's natural or man made definitely will expand and contract. It's just the way it is, so take that into account as well.
I was a labourer installing dog-eared (coped) skirting (base boards.) They are superior as there is no gap - none, and no amateurish caulking to mask the error.
1:23 "Just don't cut them too short." Hahahaha...solid advice right there.
Coping is far superior. Only have to cope the top profile, flat part can be cut with the saw.
If you're putting popsicle sticks in from the top, then it's too short.
Only time you wanna shim the top of baseboard, is if the wall is bowed in and out
Thanks for the insight.
Yes, I take my measurements on the wall at the top of the base, if 4" base I measure 4" above the floor, then shim or plane the back of base as needed. I like the top of base to fit as tight to the walls as possible.
This is just bad information it takes all of a minute to cope a corner
I’m gonna try coping my baseboards next weekend. Does it matter which corner is coped?
@@CroSensate79 No
You might find it easier to cope the left side of the board vs the right side. Vice versa.
Sometimes there's one thats coped on both sides.
You can do it 💪
I like the idea of the popsicle sticks. I typically use shims as they are adjustable and I always have them around, but the pop cycle sticks make total sense. Also will try the screws, sounds promising.
A cope joint will not open up when the molding dries out in a year. A perfect caulked painted inside corner. Good video for the home DIY.
I usually cut the inside corner baseboards larger than needed and bow them in the middle when installing. It will tend to push the drywall as needed to get a snug fit.
One thing I'd say, is keep the shim out of any expansion joints for flooring! Especially those engineered laminated click together type. I've used cardboard, screws, shims, scrap wood, whatever is available. I'll start stocking some popsicle sticks as they seem to be really good for caulk tools as well with silcone.
Posting on youtube is an excellent metaphor for the maxim
"no good deed goes unpunished".😊
I had installed base board a few times but never coped them. I did coping on my last project, and it was really easy. Anyone can do it. Look up a video for some good tips. You should still use something behind the board in the corners because that's usually where the dry wall taper is, so there's a gap. I use a roofing nail, which unlike a popcicle stick has whatever depth you want, and is way cheaper.
It’s not so much about getting a perfect joint. It’s about getting a perfect joint that stays perfect over time when humidity changes cause the joint to shrink and swell. Remember the 2x4 studs are usually wood and they to will swell and shrink. Coping the joint (especially on a simple baseboard shown) takes the same or less time than your method of popsicle sticks and the joint will look good over time. It’s not a waste of time and it makes you a craftsman.
You can use an angle finder to get the right angle and then glue the pieces together with AC glue/activator. It'll stay super tight with no gaps but it's probably just as time consuming as coping.
thanks for the tip
I usually install taller baseboards…
So I cut a piece of baseboard the width of my torpedo level and tape it to the edge of the level… Then put a screw in the corner using the taped trim to the level to get it plumb…
A bit tedious, but these are high end houses…
-Also use a pin nailer on all outside corners and scarf joints
Phew you’re getting a lot of heat! But I appreciate this video. I will replace my own baseboards and this will save me time!
very simple, but very solid info. (and very economical too!)
Nice trick, we know it is all about the tricks of the trade! Thanks
I believe the coped method is better long term. The wood hardly changes in the length but in the width it will which will open up the front of the miter.
Timber expands and contracts across the grain due to moisture content not down it and coping definitely helps with cancelling out that problem and with the problem of internal corners not
being plumb and square which u rightly pointed out they very rarely r in my experience it’s far quicker and neater to cope internal mitres
I’m a carpenter and I’m saying you don’t want to do that. Scribing/coping will always be the best way to do corners. It’s also better for older houses as the walls could be out of square.
Exactly, it's so much easier to do it the right way than the bodgers method this Texan is using!😂
Ditto ! Do it right the first time.
Carpenters and handymen like this own stock with journeyman in a tube, caulk. It does not take any longer to do it right.
Keep in mind that this video is targeting DIYers who don’t want to take the time to learn these things to a competent degree. They don’t think trim matters and just want to move on to “more important projects in the house.”
@@CarlYota It's teaching people bad habits, using the correct method is easier than doing internal mitres and the end result is far superior.
Nah miter gauge is better than a Coped corner.
I switched to coping, and no looking back. With a mitre, every mitre joint is visible from the center of the room. When properly patterned, a coped joint stays hidden, even with shrinkage. I start from the wall directly across from the door, as you enter the room, with a square cut corner. Then i cope the pieces that meet that corner, but leave the other end square (unless i have to scarf two lengths together). I then cope the closer pieces to the sides. Also. Dont cope at 90°. Do it say 93°, and it will hide the drywall tape flare, compensating for corners not square.
Considering im only coping one end of the baseboard length, if offset the time the coping takes, with far better results, regardless of the material.
Brilliant -- thank you for sharing your skills!
Hey, Mr. Handyman Startup - you must be a healthy - those are tongue depressors! 😆 Kind of big so they were probably purchased at a craft store. I get it! My house has NO corners that are square, no walls that are smooth nor 90° to the next so this skill will save me much time and many headeaches. 🙌🏻
Yeah but popsicle stick trick sounds better.
Professionals cope, Amateurs miter. Period!
Sweet
Great tip! The size of what you used means they are tongue depressors. Popsicle sticks are not as wide (about half as wide as what you showed), they are typically less rigid, and they are thicker than tongue depressors. It may even be that there are times for the use of both to get the best fit . . .
Good to know!
I've been doing this but with shims, except I only put them on the very bottom. Thanks for the idea to use popsicle sticks, will be buying them from now on.
I used shims for a while too. This is way easier. You’ll enjoy it.
@@StayHandy there is another video I saw where a guy uses screws. I haven't had a chance yet to try either one yet but an idea came to mind, to use a closed combination square, that way you can lay it on the floor and guage exactly how much you have to add to the wall
Thanks for the great tip!
44.5 deg referenced to where ? I am not clear on this.
This is a great tip for PVC baseboards because I have yet to learn how to cope them 😪
I like the old addage, "caulk hides all sins"! 😂
Coping is faster if you invert the board and use the mitersaw to cut the straight, leaving only the top bevel to cut with the coping saw!
I really don’t like using shims for baseboard. This is super handy. Thank you SO MUCH. I can see the drywall screws working more precisely but holy cats that’d take a lot of time to get it just right
Yes this is way easier
Great tip! Thanks. Who would have thought????
Thanks!
I sometimes put a screw into the bottom plate and adjust in/out as needed.
great vid. I purposefully undercut the miter angle so i can eat and tax deduct ice cream bars for their thicker sticks.
Diabetes here you come!
What happens when you nail it back in it goes back further especially when drywall glue is being used an not quite dry
thats really a good idea
Thank you ❤❤
Great idea.
An old Craftsman once told me when I was a young finisher. That "Caulk and paint will hide what you ain't"
Coping is a skill and like any skill when you master it it comes naturally with zero effect.
There's a big difference between being a craftsman and a trim runner. Craftsman make more $$$$$$
Awesome. This is exactly what I was looking for. Great video. Thanks, dude.
Glad it helped!
You can cope colonial base on a table saw with ease. Just cope the shortest pieces and leave the the square ends on the long ones. It cuts down on using the coping saw. I couldn't bring myself to put popsicle sticks behind my work.
I wouldn't want to create a gap along the top using a stick as a shim;
I guess this means you would caulk.
While at the craft store maybe pick up some craft rubber cement (re-positionable) to hold sticks in place while figuring the needed adjustment.
At times, you can use CA glue to fix the miter faces just right before seating them in the corner.
Coping is faster and cleaner if you do it right. My opinion. Done my fair share of both.
Even with mdf?
And how much extra $ are you spending per inside corner. Multiply that by the number of corners per house! Plus, that extra time your saving from doing a correct coped joint, you’re now spending fiddling around with shims to do it the hack way, plus you now have to go around trimming all those shims of after install!! Just do it right in the first place. The more reps you have at coping, the better (and faster!) you get at it!
On square profile base sometimes architects call for mitered inside corners. It helps to be skilled at getting inside miters perfect. I wish I could post some pictures, I'd school you.
Edit: mitered inside corners for stain grade.
Even with coping you still need to bring the bottom of the base out on some corners.
Coping is fast and easy with MDF or plastic baseboards if you use an angle grinder with a sandpaper flap wheel instead of a coping saw. With little practice, you can cope it in a minute or so.
I love how all the pros discount this method because it’s not traditional and perfect to them. Wrong audience. Hats off to doing it differently and faster.
The only reason is houses expand and contract with seasonal weather the mitre method will fail overtime and joints will open up
Thank you brother
I use a speed square and screws. This seems faster. Thanks.
This is a great idea!👍
Thanks!
I've been doing compound miters to compensate; this will be much easier and faster! Thank you.
Yessir!
Wow! I've worked with many top level finish carpenters over the years, and I consider myself highly skilled at installing base. I've never seen any of them do compound miters for base.
As has been pointed out this is wrong.
A scribed joint ain’t complex.
Set your drop saw to 45 degrees cut.
This will give you the profile.
Turn it upside down, cut back the straight part of the scribe by a coupe of degrees, doesn’t have to that accurate.
Then get a coping saw, run your dirty thumb across the fiddly bit your going to cut, this will make the profile stand out better.
Then again back cut by about a degree to join the two cuts together.
Once done the back side will look a bit shabby but when you interface the two parts you won’t see this bit.
Now the reason for the back cut, give the skirting a solid belt with a hammer.
The scribed part will crush gently into the other part giving you a really nice joint.
What this bloke is doing is Mickey Mouse carpentry for bodgers.
Learn the craft and enjoy the outcome.
Ok
the first completed joint still had a very noticeable gap after nailing, whats up with that??
Excellent
Nice. Thanks, Dan.
You're welcome!
Caulk and paint makes a carpenter what he ain’t!
This is the first video of yours I’m watching… 1 minute in and everyone knows your hack skills and much. Much.. MUCH!… Greater than your finishing skills.
Buy 100 Popsicle sticks, get a free caulking gun.
the baseboard job in this video, can you please tell me specifically which caulk you used?... thank you
Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone.
@@StayHandy ALEX?... i love using it, i hate the result, it cracks so frequently or separates...
Been doing this for years, you can also use playing cards to set the thickness
Nice
neat trick- thx
Great tip. I installed trim in 800 Sq ft house a couple of months ago, wish I would have seen this video then
I'm glad caulk was invented, it can fix a lot of problems 😊
It sure can!
just don't use it to fill in on the trim gaps- it shrinks and looks terrible....
I dont set the joint in the miter upright, I set it up side down and the crack isnt there for some reason, and the joint fits perfect ;)
Perfect!
Putty and paint make a carpenter what he ain't!
Sounds about right.
Great tip, thank you, sir! 👍👍👍
You’re welcome! I hope you find it useful.
It's easier if you put some glue or caulk on the back of the popsicle stick so it stays in place better and it won't want to fall over when you let go.
That joint you nailed at 2:10 wouldn't pass my quality control standard.
For the every day person who has never done trim work going to make it easier for them. And tapping the base board trim before painting that will help you out with the painting. I have done both free hand and taping I prefer taping baseboard
Just use a miter gauge to measure the angle. It even tells you the saw setting. No guessing.
MDF does expand and contract
With some gap filler you don't need cope joints, it make a job look professionnal.
Wouldn’t this cause a gap at the top of the trim???
When it comes to the gap in the corner I say “caulk it” and go with it….
shows exactly why you SHOULD cope cut. you have gaps and you just added filler. Coping = no gaps and no pop stick.
I’m caulking it either way, so a tiny gap doesn’t matter
I was coping just fine, until I tried coping. Then not so much.
Coping is by far the best inside corner method. Stick the popsicle sticks in pudding cups and freeze them
I'm a carpenter, and I'm saying coping is for primadonnas, especially when you're trimming a basic suburban home with vinyl flooring.
Mitering, in this case will stand the test of time
Save your Collins Coping Foot for your crown
So glad to hear that all finish carpenters aren’t wasting their time!
All the carpenters in here can cope a joint but cant LISTEN😂
I use drywall shims.
Im unhappy by modern gappy installations. That space behind there is habitat for molds and mites and worse. I cut things like this by hand carefully with cheap dovetail saw and then back-butter everything with plaster before squashing into position. Zero hidden space. Perfection. Every time. Why isnt same required by code for habitability.
Holy crap I just painstakingly put 1200’ of baseboards in. I could’ve used this two weeks ago 😂
Next time
Caulk solves all problems.
I used cardboard drywall shims last time.
Here I finally thought I found a solution until its said "unless you are using stain grade wood baseboard..." which is what im using. Hemlock trim stained in the garage before hand... so now im back to square one? The house is going on 30 years old. Bedroom was redone with wood floor. I can't use the popsicle trick after all?
You can, you probably just want to cope the corners
Must be one hell of a large Popsicle with a stick like those ones... or could they be tongue depressors?
Great video Dan! I would say that those pieces are more tongue depressors than popsicle sticks.
Sure
Copping is far better
Ok
Coping is much better I have been a carpenter for 30 years just don't nail the bottom on an inside corner and let coped side push the bottom where it needs to be
Im using foam on the corners
Packing the baseboard out just creates an ugly gap on the top edge which is more visible which then has to be filled with caulk
A graduate of the school of Halfassadry.
Sure
I use drywall shims instead of Popsicle sticks