Ping nailshooter41 regarding floor molding

[OFWW]

Robert, I did as you directed

Used MDF molding for flexibility, It hugged the wall tightly on its
own.

Used Painters caulk as you suggested, a dollop every foot of so on the
backside of the molding.

Laid it up against the wall with heavy paper underneath in case any
dripped down on the flooring and pressed it against the wall. While it
was doing a fairly good job on its own I went ahead and shoot 16 gauge
finishing nails in a ( / \ ) fashion to be sure the floor molding
stayed where in should. I made sure to shoot above the sheet metal
footer, and to not hit any of the studs. :)

Looks great, except at one outside corner it doesn't even look like it
needs silicone caulking to finish it off, but I'll probably use some
anyhow when I get to painting the rooms.

Thanks heaps, your info gave me the confidence to do it properly.

I just did it all today, last weekend ended up too busy to do it. :(

[-MIKE-]

Every now and then this group works the way it's supposed to. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
www.mikedrums.com

[nailsh...@aol.com]

Well... thanks for the kind words. More importantly, glad it worked for you!

Odd how we learn things; sure helps a lot with a guiding hand, but one advantage I have come to appreciate is the amount of opportunity I have to see what works and what doesn't.

For example in this instance, I started shooting 18ga brads into sheet rock when I noticed during a demo that the brads didn't spall out the sheet rock. Never thought to check it out, just put the brads into some flimsy trims to hold them in place until the adhesive stuck. The trim was flimsy, synthetic material that was hard to fill but conformed well to the walls.

Kinda like the old mdf trims.

Then when pulling apart the work of others, I noticed that tearing into different construction details that were poorly executed, the caulk (laughingly) seemed to "hold the whole mess all together". Hmmm....

Didn't always have a tube of adhesive, but always seem to have a tube of painter's caulk. Then I noticed on a tube of caulk one day it said "sealer and adhesive". Hmmm....

Easy enough to take a piece of sheet rock, glue it, then shoot a couple of brads into it, then try to take it apart. A new procedure for me was born. It was almost impossible to take the trim off my experimental piece of sheet rock without literally tearing up the assembly. Another aspect was that when I put up chair rail and other trims, caulking along the top seam of trim to rock, it introduced even more hidden adhesive into the joint. So in a way, a piece of trim that didn't conform to the wall exactly was ensured to stay put as the gap received even more caulk/adhesive when the painters came behind to seal up the gaps.

So now I have inexpensive trim that conforms to imperfect walls, cheap adhesive that holds well (think about it, you can put the caulk as an adhesive onto a painted surface with excellent adhesion)and is available everywhere, and the tiny little 18 ga holes (as opposed to my contemporaries that used screws after searching for studs/sole plates) were easy to fill, and the trim when up more than twice the speed. I //avoid// the sheet metal, not look for it!

Anyway, glad it worked out for you. That is on old trick of mine, and you question came up when I had a few hundred feet of trim I was installing in an office finish out using that exact method. Seemed like I was intended to reply. Glad to be of help!

Robert

[OFWW]

Well thanks again, and things like this, once done, stick in your mind
forever. I just hope others consider the option as well.