Thicker baseboards and how to remove tar paper

[oaktree]

I am new to the forum and am in the middle of restoring the original floors of my 1860 farmhouse. The current baseboards/trim are not original and not worth saving, and they are not thick enough to cover the gaps between the original floors and the walls. The floor is also pretty wavy in the kitchen. I need to buy new baseboards to cover this up, and I see this as an opportunity to bring back some of the original character to the house. Does anyone have any suggestions about what might work best? My internet research is inconclusive. I was thinking of something simple with a shoe molding or quarter round. I'd really like to choose something appropriate for the house, and it looks like I will be replacing window and door trim at the same time.



I also have one other issue. In one room, there is tar paper all over the original floors. I bought a cheap paint scraper, which is not working too well to get this off. I am going to try to get a sharper scraper, but I'm wondering if there is a better way. Some people say to use a heat gun and some people say don't do it. I'm scared of ruining my floors. Has anybody done this?

I would love advice!

[mattswabb]

Probably the original plaster and lathe was removed and replaced with drywall this will be thinner. Plus they installed thin baseboards.

You might have to have some custom boards milled up. Maybe 1" thick (finished)then a full 3/4" radius quarter round. For the base you could round over the top or bevel it. Or leave it square and put on a base cap on top.
Something like this but it might need to be thicker
http://m.homedepot.com/b/Building-Mater ... a1Z1z135nz

Or space out a thinner baseboard and then a thick cap.

[mattswabb]

Is your door casing messed up as well?

[oaktree]

Ahh, that makes sense!

I wouldn't say the doors are messed up, but they are certainly nothing special. It looks like basic door trim from home depot. Since I'm painting and doing new baseboards, I think I should change them out too. I don't have to rush with it...they can remain off, and it won't prevent me from moving my stuff in.



This is very helpful, thank you! I will experiment with some different combinations of things.

[raine]

speaking to the tar paper. I accomplished this in three rooms and a hallway. The final easiest way I figured out was to wet a thick towel with hot water and lay it on an area for about an hour then scrape. It was easiest on the hardwood that was shellaced . Hardest on the soft wood that was painted.
I tried vinegar but didnt see any benefit. I tried using an iron but that just made it sticky.

[mattswabb]

Back to the baseboards. If your door casing is flush to the walls and that trim at the bottom has the same floor gap problem then you might have to include that in the fix. Can you post a pic where the door trim and floor meet?

Another option is to cut the flooring back some distance then install a border around the entire room.

[Mick_VT]

I'd try the hot towel on the tar paper, if that doesnt work I think I'd see if mineral spirits will shift it.

[oaktree]

I am going to try these suggestions. This is so helpful. Thank you! I will report back what works best.

The door trim has to be replaced too. The wood floors are 2 inches below the most recent floors, so there's also big gaps between the bottom of the door trim and the wood floor. It's not a tragedy...the door trim was cheap, new stuff. The window trim is actually door trim that was installed upside down. It's strange, but this is an opportunity add some character back to the house. I just have to decide what to put there...I have no idea what it might have been originally. I've been researching period trims, and I'm confused. It seems like my house was a pretty modest place, and I don't want to choose anything too ornate. If I had more time, I'd try to find similar houses to mine in the area and try to find out what they have. Maybe I can postpone putting in any new trim until I do more research.

Again, thanks so much for the advice!

[kelt65]

I am new to the forum and am in the middle of restoring the original floors of my 1860 farmhouse. The current baseboards/trim are not original and not worth saving, and they are not thick enough to cover the gaps between the original floors and the walls. The floor is also pretty wavy in the kitchen. I need to buy new baseboards to cover this up, and I see this as an opportunity to bring back some of the original character to the house. Does anyone have any suggestions about what might work best? My internet research is inconclusive. I was thinking of something simple with a shoe molding or quarter round. I'd really like to choose something appropriate for the house, and it looks like I will be replacing window and door trim at the same time.



I also have one other issue. In one room, there is tar paper all over the original floors. I bought a cheap paint scraper, which is not working too well to get this off. I am going to try to get a sharper scraper, but I'm wondering if there is a better way. Some people say to use a heat gun and some people say don't do it. I'm scared of ruining my floors. Has anybody done this?

I would love advice!

As for the tar paper I have used a heat gun after trying everything else and find it is the only method. I will say I was using my dad's old heat gun which was this crude looking industrial thing from the 40's or so and it was insanely powerful. And probably dangerous. I know the heat gun I picked up at Lowe's does not compare to it. I was able to use it over a 12"x12" space at a time and get the gunk off within a few seconds. A floor sander completed the job. In my case trying to use hot towels or boiling water or solvents was laughable. It was just pitiful. YMMV.

EDIT: I think in any case it depends on how thick that paper is as to what will work. You have to get the tar underneath it warm enough to be pliable so you can pull it off. A wallpaper steamer might work as well but that is only 212F or so. Clearly a heat gun is the quickest method to get it hot.

As for baseboards, try to find a lumber mill that makes moldings in your area, it will be far cheaper than buying from salvage, and they will be new.

[1850Farmer]

Hello Oaktree and welcome,

In our circa 1845 farmhouse we have some pretty big original moldings as far as farm houses are concerned. The original owner was quite wealthy and although a farmhouse, he did it up when it came to moldings, Windows and other details.

When we replace some baseboards we use 5/4” thick material, which nets out just over 1” thick and is readily available at your local lumber yard. This, in combination with shoe molding, matching your wood floor, will cover a gap of over 1 1/2 inches. We use 5/4”x8” base board with a WM167 base cap on top; this matched the profile throughout the rest of the house.

As for the door trim, older homes like ours normally had what's called a plinth block at the bottom of each door opening. The plinth block would typically be about ½”-1" taller than the base board/cap combination and about 1/8” to 1/4 inch thicker than the door casing. If I remember correctly our plinth blocks are about 1-1/4” thick. Our door casings are 7 inches wide in the formal areas and 6 inches wide throughout the rest of the house and the plinth blocks are about 1/4 inch wider. We took a sample of our original door casing to a millwork company and had them match it for new openings or existing openings that needed replacement casing.

On the tarpaper issue, I would think that one of those large vibrating floor Sanders, that you can rent from Home Depot would cut through the tarpaper quickly with an aggressive sandpaper.

I hope this helps.