Quarter round is the part of your floor trim that sits directly on the floor, with one flat side down, the adjacent flat side up against the wall or base trim, and a facing out. If you look at it from the end, it's literally a one-quarter slice of a circle (thus the name). Properly cutting quarter round at the corners isn't difficult, but it is something that has to be done right to avoid spaces at your joints. The process for cutting outside corners is fundamentally different from that of inside corners.
Instructions
Outside Corners
1. Measure the wall starting at the outside corner. Transfer the measurement to a piece of quarter round longer than the wall, marking on the vertical back side of the piece. Mark both ends from within the span of the piece, not starting at one end, so there is excess trim on either side of your marks.
2. Set the piece on your miter saw, in the position it will go on the floor (one flat side down, the other flat side against the saw guide, and the rounded front facing out). Make sure the mark on the back vertical side of the piece is lined up with the saw blade.
3. Swivel your saw blade 45 degrees out from line, so it angles through the curved front of the piece, making the front longer than the back. Make the cut. Cut the opposite end as needed.
4. Repeat the process for the adjoining cut on the other side of the outside corner, cutting the opposite end and swiveling the blade in the opposite direction. The two 45-degree cuts should meet at the outside corner to form 90 degrees. Secure the trim with your trim nailer.
Inside Corners
5. Set one straight-cut piece on the floor along one wall, with the end butting up against the adjacent wall. Set a second piece along the adjacent wall, with the end butting up against the side of the first piece.
6. Trace the shape of the second piece onto the face of the first piece with your pencil. You should end up with a curved line drawn over the curved front surface of the first piece, right at the end.
7. Cut out the marked curve with your coping saw at the end of the first piece. Hand-buff the cut surface with sandpaper to smooth it out.
8. Set the second piece in place with the end butting up against the wall. Set the first piece against it, with the curved cut of the first piece lying over the curve of the second piece. If the fit isn't tight, buff the curved cut more some more with your sandpaper as needed.
9. Cut the other ends of both pieces as needed. Secure then in place with your trim nailer.
Tags: first piece, with your, flat side, second piece, butting against, curved front