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Remodeling Tips: Door Trim and New Floors

By
Real Estate Agent with Platinum Realty, LLC KS# BR00012805

Putting down a new tile or wood floor in your home?

Ever wonder how you can get your door casing (trim around your doors) to fit just right without cutting tiles or wood flooring?  Well, here's a tip I learned from my father about putting down new flooring in a room(s) in your prized real estate possesion, your home

Door CasingFirst, take up the baseboard trim around the room of your home.  To do this successfully, you need to have a scrap piece of wood (anything from 1/4" to 1" about 6" long) to lay against the wall on a stud.  Look at the baseboard trim to find the nail holes where the stud is located, or use a stud finder and not the guy you have in the house!  Lay the board across the stud to help pry the baseboard trim without damaging the wall or trim.  Use a carpet pry bar to assist in prying the baseboard trim away from the wall.  Pry a little at one stud position, then move to the next one on down the line until you can move back to the original position and pry the baseboard off all the way.  Oh, here's another very important tip.  Pull the nails out from the back of the baseboard, NEVER hammer the nails back through.  This will cause the head of the nail to chip the face of the baseboard trim and you windup with damaged baseboard trim.

Once the baseboard is removed, you now have the door casing trim to raise and here's how you do that.  Take a piece of the flooring you are going to lay and place it up against the door casing.  Now take a wooden shingle with the thin edge against the door casing and lay it on top of the flooring.  Both of these pieces are next to the door casing.  Now. take your hand trim saw and lay it flat against the wooden shingle and carefully saw (cut) the door casing off at the height of the new flooring plus the wooden shingle.  NOTE: be careful as you are cutting the trim to cut only the door casing. Also, remember to account for any new flooring underlayment you are putting down on the floor if you are installing tile floors.

Now you don't have to worry about the gaps around the door casing when you put down your new flooring in your prized real estate possession, your home!  What do you think?

If you have any questions, just let me know?  Good luck with your new found skill!!

David L. Britt
Olathe, Kansas
http://www.davidlbritt.com/

http://www.heritage.net
http://heritagerealestateteam.com
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Ann Heitland
Retired from RE/MAX Peak Properties - Flagstaff, AZ
Retired from Flagstaff Real Estate Sales
Cool trick. I could have used it last year. I'll pass it on to my remodeling contractor!
May 23, 2007 04:04 PM
Monica Bourgeau
Portland, OR
Business Coaching
David - Thanks for the tip, we always struggle with getting the trim right.
May 23, 2007 04:06 PM
Joan Mirantz
Homequest Real Estate - Concord, NH
Realtor, GRI, CBR, SRES - Concord New Hampshire
Dave...I bookmarked this to pass on to my husband! Thanks
May 23, 2007 04:11 PM
David L. Britt
Platinum Realty, LLC - Olathe, KS
MBA
Ann, I can't take the credit, my father taught it to me!  He's been doing construction since I was knee high to a grasshopper!  Thanks for commenting!
May 23, 2007 04:59 PM
David L. Britt
Platinum Realty, LLC - Olathe, KS
MBA
Monica, trim is so obvious to the trained eye!  I can't tell you how many times I have walked into a new home or construction project and saw mismanaged trim work.  It's hard to overlook it!  Thanks for commenting!
May 23, 2007 05:01 PM
David L. Britt
Platinum Realty, LLC - Olathe, KS
MBA
Joan, is he the stud finder!!  Thanks for commenting!
May 23, 2007 05:02 PM