# mopboard material suggestions please



## greg donovan (Jun 17, 2009)

soon i will be finishing out some trim on our "new" home. it is a 1917 1 1/2 story bungalow. we want to keep a American Craftsman feel in the house. but we arent shooting for national registry historical accuracy.

at some point in the home's life the mopboards were stripped out of the living room and dining room. they are still in the rest of the house. what is there is very simple. no basecap just a 1/4 round shoe cap. the door casings are all simple butt joints with a simple square trim around the edges.

the longest span will be the 10' 10" opening between the dining and living rooms.

i am leaning towards either maple or clear pine in either 1x8 or 1x6. the wood will be stained not painted. 

i know the pine is soft but we have no pets and our kids are old enough to not crash stuff into them.

the walls are plaster and the floor is 2" maple with a nice "patina".

thanks in advance,
greg


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## toolman Steve (Jun 11, 2009)

What thickness and width is the base board in the other rooms , is there damage to the walls above the point were the base will be if you match it to the other room.

As far as what kind of wood a hard pine ,or maybe poplar if you are painting it. You don't want it to much harder than the shoe mold.


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## Webster (Mar 6, 2009)

You should match whatever the rest of the house has, at the very least for height....and wood type, if they're going to be stained.

Pine would be fine, as well as maple. 
If they had a basecap I would suggest plywood, which would prevent any twisting or warping and then no gaps later on........just an opinion :smile:

Rick


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## greg donovan (Jun 17, 2009)

the remaining boards are painted with many coats of paint (currently white). the window trim also appears to be original and there are a few windows that apear to be original with the rectangular panes in the upper sash. i have a feeling they are all douglass fir. of course there is no way to tell untill i strip one. we are not in the house yet (we close on 7/1) so i will have more solid info then. the few times i have been in the house i was more focused on the "bones" of the house. 

the other two rooms that still have the trim are more than likely going to be left white. at least for now. the plan is for the living room and dining room to be the "showcase rooms" once we get the bathroom sorted.

using plywood is tempting since we have baseboard hot water heat radiators. 

am i correct to assume that the basecap is nailed to the wall not the mopboard to allow for movement of the wood used for the mopboards?


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

using plywood is tempting since we have baseboard hot water heat radiators.
am i correct to assume that the basecap is nailed to the wall not the mopboard to allow for movement of the wood used for the mopboards?[/QUOTE said:


> Plywood would negate that problem. Nail it to the ply AND at stud locations, to the wall.


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## Webster (Mar 6, 2009)

As Gene says......nail at an angle, through the cap, baseboard and into the stud :hammer: ..... if possible, of course.
Rick


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## clampman (Oct 20, 2006)

If you are staining either maple or pine, I would highly recommend a wash coat of shellac prior to staining.

Cheers,
Jim


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

I read the first post...they are going to stain. The floors are maple...so, I would go with maple mopboards...but then I can`t see what you are trying to match. Some people think pine stains well...and it does...but not if you are trying to match maple. And you must be from England to use the proper name for baseboard. Rick


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## greg donovan (Jun 17, 2009)

pianoman said:


> I read the first post...they are going to stain. The floors are maple...so, I would go with maple mopboards...but then I can`t see what you are trying to match. Some people think pine stains well...and it does...but not if you are trying to match maple. And you must be from England to use the proper name for baseboard. Rick


 not from England, just like the way mopboard sounds.

not trying to match the floor as much as compliment the floor.

here is a pic from the listing of the house:









not our stuff. right now the window trim is painted. eventually we will strip it and stain. i think i need to wait on the wood 'till i find out what is under all the paint around the windows. shutters are going away too, they dont even close properly.

as you can see the floor has quite a "patina" going on. one room was refinished and it is very light in color.

the room is about 13'x13' with a couple 8 foot long low hot water radiators along two of the walls.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If you want to retain some sort of "continuity" as original, using what's in the rest of the house would fit that bill. In actuality, you could use any specie of solid wood if it's finished properly. 

You could even use a hardwood plywood and add a solid wood edge on the top with some profile to go along with the other base moulding, or one that would compliment the individual room. Usually, base moulding is the same throughout.


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## greg donovan (Jun 17, 2009)

clampman said:


> If you are staining either maple or pine, I would highly recommend a wash coat of shellac prior to staining.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jim


 is that to help keep the stain more even?


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## RussBoyd (Feb 28, 2009)

*craftsman*

Having owned a house built in 1912 with a lot of the style you are talking, I would guess the trim to be vertical grain fir. It was common to stain and varnish the living, dining areas of the home and paint the back part (bedrooms, hall, kitchen and bath). My particular house was a more elaborate detail in the front areas vs. the back part of the house.


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