Who made these names for this crap. Give me a break. Caulk? I mean cmon man, you said nice caulk hella times lol, but still I can’t even say the word it anybody because I feel crazy. Maybe you could make a new word and new brand of caulk so we can say it normally
Just install the baseboards correctly. I've lived in 8 houses built from 1923, 1955, 1959, 1967, ... and NONE of those houses had baseboards that 'floated' above the floor. Its so sad that trades have gotten so shoddy that using caulk to fix poor workmanship is promoted.
@@hankbrittain1583Yes Sir Its called “ a little caulk and paint will make it what it aint “ and only in the USA do homeowners think they have to caulk everything that has a little gap or even a big one. Caulking is supposed to be 1 about the Seal
You got all the tricks covered! The thing I didn't hear you mention is that when installing new flooring, the baseboard should always be adjusted up/down to get the desired gap between the flooring on bottom of the baseboard. Typically, we use a sheet of cardstock about 1/16" thick placed onto the new flooring the set the baseboard onto the cardstock it provides a proper standoff. Makes for a nice tight gap that can be caulked in one or two passes. Also caulk the top between baseboard and wall to take up any gaps. (Lots of experience rehabbing rentals replacing baseboards.) Bathrooms & Laundy-rooms always get caulking. You're providing good information here, good job!
Rehabs and rentals differ from residential and new construction. there's always different standards and practices. I personally would never caulk the bottom of a baseboard.
@@bengunnett3432till ur fighting poisonous spider ur next door neighbor is collecting that got released and moved in to ur brand new to u 20k+ home i dont think u understand our problem😅
My daughters room had earwigs coming in by the dozens almost daily through the gaps. I watched a video and bought the caulk you are using and sealed her entire room. Its been months since she has seen an earwig or spider. Also months since I have been awakened in the middle of the night to kill something. I have began doing every outside facing wall. Her room is also much warmer in the winter.
I appreciate your video, very well done. We have a home in Florida and as much as I have gone to extremes to seal every nook and cranny I can find, I saw a very tiny juvenile cockroach make an appearance from underneath the quarter round in one of the rooms. I’m in the process of using your method. I did purchase the DAP Extreme Stretch. Your tips on caulking properly were very helpful. I didn’t know to very slightly cut the tip at an angle. I used to be that person who had a thick caulk line and made a mess when pressing down on it to smooth and help it adhere. I no longer hate caulking, lol. We do have a floating floor and I have no concerns with your method at all. The house is pretty much bug proof at this point. Thank you again!
I've been looking for the exact fix to my problem, and this video is it! We have a bedroom above a garage, and despite getting a new garage door, new windows, AND having the space between the floor and garage ceiling insulated, we still have problems with hot and cold air seeping in under the baseboard. I'm off to Home Depot tomorrow for the Dap Flex. Thanks for the great instructions.
Use a damp rag or sponge and go over the caulking - it will make it look and clean up any of those little trails. Doing it this way means no need for tape. I use to be a finish installer and this how we did all our finish caulking.
That's exactly what did with my hallway and staircase panelling. I saved so much time and got perfect results. First time I've seen someone else share this because i actually came up with that hack myself lol
I'm glad I watched this today because I have to do a lot of caulking, and you really helped me out with my upcoming projects. Thanks. Keep up the great work 👍
Literally did caulking in my bathroom yesterday! Wish this video came out the day before lol. I forgot to use tape so made a bit of a mess. Appreciate your home vids! Respect 🙏 🇵🇭🇨🇦
I had to use a shoe mold because of the large gap but I still caulked the shoe. My walls in some areas are wavy so the caulk really helps blend those areas. My home is older as well and stuff settles and what not. Thanks for your videos.
Nice idea to use stretch caulk. I caulked the baseboard to LVP transition in my basement and a bonus room and not had any problem with regular caulk, but next time I'll use stretch.
I caulked the gap from the drywall to the subfloor first to keep bugs out. Then I caulked the baseboard to my vinyl floor to keep water from seeping under it in the bathroom.
You don't want moisture dripping down and pooling behind your wall if something goes wrong. Also the slight airflow helps keep moisture down and helps prevent mold and mildew. Also you don't want a room air tight because breathing is a good thing. Probably helps with radon and other heavy gasses too.
When my father had the linoleum floor replaced with new, the installers used caulk along the bottom of the bathtub, but not the other walls. Speaking of bugs, will you make a video on sealing house against them ?
I installed a snap lock floating floor recently. The manufacturer directed to maintain a 3/8" gap at the wall which for me meant the baseboard since I did not remove it. I decided to add a 11/16 quarter round so I could bend it up and down tight to the floor. I caulked the quarter round to the baseboard but not to the floor to eliminate possible buckling from restricting expansion of the flooring.
Also you can consider using a clear caulk especially if you have to go around different areas that don't match to create a water seal such as on bathroom floors.
Anytime that I've done a reno in my home that had the baseboard removed, I ALWAYS caulk under the drywall in THAT gap BEFORE the base trim goes up.I seal up interior walls as well do to the attic. Any chance to seal up the house is taken. I can store birdseed (in a plastic tub)and grass seed in my basement, which is a walkout, without any pests coming in. I haven't even had ants in here this summer. Only the occasional "stink bug" that finds a way through a screen.
Good attention to detail and humility understanding subjective nature of details. Enjoy your presentations and know you would be a great coworker (not a prima donna). I have caulked the edge of floating floors kept back from wall plates to allow expansion and contraction before the base to keep water from getting under the flooring. I have rarely caulked the base but like your concept of a 'mini' quarter round. One way I once caulked a base was to use matching color to base, taped the floor so tape was lined up with base front, then used a putty knife to smooth the caulk so the base looked like it was scribed to floor. Came out very nice and next visit to house will see how it held up. Anyways, great work and clear commentary stimulating thought.
You can never say running caulk on a floor is a code violation because codes depend on the country. I use builder's clear glue for wood baseboard and builder's white glue for painted baseboard. You run a thin line and then use a damp sponge so the caulk like is between the baseboard and the floor. Then, I take a wooden skewer - the kind you use for grilling meat on a stick - and I use the pointed end to run along the bottom of the baseboard, which pushes the glue back about 1 milimeter. Using a clean damp sponge, wipe any excess glue that you see on the floor and baseboard. Why insert glue??? Here's the reasons: 1. Eliminate dust build up. People dust furniture and think it's clean. They're correct. But on your floor, if you ever decide to wash it, moisture will get between the baseboard and the floor if there is no glue between them. That moisture will get absorbed by the glue. Over time, it will create a sticky hard layer and now you have a petri dish for growing bacteria. 2. Protect the edges of laminate plank floor. It doesn't matter if you have hardwood plank, a floating hardwood floor, laminate. There should always be a space of 1 cm (1/2 inch) between the edge of the floor and the wall to allow expansion. The only exception is if you glue your flooring when you install it. If you put a glue layer as I described above, it will not stop a floating floor from expanding normally during spring and fall, and the same is true for all other plank flooring. What this glue line does is keep moisture from accumulating on the floor under the baseboard. Moisture can come from cleaning your floor, accidently dropping a glass or cup filled with your favorite beverage, or a pet from accidentally peeing on the floor. That said, I'm a master carpenter with 25+ years experience. I have a Finnish birch plank floating floor in my home made by Karelia Finland. It's been there for 15 years and it still looks like new. I ran the floor flat between the doorways because I don't like stepping over a wooden threshold inside my home. No problems with the floor. All my vinyl floors in other rooms have baseboard or I put the same glue line. No problems. in closing, there should be ZERO CONTROVERSY about a glue line under the baseboard and the floor. It not only protects both the baseboard and the floor from moisture accumulation, it prevents build-up dust that eventually absorbs moisture, creating a hygiene problem. If you want to test whether there is a dust layer between your baseboard and the floor, fill a small spay bottle with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and spray a small section of your baseboard right where it comes to the floor. Spray several times, so the alcohol can go under the baseboard and come back out where you can see it. Then, take white toilet paper or keenex, lay it flat on the alcohol and then pick it up to look at the side that laid on the floor. If it's not pristine white, then you have dust under you baseboard and probably in the crack between the floor and the wall, if you laid down plank or parquet flooring. The alcohol will kill most bacteria, bleach kills just about everything if you let it sit for 10 minutes, but who has time to do this? For all the above reasons, I put a hidden glue line and after living in 7 countries during my lifetime on 3 continents, I've never run into a building code that says glue between baseboard and floor is illegal. In Japan, it is customary to lay wood baseboard precisely on a wooden floor. Japanese have very good carpentry methods and so a glue line would not be necessary in a modern Japan house with a wooden floor.
Previous owner, here, used silicon caulk on entire place 🙄 ... trying to remove it so i can do proper one. Lots of work, thanks for the tips since I have no idea how to do it and was using WAY too much using the cutter in the gun.
Yeah man, whenever I am replacing a floor, I use expanding foam insulation in the corner where the floor, wall base plate, and drywall approximate. Additionally, if I am installing a floating floor that has a 1/4” or 5-6mm gap, I sprinkle in a combination of Quick Bayt fly pesticide (granular) and boric acid. If for some reason there is a slight gap or something I missed with the foam, those bugs have to run the gauntlet😆. If you ain’t using Big Stretch, you might wanna look into it. Best caulking ever made! Kinda a pain to paint, but those reappearing cracks are gone for good if applied correctly.
What you do is scribe your baseboard with your scribes or compass. Pick the biggest gap on your baseboard to the floor and run your scribes through the whole piece, take it to the table saw put a bevel on the table saw and free hand cut it. If you have rough saw marks on your piece take a sander or sand paper and clean it up. The bevel is extremely important and will make it look tighter.
…….or adhere the shoe molding using a natural or white silicone. I’d also caulk the baseboard first before placing the baseboard over it and caulk it too. In LA Ca it’s required everywhere to prevent roaches form entering. Also, liberally sprinkle Boric Acid within the walls by drilling a small hole and squirt the boric acid from its applicator into the hole. Roaches die at once from this wonderful powder.
Actually watching this b/c we got "cluster flies" this year. They're a fly that comes into your home for the winter. And they're crawling out from under our baseboards by the hundreds. All my years here, and I've never had this happen.
If your floor is light coloured or white and you don’t caulk the floor to baseboard gap, eventually you will be seeing a dirt line in the crack. Even if you wash or vacuum the floor regularly, dirt is still going to build up over time and you will see it.
In my basement we have insulated subfloor panels with vinyl planks on top. The subfloor manufacturer (Barricade) advises against caulking the bottom of the baseboards so that there's a bit of airflow reaching the concrete that the subfloor sits on. Maybe one idea is to caulk the gap and then cut it after it dries to allow some airflow. The caulk will at least visually still fill the gap and the cut might be small enough to keep the bigger insects out. Just not sure if such a cut will be significant enough to maintain the airflow, but I figure some baseboards can be pretty tight to the floor.
Do it. My wife likes to use a lot of water when she mops. Many times she just soaks the floor, uses a broom and cleaner to scrub the floor, and then uses a wet vac to pick up all the water. The result is a very clean house with extensive mold growing behind the baseboard. So, either use bull nose tile for a baseboard, or use caulk.
in the begining of the video you are 100 percent right i have no bugs spiders nor ants ever since i pulled carpet and all base boards and then layed laminate wood flooring ,baseboards ,and clear caulk top and bottom , boom all insects gone sweet sweet sweet i spray my two windows and around my door n my room that leads outside.
if you are installing new baseboard, does it make sense to apply to the bottom of the baseboard before putting in place so that the caulk would be under the baseboard instead of on the front edge of the bottom of the baseboard?
I caulked the gap between the trim and tile floor in my laundry room. Had one too many times where leaks occurred. Caulking at least contained the water in the laundry room floor above the tile. Other side of the back wall is my TV room with LVP flooring.
quarter round looks so dated, this is a good fix. In Florida, bugs are an issue no matter where you live, especially in the rainy season. Once a palmetto bug flies at your face, you'll do anything.
You should shape the tip of the caulk tube tip to match the angle being caulked. Use a profile kit and you dont even have to tape or get your fingers in the caulk...
On hardwood and tile floors I have put down a bead of caulk and installed quarter-round right over top of the wet caulk. It gives a nice finished appearance after being painted without having to worry about smearing caulk on the flooring.
@@forrestegan Yup. “Great controversy!” “Code violation!” Suggests there’s a ridiculous code violation we haven’t heard of, so we watch to confirm. He doesn’t even identify anything, just says it’s your house, you can do whatever you want. Total clickbait. I blocked his channel.
@@toecutter1015 Usually I just ignore this kind of amateur content/weird technique, but the clickbait was a piss off. I’m in Canada, codes are very similar and address similar safety and other concerns. I’ve been surprised before, but this sounded silly. It was.
The thumbnail points at him caulking and has a big sign that says "CODE VIOLATION!" But the only time he addresses it is by saying one sentence at 9:28 "I don't think there's a violation just by applying caulk on your baseboard." He does this a lot with his videos and it's a real shame to be honest.
I even searched the transcript for "code" and "violation" with no results. Then I manually checked at 9:28 and it has "violation" just like you say. So two fails in one - granted I rarely expect google to write good software
No you should never caulk the the bottom of baseboards. The reason is when water gets behind the caulk and paint into your walls the crack at the bottom of the baseboards is the only place for that water to escape. Water gets locked in, baseboards swell, paint bubbles, caulk pulls away from the wall. It's just bad practice. I've been in the trades for twenty years and I've seen these problems first hand. Plus it looks ugly after the caulk starts to yellow.
@reefhog water gets into walls in all kinds of ways. More than I care to give examples for. Especially in kitchens and bathrooms. Every time I've seen a bottom caulked trim board in a bathroom more than a year old, the trim is always ruined and expanded. This doesn't happen on my installs specifically because I don't caulknthe bottom of my base. When you consider Capillary action and hydrostatic pressure, there needs to be a way for the materials to deal with the changes. It's kind of like expansion gaps. Can you install a floor without them, of course, but you're setting yourself and the customer up for failure.
@@Multi4204life Sounds like your building regulations are poor. In Australia, bathrooms are usually told, and extensive waterproofing is required before tiling. I can’t remember seeing skirting boards in a bathroom. If you do end up with water inside the walls, skirting boards being sealed to the floor is the least of your worries. You’re going to be pulling the walls apart regardless. Been in the “trades” for forty years and my father was a carpenter, so I’ve been around the building industry for my whole life.
@@reefhogThere is no reason to caulk the bottom of base in bathrooms in my area. First of all alot of our bathrooms are getting lvp nowadays. Don't use mdf in bathrooms unless your very cheap, it takes a pretty continuous water problem to ruin hardwood and pine base, I've remodeled at least 50 bathrooms and water damage is almost always on the back walls of the tub and face of the tub where we do seal it, toilet and vanity would be the next areas NOT the other walls or baseboard in general so it's not a real problem to me. Alot of these bathrooms I've ripped apart have been 20+ years old and none have had extreme water damage so our codes in my area aren't too bad.
Everything you said sounds very logical. Do you live with the gaps or have a different solution? My hardwood floors meet plaster over brick walls. I've removed the trim and want to seal the cracks before installing quarter-round. But knowing me, I'll come up with some solution that doesn't age well or has other unintended consequences.
I have seen LVP and laminate flooring failures due to locking the floor in with caulk. I suggest calling the customer support line for the flooring manufacturer to ask what they recommend before you caulk.
@@JP-yd4yl You would think so right? And that sounds like something I would say until, I've actually seen floors that were caulked lift. I cut the caulking out and like magic, after a couple of days it was back down. Again, I suggest contacting the manufacturer before caulking the baseboards to a floating floor.
@@JP-yd4yl Could be. I've seen it happen to both LVP and Laminate flooring. I imagine the area the house is in might play a part as well. Low or high humidity. Subfloor too .OSB, Plywood,T&G or slab. It was over slab that I saw it pop up. New home construction.
It voided our warranty - these warranties on floors is for the mfg'er not the consumer. We had several planks break at the seams and filed a claim and the claim was denied.
I use a section from a vertical blind. Hold it a 45 degree angle or wedge it under the board. They are usually pretty long and if you have a few you can clear a room pretty quick. Wipe it later ready for the next use.
I do have a question about the tip of the caulking tube. Do I cut it straight across to open, or at an angle, and if at an angle, about what angle is best and how much of the tip to cut? Ok, so I guess that turned into a multipart question! Lol Looking forward to answers and tips. Thank you so much!
This is a video we uaed for referece, had some good tips. He has a lot of good videos too. His trim fix video helped th-cam.com/video/cQNIv2QqP00/w-d-xo.htmlsi=47_jx49bgial3taJ
I personally think caulking the baseboards to the floor looks cheap and ugly. I prefer to install a thin "shoe trim" along the bottom of the baseboards. This shoe trim will slightly bend to close any small gaps you may have. The end results look really clean and proper.
@@number1pappy Because you think a piece of trim looks better than a bead of sealant. The trim is what looks ugly, and older people tend to think an older way of doing something is always better.
@reefhog lol! So let me get this straight. Are you saying a bead of caulk looks better than an actual piece of trim? (Nodding head with a sarcastic look on my face) ok.....so just for example....say your trimming out a marble floor and your installing base trim ,your saying a "bead of caulk " is going to look better than an actual trim peice next to the marble floor? Interesting!! You know, maybe just maybe you're so used to cheap building methods that any high-end quality building methods just appear wrong to you. I'm certainly not 90 ,I'm in my mid-50s . Oh, and my youngest son is a finish trim carpenter. He concurs! I noticed you're in Australia. Maybe this is the way yall do things over there. Or is it under there? Lol! I don't know! However, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Cheers...
Got a bug plague in my new apartment (new building) they keep going in the fking baseboards to hide and lay eggs.. im just gonna do it. Thanks for the video
Are there any brands of caulk that are better in regards to ants eating their way through the caulk? Also do heated tile flooring make a difference in the type of caulk used? We have in floor heating under our tile in our kitchen, hallway, dining room and powder room. Also, is it safe under a gas fireplace (floor)?
never use clear between baseboard and floor because after it dries, the crack still shows up and looks like it was never caulked, which I do not prefer. It is also hard to tell what has been caulked and what has not!
How would you go about sealing the airflow between an upstairs apartment and the downstairs unit? As an upstairs dweller I can attest to the air flow issues: when my former neighbors lived below their cigarette smoke came into my unit. After several years they moved and the new neighbors don't smoke. My breathing has really improved! But just in case I would like to seal the air passages. Is it possible?
Thank you for the video. I just layed down engineered hardwood for the first time and I'm very proud of my results. I'm prepping to place shoe molding/qtr round and wanted to know if I should place this on the qtr round as well? And I just subscribed. I have upcoming reno projects so I hope you add a video on updating door moldings. I'm looking for a video to transition from traditional buildergrade molding to Modern farmhouse door molding.
I would actually caulk the wall first before I did the baseboard because it's so hard to paint and cock gets really dirty quickly. Everything sticks to it. You can also buy flexible. Baseboard so that you won't have any gaps and caulking is not needed at all
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Who made these names for this crap. Give me a break. Caulk? I mean cmon man, you said nice caulk hella times lol, but still I can’t even say the word it anybody because I feel crazy. Maybe you could make a new word and new brand of caulk so we can say it normally
Just install the baseboards correctly. I've lived in 8 houses built from 1923, 1955, 1959, 1967, ... and NONE of those houses had baseboards that 'floated' above the floor. Its so sad that trades have gotten so shoddy that using caulk to fix poor workmanship is promoted.
@@hankbrittain1583Yes Sir Its called “ a little caulk and paint will make it what it aint “ and only in the USA do homeowners think they have to caulk everything that has a little gap or even a big one. Caulking is supposed to be 1 about the Seal
Thank you, SOMEONE GETS IT! Pesticide treatments alone won't keep bugs out!
Thank you! 🙏🏽
You got all the tricks covered! The thing I didn't hear you mention is that when installing new flooring, the baseboard should always be adjusted up/down to get the desired gap between the flooring on bottom of the baseboard. Typically, we use a sheet of cardstock about 1/16" thick placed onto the new flooring the set the baseboard onto the cardstock it provides a proper standoff. Makes for a nice tight gap that can be caulked in one or two passes. Also caulk the top between baseboard and wall to take up any gaps. (Lots of experience rehabbing rentals replacing baseboards.) Bathrooms & Laundy-rooms always get caulking. You're providing good information here, good job!
Rehabs and rentals differ from residential and new construction. there's always different standards and practices. I personally would never caulk the bottom of a baseboard.
@@bengunnett3432till ur fighting poisonous spider ur next door neighbor is collecting that got released and moved in to ur brand new to u 20k+ home i dont think u understand our problem😅
My daughters room had earwigs coming in by the dozens almost daily through the gaps. I watched a video and bought the caulk you are using and sealed her entire room. Its been months since she has seen an earwig or spider. Also months since I have been awakened in the middle of the night to kill something. I have began doing every outside facing wall. Her room is also much warmer in the winter.
I appreciate your video, very well done. We have a home in Florida and as much as I have gone to extremes to seal every nook and cranny I can find, I saw a very tiny juvenile cockroach make an appearance from underneath the quarter round in one of the rooms. I’m in the process of using your method. I did purchase the DAP Extreme Stretch. Your tips on caulking properly were very helpful. I didn’t know to very slightly cut the tip at an angle. I used to be that person who had a thick caulk line and made a mess when pressing down on it to smooth and help it adhere. I no longer hate caulking, lol. We do have a floating floor and I have no concerns with your method at all. The house is pretty much bug proof at this point. Thank you again!
Watching from south sudan 🇸🇸 thanks so much I appreciate your work ❤
Just got my caulk caps today. No more wasted caulk. Thanks for the tip.
lol ziplock and tape do the same shit
I've been looking for the exact fix to my problem, and this video is it! We have a bedroom above a garage, and despite getting a new garage door, new windows, AND having the space between the floor and garage ceiling insulated, we still have problems with hot and cold air seeping in under the baseboard. I'm off to Home Depot tomorrow for the Dap Flex. Thanks for the great instructions.
Use a damp rag or sponge and go over the caulking - it will make it look and clean up any of those little trails. Doing it this way means no need for tape. I use to be a finish installer and this how we did all our finish caulking.
That's exactly what did with my hallway and staircase panelling. I saved so much time and got perfect results. First time I've seen someone else share this because i actually came up with that hack myself lol
Saint
I'm glad I watched this today because I have to do a lot of caulking, and you really helped me out with my upcoming projects. Thanks. Keep up the great work 👍
Literally did caulking in my bathroom yesterday! Wish this video came out the day before lol. I forgot to use tape so made a bit of a mess. Appreciate your home vids! Respect 🙏 🇵🇭🇨🇦
I had to use a shoe mold because of the large gap but I still caulked the shoe. My walls in some areas are wavy so the caulk really helps blend those areas. My home is older as well and stuff settles and what not.
Thanks for your videos.
That extreme stretch caulking which I’ve only seen at Home
Depot is unmatched I love it
Same here! Love it!
Nice idea to use stretch caulk. I caulked the baseboard to LVP transition in my basement and a bonus room and not had any problem with regular caulk, but next time I'll use stretch.
I hate gaps so I will caulk anything to make it look streamlined and clean. Thanks for the tips!
I caulked the gap from the drywall to the subfloor first to keep bugs out. Then I caulked the baseboard to my vinyl floor to keep water from seeping under it in the bathroom.
Yea I don’t understand this why not just caulk the drywall to the subfloor?
You don't want moisture dripping down and pooling behind your wall if something goes wrong. Also the slight airflow helps keep moisture down and helps prevent mold and mildew. Also you don't want a room air tight because breathing is a good thing. Probably helps with radon and other heavy gasses too.
When my father had the linoleum floor replaced with new, the installers used caulk along the bottom of the bathtub, but not the other walls.
Speaking of bugs, will you make a video on sealing house against them ?
Jump scare with that spider coming out!! eeekk!!
Great video! You've given me the confidence to just get it done!!
Sorry for the scare! 😅🙏🏽…I’m glad I could be of help👍🏽😊
I hope that you didn't 💩your pants or worse, someone else's pants!
Cold air leaks on outside walls is another reason to seal baseboard to floor gaps. I used window/door insulation foam on my baseboards.
Great video, I’m glad I watched it before buying caulking. I really like the adding water to your fingers trick too!
I installed a snap lock floating floor recently. The manufacturer directed to maintain a 3/8" gap at the wall which for me meant the baseboard since I did not remove it. I decided to add a 11/16 quarter round so I could bend it up and down tight to the floor. I caulked the quarter round to the baseboard but not to the floor to eliminate possible buckling from restricting expansion of the flooring.
Also you can consider using a clear caulk especially if you have to go around different areas that don't match to create a water seal such as on bathroom floors.
Clear caulk works if waterproofing is your only concern. You're still going to see the gap though which is kinda ugly.
All exposed chalking is ugly after a little time
Get paintable caulk run painters tape on the floor and paint the caulk same color as baseboard @anthonyhall4427
Anytime that I've done a reno in my home that had the baseboard removed, I ALWAYS caulk under the drywall in THAT gap BEFORE the base trim goes up.I seal up interior walls as well do to the attic. Any chance to seal up the house is taken. I can store birdseed (in a plastic tub)and grass seed in my basement, which is a walkout, without any pests coming in. I haven't even had ants in here this summer. Only the occasional "stink bug" that finds a way through a screen.
A big thank you for these videos. I've learned quite a bit of super helpful stuff in a short, easy to digest format. Appreciate it :)
Helps with ants, spiders, and cockroach problems 😂❤
Yes! Especially ants 🐜 👍🏽😊
@@FixThisHouseand spiders😮
The main reason for doing this is to stop water creeping under the skirting.
If you do this they will come in through the electrical sockets. 😂
It doesn’t fix the bug problems. If anything it will make it worse. You ll never see them so not aware.
Good attention to detail and humility understanding subjective nature of details. Enjoy your presentations and know you would be a great coworker (not a prima donna). I have caulked the edge of floating floors kept back from wall plates to allow expansion and contraction before the base to keep water from getting under the flooring. I have rarely caulked the base but like your concept of a 'mini' quarter round. One way I once caulked a base was to use matching color to base, taped the floor so tape was lined up with base front, then used a putty knife to smooth the caulk so the base looked like it was scribed to floor. Came out very nice and next visit to house will see how it held up. Anyways, great work and clear commentary stimulating thought.
That's a neat way to detail caulk, you're running those lines like welding beads. Good job, subscribed.
You can never say running caulk on a floor is a code violation because codes depend on the country. I use builder's clear glue for wood baseboard and builder's white glue for painted baseboard. You run a thin line and then use a damp sponge so the caulk like is between the baseboard and the floor. Then, I take a wooden skewer - the kind you use for grilling meat on a stick - and I use the pointed end to run along the bottom of the baseboard, which pushes the glue back about 1 milimeter. Using a clean damp sponge, wipe any excess glue that you see on the floor and baseboard.
Why insert glue??? Here's the reasons:
1. Eliminate dust build up. People dust furniture and think it's clean. They're correct. But on your floor, if you ever decide to wash it, moisture will get between the baseboard and the floor if there is no glue between them. That moisture will get absorbed by the glue. Over time, it will create a sticky hard layer and now you have a petri dish for growing bacteria.
2. Protect the edges of laminate plank floor. It doesn't matter if you have hardwood plank, a floating hardwood floor, laminate. There should always be a space of 1 cm (1/2 inch) between the edge of the floor and the wall to allow expansion. The only exception is if you glue your flooring when you install it. If you put a glue layer as I described above, it will not stop a floating floor from expanding normally during spring and fall, and the same is true for all other plank flooring. What this glue line does is keep moisture from accumulating on the floor under the baseboard. Moisture can come from cleaning your floor, accidently dropping a glass or cup filled with your favorite beverage, or a pet from accidentally peeing on the floor.
That said, I'm a master carpenter with 25+ years experience. I have a Finnish birch plank floating floor in my home made by Karelia Finland. It's been there for 15 years and it still looks like new. I ran the floor flat between the doorways because I don't like stepping over a wooden threshold inside my home. No problems with the floor. All my vinyl floors in other rooms have baseboard or I put the same glue line. No problems.
in closing, there should be ZERO CONTROVERSY about a glue line under the baseboard and the floor. It not only protects both the baseboard and the floor from moisture accumulation, it prevents build-up dust that eventually absorbs moisture, creating a hygiene problem. If you want to test whether there is a dust layer between your baseboard and the floor, fill a small spay bottle with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and spray a small section of your baseboard right where it comes to the floor. Spray several times, so the alcohol can go under the baseboard and come back out where you can see it. Then, take white toilet paper or keenex, lay it flat on the alcohol and then pick it up to look at the side that laid on the floor. If it's not pristine white, then you have dust under you baseboard and probably in the crack between the floor and the wall, if you laid down plank or parquet flooring. The alcohol will kill most bacteria, bleach kills just about everything if you let it sit for 10 minutes, but who has time to do this?
For all the above reasons, I put a hidden glue line and after living in 7 countries during my lifetime on 3 continents, I've never run into a building code that says glue between baseboard and floor is illegal. In Japan, it is customary to lay wood baseboard precisely on a wooden floor. Japanese have very good carpentry methods and so a glue line would not be necessary in a modern Japan house with a wooden floor.
Previous owner, here, used silicon caulk on entire place 🙄 ... trying to remove it so i can do proper one. Lots of work, thanks for the tips since I have no idea how to do it and was using WAY too much using the cutter in the gun.
Yeah man, whenever I am replacing a floor, I use expanding foam insulation in the corner where the floor, wall base plate, and drywall approximate. Additionally, if I am installing a floating floor that has a 1/4” or 5-6mm gap, I sprinkle in a combination of Quick Bayt fly pesticide (granular) and boric acid. If for some reason there is a slight gap or something I missed with the foam, those bugs have to run the gauntlet😆. If you ain’t using Big Stretch, you might wanna look into it. Best caulking ever made! Kinda a pain to paint, but those reappearing cracks are gone for good if applied correctly.
Your explanations and tips are very good. Keep up the good advise for us DIYers
Thanks for the detailed demo for those of us that have never done these jobs !!
Much appreciated !!
I like to use the Kramer profiling tool to spread the caulk cleanly and never mask if the floor is smooth.
What you do is scribe your baseboard with your scribes or compass. Pick the biggest gap on your baseboard to the floor and run your scribes through the whole piece, take it to the table saw put a bevel on the table saw and free hand cut it. If you have rough saw marks on your piece take a sander or sand paper and clean it up. The bevel is extremely important and will make it look tighter.
…….or adhere the shoe molding using a natural or white silicone. I’d also caulk the baseboard first before placing the baseboard over it and caulk it too. In LA Ca it’s required everywhere to prevent roaches form entering. Also, liberally sprinkle Boric Acid within the walls by drilling a small hole and squirt the boric acid from its applicator into the hole. Roaches die at once from this wonderful powder.
If doing multiple passes don't use a soapy finger until the finish pass or the silicone won't adhere to the previously laid surface.
Actually watching this b/c we got "cluster flies" this year. They're a fly that comes into your home for the winter. And they're crawling out from under our baseboards by the hundreds.
All my years here, and I've never had this happen.
That caulk cap to keep caulk from drying out is cool.
They should come with the caulk when you buy it
If your floor is light coloured or white and you don’t caulk the floor to baseboard gap, eventually you will be seeing a dirt line in the crack. Even if you wash or vacuum the floor regularly, dirt is still going to build up over time and you will see it.
certainly helps to keep bugs out , but really helpful to keep cold drafts out in Montana !
In my basement we have insulated subfloor panels with vinyl planks on top. The subfloor manufacturer (Barricade) advises against caulking the bottom of the baseboards so that there's a bit of airflow reaching the concrete that the subfloor sits on. Maybe one idea is to caulk the gap and then cut it after it dries to allow some airflow. The caulk will at least visually still fill the gap and the cut might be small enough to keep the bigger insects out. Just not sure if such a cut will be significant enough to maintain the airflow, but I figure some baseboards can be pretty tight to the floor.
I was breaking my head on home depot not finding the right answer. . I just moved to a descent house and plenty of bugs are coming in. Thank you
I’m glad I could be of help! 🙏🏽😊
I have bedbugs, so hopefully, this helps eliminate them.. I never did understand why no one ever completely seals walls to the flooring.
Do it. My wife likes to use a lot of water when she mops. Many times she just soaks the floor, uses a broom and cleaner to scrub the floor, and then uses a wet vac to pick up all the water. The result is a very clean house with extensive mold growing behind the baseboard. So, either use bull nose tile for a baseboard, or use caulk.
Love your videos, precise, informative and real. Thank you
Thank you so much for the love and support! 👍🏽😊
As always. Very helpful tip. Love the caulk caps as well
I’m glad I could be of help! 🙏🏽😊
in the begining of the video you are 100 percent right i have no bugs spiders nor ants ever since i pulled carpet and all base boards and then layed laminate wood flooring ,baseboards ,and clear caulk top and bottom , boom all insects gone sweet sweet sweet i spray my two windows and around my door n my room that leads outside.
I always learn things on yoir channel, and also feel you address concerns I have. Thanks for sharing!
Good info 👍. This never occurred to me
I’m glad I could shed light 👍🏽🙏🏽😊
That’s a solid looking rubber for your caulk!
Great video. Just a pet peeve of mine.....it's eSpecially.....not eXspecially. Thanks for the great tips.
if you are installing new baseboard, does it make sense to apply to the bottom of the baseboard before putting in place so that the caulk would be under the baseboard instead of on the front edge of the bottom of the baseboard?
I caulked the gap between the trim and tile floor in my laundry room. Had one too many times where leaks occurred. Caulking at least contained the water in the laundry room floor above the tile. Other side of the back wall is my TV room with LVP flooring.
Excellent1 as ARNOLD would say " I'll be back!". Great job.
Had that question in mind... thanks...
Gorgeous finish!!
Smooth, great video thanks, looks great! Definitely like the tape look better, makes it look like it is machine produced.
Thanks brother for sharing excellent informative video JazakAllah Khair God bless you Thanks again
quarter round looks so dated, this is a good fix. In Florida, bugs are an issue no matter where you live, especially in the rainy season. Once a palmetto bug flies at your face, you'll do anything.
Fantastic insights
Thank you so much! 🙏🏽😊
Excellent excellent video but the spider shock wasn't necessary.
Thank you so much! Sorry about that hehe 😅🙏🏽
Builder caulked my floating floor. After a few years it looks like crap as the floor has moved and broke the caulking loose.
You should make a video on how to caulk the baseboard when you have carpet instead of tiles.
Thanks buddy!! Much Appreciated ❤🎉
You should shape the tip of the caulk tube tip to match the angle being caulked. Use a profile kit and you dont even have to tape or get your fingers in the caulk...
On hardwood and tile floors I have put down a bead of caulk and installed quarter-round right over top of the wet caulk. It gives a nice finished appearance after being painted without having to worry about smearing caulk on the flooring.
doesn't it make changing out the baseboards/flooring a huge pain though?
Lol no code against this. Click bate.
Click Bait???
@@forrestegan Yup. “Great controversy!” “Code violation!” Suggests there’s a ridiculous code violation we haven’t heard of, so we watch to confirm. He doesn’t even identify anything, just says it’s your house, you can do whatever you want. Total clickbait. I blocked his channel.
@@markoshundefinitely not a code violation in the USA but it’s dumb clueless to waste money on caulking everywhere
@@toecutter1015 Usually I just ignore this kind of amateur content/weird technique, but the clickbait was a piss off.
I’m in Canada, codes are very similar and address similar safety and other concerns. I’ve been surprised before, but this sounded silly. It was.
@@markoshun I heard that Canada has No Standards like the USA and I see what they mean, rough looking work
The thumbnail points at him caulking and has a big sign that says "CODE VIOLATION!" But the only time he addresses it is by saying one sentence at 9:28 "I don't think there's a violation just by applying caulk on your baseboard." He does this a lot with his videos and it's a real shame to be honest.
Absolutely not a code violation
Exactly! HUGE FAIL! Instead of liking, and wasting my time, it’s thumbs down, and don’t recommend. Buh-bye!
I even searched the transcript for "code" and "violation" with no results. Then I manually checked at 9:28 and it has "violation" just like you say. So two fails in one - granted I rarely expect google to write good software
Caulk cap's great idea, but hilarious too 👍
Awesome!! Never knew about the caulk cap!!!!
Did I miss something about the code violation, what it says in the thumb nail?
It’s called clicbait
as a contractor i say yes it keeps drafts out and the bugs out,
i do it every chance i get
No you should never caulk the the bottom of baseboards. The reason is when water gets behind the caulk and paint into your walls the crack at the bottom of the baseboards is the only place for that water to escape. Water gets locked in, baseboards swell, paint bubbles, caulk pulls away from the wall. It's just bad practice. I've been in the trades for twenty years and I've seen these problems first hand. Plus it looks ugly after the caulk starts to yellow.
How is water getting in behind the wall ? Silicone is what you’re supposed to use, not caulk, because it’s flexible and doesn’t yellow.
@reefhog water gets into walls in all kinds of ways. More than I care to give examples for. Especially in kitchens and bathrooms. Every time I've seen a bottom caulked trim board in a bathroom more than a year old, the trim is always ruined and expanded. This doesn't happen on my installs specifically because I don't caulknthe bottom of my base. When you consider Capillary action and hydrostatic pressure, there needs to be a way for the materials to deal with the changes. It's kind of like expansion gaps. Can you install a floor without them, of course, but you're setting yourself and the customer up for failure.
@@Multi4204life Sounds like your building regulations are poor. In Australia, bathrooms are usually told, and extensive waterproofing is required before tiling. I can’t remember seeing skirting boards in a bathroom. If you do end up with water inside the walls, skirting boards being sealed to the floor is the least of your worries. You’re going to be pulling the walls apart regardless. Been in the “trades” for forty years and my father was a carpenter, so I’ve been around the building industry for my whole life.
@@reefhogThere is no reason to caulk the bottom of base in bathrooms in my area. First of all alot of our bathrooms are getting lvp nowadays. Don't use mdf in bathrooms unless your very cheap, it takes a pretty continuous water problem to ruin hardwood and pine base, I've remodeled at least 50 bathrooms and water damage is almost always on the back walls of the tub and face of the tub where we do seal it, toilet and vanity would be the next areas NOT the other walls or baseboard in general so it's not a real problem to me. Alot of these bathrooms I've ripped apart have been 20+ years old and none have had extreme water damage so our codes in my area aren't too bad.
Everything you said sounds very logical. Do you live with the gaps or have a different solution? My hardwood floors meet plaster over brick walls. I've removed the trim and want to seal the cracks before installing quarter-round. But knowing me, I'll come up with some solution that doesn't age well or has other unintended consequences.
That video was very helpful. Thank you 👍
I have seen LVP and laminate flooring failures due to locking the floor in with caulk. I suggest calling the customer support line for the flooring manufacturer to ask what they recommend before you caulk.
Caulk shouldn't lock it. It should flex with the floor
@@JP-yd4yl You would think so right? And that sounds like something I would say until, I've actually seen floors that were caulked lift. I cut the caulking out and like magic, after a couple of days it was back down. Again, I suggest contacting the manufacturer before caulking the baseboards to a floating floor.
@FIREGURU I caulked and painted it in my house. It's been 5 years no problem. Maybe the quality of the floor makes a difference
@@JP-yd4yl Could be. I've seen it happen to both LVP and Laminate flooring. I imagine the area the house is in might play a part as well. Low or high humidity. Subfloor too .OSB, Plywood,T&G or slab. It was over slab that I saw it pop up. New home construction.
It voided our warranty - these warranties on floors is for the mfg'er not the consumer. We had several planks break at the seams and filed a claim and the claim was denied.
It's a code violation to fart while you're working on a house. 👍
I use a section from a vertical blind. Hold it a 45 degree angle or wedge it under the board. They are usually pretty long and if you have a few you can clear a room pretty quick. Wipe it later ready for the next use.
I'm not watching this. But yes, you do caulk it, but use the right caulking. I'm a pro
I do have a question about the tip of the caulking tube. Do I cut it straight across to open, or at an angle, and if at an angle, about what angle is best and how much of the tip to cut?
Ok, so I guess that turned into a multipart question! Lol
Looking forward to answers and tips. Thank you so much!
This is a video we uaed for referece, had some good tips. He has a lot of good videos too. His trim fix video helped
th-cam.com/video/cQNIv2QqP00/w-d-xo.htmlsi=47_jx49bgial3taJ
What is in the spray?? Dishsoap and water???
good tips and very
good prep for a video. thanks!
Dang. Now I know why there's more spiders in the house than usual. Never thought about that. Thanks!
I personally think caulking the baseboards to the floor looks cheap and ugly. I prefer to install a thin "shoe trim" along the bottom of the baseboards. This shoe trim will slightly bend to close any small gaps you may have. The end results look really clean and proper.
Noooo...😱
Are you 90 ?
@reefhog ok you caught me in a boring moment. I'll bite. Why are you asking if I'm 90?
@@number1pappy Because you think a piece of trim looks better than a bead of sealant. The trim is what looks ugly, and older people tend to think an older way of doing something is always better.
@reefhog lol! So let me get this straight. Are you saying a bead of caulk looks better than an actual piece of trim? (Nodding head with a sarcastic look on my face) ok.....so just for example....say your trimming out a marble floor and your installing base trim ,your saying a "bead of caulk " is going to look better than an actual trim peice next to the marble floor? Interesting!! You know, maybe just maybe you're so used to cheap building methods that any high-end quality building methods just appear wrong to you. I'm certainly not 90 ,I'm in my mid-50s . Oh, and my youngest son is a finish trim carpenter. He concurs! I noticed you're in Australia. Maybe this is the way yall do things over there. Or is it under there? Lol! I don't know! However, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Cheers...
Got a bug plague in my new apartment (new building) they keep going in the fking baseboards to hide and lay eggs.. im just gonna do it. Thanks for the video
Are there any brands of caulk that are better in regards to ants eating their way through the caulk? Also do heated tile flooring make a difference in the type of caulk used? We have in floor heating under our tile in our kitchen, hallway, dining room and powder room. Also, is it safe under a gas fireplace (floor)?
LL Cool J doing house stuff. Cool!
Why the intro image says "code violation"?? There's no such a thing about it, and who cares???
Good video btw..
On a floating floor, what about running the caulk underneath the baseboard before installation?
never use clear between baseboard and floor because after it dries, the crack still shows up and looks like it was never caulked, which I do not prefer. It is also hard to tell what has been caulked and what has not!
How would you go about sealing the airflow between an upstairs apartment and the downstairs unit? As an upstairs dweller I can attest to the air flow issues: when my former neighbors lived below their cigarette smoke came into my unit. After several years they moved and the new neighbors don't smoke. My breathing has really improved! But just in case I would like to seal the air passages. Is it possible?
Thank you for the video. I just layed down engineered hardwood for the first time and I'm very proud of my results. I'm prepping to place shoe molding/qtr round and wanted to know if I should place this on the qtr round as well? And I just subscribed. I have upcoming reno projects so I hope you add a video on updating door moldings. I'm looking for a video to transition from traditional buildergrade molding to Modern farmhouse door molding.
The tape pulled the edge up, you gotta tool the caulking so it doesn’t overlap the tape edge then pull the tape
When I'm able, I push the baseboard down to the floor. Sometimes you can see it dip down so then you have to be a carpenter and scribe it. It happens
Calk condoms! Didn’t know about them. Thank you!!!
Exactly my thoughts!!
Good job
Thank you! 🙏🏽
How long wait to apply other layer
Hi! I wait about 30 to an hour for me 👍🏽😊
I would actually caulk the wall first before I did the baseboard because it's so hard to paint and cock gets really dirty quickly. Everything sticks to it.
You can also buy flexible. Baseboard so that you won't have any gaps and caulking is not needed at all
I wonder if this would get rid of some ants 🐜 problem
No caulk definitely looks better. The caulk will trap dirt over time.
Trap dirt over time? Just clean your fucking floors lol