What Size Nail Do I Need For Baseboards?

Baseboards are an important office of a room'due south finish. Without the baseboards, the room looks incomplete, unprofessional, and bad-mannered at best. It's important to take your fourth dimension and be careful while installing or replacing baseboards, and then you can ensure that the room you are finishing is completed to the highest possible quality.

To that end, y'all'll need to know a few key points almost baseboard installation. If yous're request yourself, "What size nails work for baseboards?" nosotros've got the answers right hither, forth with a few extra helpful tips for baseboard installation.

Dangers of Underestimating or Overestimating Boom Size

If y'all utilise nails that are too long, you run the take a chance of accidentally piercing through the baseboard and drywall into some wires or pipes. Use your common sense when selecting the nails, and yous'll avoid majorly overdoing information technology in the smash size department.

On the other hand, if yous utilise nails that are too short, they won't bite deep enough into the drywall or studs to which you are nailing the baseboards. In that scenario, the baseboards wouldn't be secure plenty. They might stay in place for a while, but with regular clothing and tear and the natural shifting and flexing of the walls, they would slowly work free. Yous would brainstorm to notice cracks forth the baseboards every bit they discrete themselves from the wall. Then it'southward best, before you brainstorm the projection, to be admittedly sure you're using the correct nail size for baseboards in your domicile.

As a general rule, baseboard nails shouldn't be whatsoever longer than 2 inches. The ideal length is between ane.5 inches and two inches.

Finish Nailers and Pneumatic Nail Guns for Baseboards

For attaching the baseboards, yous're probably going to be using a blast gun of some blazon, and so let's talk about trim nailer guns for a second. A trim nailer gun, also known past other names, including the term "pneumatic trim gun," is designed to relieve workers tons of time by forcefully injecting the nails into the material being fastened, which in this case would be the baseboards.

Thanks to their precise, powerful action, these pneumatic trim guns enable you to agree the baseboard or piece of trim in position while even so achieving the exact placement you need for the nail. Plus, the speed is definitely a major benefit, enabling you to accomplish a lot more piece of work within a pocket-size amount of time.

In general, construction experts advise post-obit this guideline: the larger the gauge number of the trim nailer gun, the smaller the nail you'll need for information technology. So since you're looking for an aesthetically pleasing effectively cease for the baseboards in your home or building, you'll probably select a finish nailer that's between 15 gauge and 16 approximate. This type of gun volition take the kind of small, unobtrusive nails that you desire inserted into your baseboards.

What Size Nails Practice I Need for Baseboard Trim?

Let's talk about how to use the nail gun size to decide the best size for baseboard nails in your abode. As previously mentioned, a higher gauge number indicates a thinner nail. Then the larger the gauge number is, the slimmer or effectively the nail volition exist. Standard finish nailers utilize nails with a gauge of fifteen or 16, simply for more frail moldings, you might end up using nailers that are 18 judge to 23 approximate with even slimmer, shorter nails.

To brand it easier, think of it this manner.

Finish nailers: 15 gauge and 16 approximate nailers
Brad nailers: 18 gauge nailers
Pinner or micro pinners: 23 gauge nailers

Now permit's break it downwardly a little further.

15 Gauge Finish Nailer

For baseboards and other trim pieces that are almost 3/4 of an inch thick, you'd probably desire the 15 judge cease nailer. Due to its ability and size, this nailer can also handle tougher jobs like nailing stair treads in place or attaching doorjambs. The large piston within the nailer allows for extra ability.

Some types of 15 gauge finish nailer come with the option of an angled magazine, which permits meliorate access around corners and in tighter spots. A good-quality 15 gauge terminate nailer is fairly affordable and can inject nails, which are up to 2.5 inches long. You lot'll want to use compatible nails of upward to 2 inches in length for a standard baseboard.

xvi Gauge Terminate Nailer

The sixteen gauge stop nailer actually isn't that much different than its 15 gauge counterpart. Like the other type, information technology handles nails up to 2.5 inches in length, although you won't need more than 2-inch nails for the baseboard project. A 16 estimate finish nailer can shoot nails into fairly thick pieces of trim.

However, it takes slightly thinner nails, and it's a flake smaller and less heavy, which makes it easier to wield. Regarding the price, it costs nigh the same equally a 15 estimate nailer.

18 Gauge Brad Nailer

The eighteen gauge brad nailer is probably the about handy and versatile of all the nailers. The nails it tin handle are shorter, near 1 1/four inches long, though you can spend a little actress and get one with a maximum blast length of 2 inches. This type of nailer is cheaper than its fifteen and 16 gauge counterparts.

Whether you're attaching trim, making furniture, or doing various modest projects, this nailer is up to the task. Equally an all-around blast gun, it can't be shell, although for the specific chore of affixing baseboards, a 15 gauge or xvi gauge finish nailer might be a amend choice. And so if yous plan to do a lot of baseboards with the nailer yous're borrowing or ownership, go for the xv or 16 gauge.

23 Gauge Pinner

In most cases, yous wouldn't employ a 23 gauge pinner for baseboards. The nails it tin handle are simply too short and thin to do the job. This type of nailer works best for attaching little parts for a small wood project.

If you're in doubt about which size nailer to use, you can ever ask a friend or associate who has experience with placing and fastening baseboards or other types of finishing trim.

Why Are Baseboard Nails So Thin?

Y'all may wonder why baseboard nails are designed to be so narrow in diameter. Typically, these ultra-thin nails are used considering of their small footprint. In other words, they brand the smallest possible holes in the trim. Baseboards are trim pieces whose main purpose is aesthetic. They are there to brand a room look more than complete, with smoother, more pleasing edges. And so it makes sense to mar these pieces as little possible.

With the slimmer nails and smaller nail heads, information technology's much easier to cover up any sign of the finish nailing process. The all-time nails for baseboard trim are those that can be easily covered with a bit of wood filler and painted over then that the baseboards yield a smooth, unblemished look. That mode, the finishes in the room maintain the polish that's expected of a professionally done home interior.

How To Nail a Baseboard?

Once you have your cease nailer and you lot've stocked up on the type of nails it takes, it's time to attach the baseboard.

Prepare the baseboard along the wall, cutting it if needed to fit the verbal length that you need for that detail stretch of wall. Yous'll also need to create mitered edges at the ends of the baseboard pieces if they're not already in place. These edges permit pieces of baseboard to fit together perfectly at an interior or exterior corner.
Once you have the right length and the right edges, jam 1 end of the baseboard right into the interior corner of the wall and make sure information technology lies affluent confronting the corner and along the floor. Brainstorm by putting one nail at each terminate of the slice of baseboard you lot're attaching, just to maintain its position and go along it in place.
After you've inserted the first nail, press difficult against the baseboard to make sure it is tight confronting the wall and lined upwardly perfectly straight with the flooring, then shoot in the 2d i at the far end.
Following that first set up of placeholder nails, add more nails to ensure that the baseboard stays flush with the wall. Insert vertical pairs of nails, one toward the top edge of the baseboard and the other toward the bottom edge. Some experts propose shooting the pairs of nails every 16 inches, while others adopt intervals of 14 inches or fifty-fifty 12 inches.
Another thing to remember is to try to get some of the baseboard nails all the way through the baseboard into studs, non but into drywall. To simplify this function of the process, pick upward a stud finder and skim it over the wall you're trimming. The stud finder will beep when information technology locates the studs under the drywall. When you find a stud, make a tiny, calorie-free X with a pencil, right higher up where you've pinned the baseboard with those start two nails. This way, y'all'll be able to see where the studs are as you're inserting the rest of the nails, and you can prioritize the placement of nails in those spots.
Inject the nails through the baseboard directly underneath those penciled X marks. Later, you can erase or paint over the X marks. Always be sure to inject nails straight into the baseboard and the wall, not at an angle. In addition, finish off the baseboard with a smooth, professional line of white caulk along the tiptop.

The outcome will be a well-baked finish for the room that y'all've worked so hard to ready!