comes in many profiles.
Base moulding ties the wall finish to the floor finish and hides any gaps in flooring materials along the wall. Moulding, also called baseboard, often has a profile machined into the face instead of being just flat. The profile is selected to match other trim items in the building like the door and window frames. Base moulding often needs to be matched to historically correct profiles when being replaced in renovation of historic buildings.
Medium Density Fiberboard
Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is made with wood fibers that have been glued under pressure and heat. The material is nearly perfect and no knots, cracks and other flaws hamper installation and add to waste. The material is also quite flexible, so if there are uneven surfaces along the base of the wall MDF will easily conform to the irregularities without breaking. MDF comes already primed and it readily accepts paint. MDF can also be machined into many different profiles and can be cut with a custom profile.
Wood
Many kinds of wood make good baseboard material, especially for baseboards that will be stained instead of painted. The wood grain and wood character is brought out with stain and is particularly sought after in interior designs that use many wood features like Craftsman style.
Hemlock, pine, cedar and oak are common woods used for base moulding. Pine is the most widely used and as a soft wood it is easy to work with. You can buy wood moulding with several different profiles and you can also have it cut with custom profiles. Lumber that is 3/4 of an inch thick is used in various widths for baseboard. Sometimes the contractor will have the lumber milled with a rounded top edge right at the job site. A router with the appropriate bit makes quick work of turning a plain piece of lumber into a base moulding with a rounded profile at its top.
Tile
Tile is most often used for base moulding in rooms that have tile floors. The tiles used are usually smaller versions of the floor tiles. You can order extra floor tiles and cut them into thirds to use them for baseboard tiles. This technique adds variety to the baseboard theme by using accent tiles near doorways or at regular intervals around the room.
Cove Base
This vinyl baseboard comes in 6-inch, 4-inch and 2 1/2-inch heights. Some manufacturers offer an amazing range of colors while others stick to the basics. This is a tough material that resists scuffing, scratching, gouging and many chemicals. You can buy this material with a paper backing that peels off to reveal adhesive, or you can buy the adhesive and apply it to the base before installing.
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