Hi, I am new here and have a dilemma. I have a curved wall that needs a baseboard and I was wondering what your expert opinions would be to tackle this problem.
You can sort of see the curve on the right of this pic.
I was thinking about doing many many cuts to bend it around with a really thin blade on the TS, but I thought you would be able to see the cuts. Then I was going to fill in the cuts with caulk or spackle, but i thought that would look stupid. THen I thought about soaking it in water and screwing it in place, but I dont know how the water would affect it, and i know nothing about steam bending. Help??
Replies
You didn't say if was to be painted or if you are using solid wood and stain. If you're painting, I'd use MDF molding. It's very flexible, and I've been happy with the results when it's going to be painted. Solid wood can be steamed and bent, but the wood's natural habit of contraction and expansion might pull it off the wall unless it's secured well. Good Luck,
Len (Len's Custom Woodworking)
oops, I forgot to say what material. I wanted to use the preprimed MDF and paint. Its almost a 90 degree turn the whole length and its not very long. The entire length of the turn is around 6 or 7 feet. will the MDF bend that much? I was going to use the 1x4 stuff from Lowe's. Seems like it would split or break at that large of a corner. I know the old owners of the house used to have something there before they tore it out and put in carpet, but now i refinished the hardwood floors and the whole upstairs needs all new baseboards and this curved wall is a big question. I was thinking of using thinner stock MDF, but it would not match the other boards.
Thanks
MDF is the first try. If that doesn't work, there are plastic mouldings specifically designed to be flexible. They're generally not in the standard builders store, but they do exist. Online, http://www.outwater.com has some. The trick is to find your profile.
I have used MDF on a wall that had a curve much the same as the one in your picture. I ran the molding through the table saw to thin the back down some and then place some 1/8" strips on the wall to fill in area ripped off. It made the moulding easier to bend to the tight curve.
Scott C. Frankland
Was the Newfoundland Wood Worker now the Nova Scotia Wood Worker.
Kerfing on the backside is the traditional way to address these curves. It works well but can be a lot of work. I usually make a tiered molding from 1/4" to 5/16" stock using the wall as a form (see pic). Flex-molding is available but the sticker shock can be considerable. If the MDF approach doesn't do the job then laminate it up.
MDF is pretty floppy so you may have no problem at all anchoring the board (Do use a stud finder & mark locations so you are definitely hitting solid wood). If you are applying a 1/4round at the bottom then you can even use screws to attach the baseboard--they'll be hidden.
Kerf bending probably won't work on baseboard. Usually the kerf needs to be cut to within 1/16" of the face in order to close properly & give you the flexibility you seek. On baseboard this deep cut would slice right through your profile & be visible.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled