How to Remove Baseboards Without Damaging Your Walls: 7 of the Best Ways Possible

How to Remove Baseboards? Baseboards will provide your wall a complete look as they hide the raw frames of the flooring or drywall. So, most probably, you have baseboards all over your house. However, a lot of home projects will require you to get rid of the baseboards. For example, you may want access to a room behind the baseboards, so you remove them to set up the new flowing.

But, eliminating the baseboards without causing damages to the drywall may be one of the hardest things to do. However, with the steps provided below, the process on how to remove baseboards will become easier and faster.

Tips on Taking Off Baseboards Efficiently

How to Remove Baseboards

With the right tools and tips, then the job will become easy. With that, here are some tips you may consider before removing your baseboards:

Tip #1: Obtain the Correct Tools Before Beginning

By doing so, it will save you some time and effort. What you have to do is to prepare a durable chisel, a box knife, and a hammer.

Tip #2: Purchase Replacement Blades for the Box Knife

When you buy a few blades, then it will be worth your money than purchasing individual replacements.

Tip #3: Be Careful When Hammering the Chisel to Reuse Similar Baseboards

By hammering it, you may cause destruction to the baseboards. That way, it could ruin everything.

Tip #4: Put on Some Gloves

When you neglect this advice, then you will most probably end up hurting your fingers. In fact, it could happen more than once.

Tip #5: Be Cautious Enough Not to Damage the Wall

If you do not slice the caulk entirely, then you will increase the risk of destroying the sheetrock. Also, it will destroy a significant portion of the drywall that will need an intensive repair later on.

Tip #6: Forget Utilizing the Crow Bar

If you ever use such tool, then you will just strengthen the risk of damaging your wall.

Tip #7: Pound in the Straggler Brad Nails

When you draw off the baseboards, a part of the brad nails will also get off with the boards. So, you need to hammer them into the drywall.

What You Need to Prepare

Here are the things you need in removing the baseboards:

How to Remove Baseboards

Here is the list of steps on getting rid of the baseboards in your wall:

Scoring the Entire Length of a Piece of Baseboard

You should do this where the board meets the drywall. So, you may use a utility knife and cut off the caulk and paint. As you score the full length of the baseboard where the two areas meet, you will prevent tearing the paper and the paint from the wall. That way, the surface remains intact.

Carefully Work on the 6 Inches Metal Putty Knife

Work on it just behind the board. Then, wiggle the knife while drawing mostly forward. That way, you can loosen the finishing nails or pins holding onto the trim of the drywall. You should begin at a tip of the baseboard. Then, pry it carefully. You should move forward along the trim until the whole length hangs free from the wall. You should stay patient because this may take a while.

Pull a Free Tip of the Trim From the Wall

You have to do this once the whole length becomes loose. You should take care of the wall so that it won’t get damaged.

You Have to Loosen One End of the Wall

It is possible to stand up slowly from your kneeling position. Then, you have to rock the trim up and down carefully and slowly. That way, you can loosen one end that you tightly lodged between the close by the corner and the wall until it starts to release.

Labeling the Back of Your Trim

You should put a label or a number on the back of your trim and the lower tip of the wall. You have to do this step to keep every piece in the right arrangement, especially if you are going to reuse the boards.

Continue the Process as Necessary

You have to resume with the whole method until you have removed all of the boards you need to get rid.

Do Not Forget to Remove the Nails

Lastly, you need to pull the nails off the removed trim using side-cutter pliers.

Fitting the Baseboard Trims into the Corners

What you have to do first and foremost is to slice the outer bevel. Next, you need to calculate the excess amount of the bump in your wall.

Then, the strategy in getting a tight fitting of the interior corners is to get a universal handsaw. Then, you need to prepare the saw for this process.

Then, put the baseboard upside down before you cut around a 30 to 45-degree angle from the side. Stop before you slice through the curvy part.

You need to use your coping saw to slash from the curve to the top of the baseboard. You need to make a “C” for this step.

Moreover, you need to assess the fitting of each corner. The trim on the right side should be with the straight 90-degree angle that joins the drywall. Then, put the beveled board up against the straight trim.

That way, you will produce a tight joint. Then, you can now secure the board with finishing nails. Lastly, you have to caulk the entire nail holes and seams and paint them.

Conclusion

As you remodel or repaint a room in your house, nothing can beat the professional look that the removed baseboards bring.

However, you cannot just pry the trim off the drywall with just a large tool. If so, you will damage the entire wall, including its paint, trim, and surfaces.

So, whether you want to reuse or replace the baseboard, you need to follow the following steps indicated above.

That way, you will sustain care and patience while removing the boards. Also, you will maintain a smooth and intact drywall by following each step.