Home Interior Trim: Choices, Common Trim Problems

Interior trim types, baseboard, quarter-round, door and window casings
Definitions of types of interior building trim: Cornice molding, door & window casing, picture rail, plate rail, baseboard trim, quarter-round trim
Purposes of interior trim in buildings
Properties of basic interior building trim
Common problems with interior trim: diagnosis, cause
Tips for installing trim against uneven floor or ceiling surfaces
How to preserve and re-use valuable antique or historic wood trim in buildings
Questions & Answers about choosing, installing, & repairing interior trim in buildings
References

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This article describes interior trim used in homes and cites common problems with interior trim. We include suggestions for installing trim over uneven surfaces, avoiding water damage to floor/wall trim, and re-using antique wood trim boards.

Also see our Best Practices Guide to TRIM, INTERIOR INSTALLATION. Our page top photo shows antique red chestnut wood trim that was preserved and re-installed in a Poughkeepsie New York Home. Also see INTERIORS of buildings, our home page for information about all topics relating to building interiors. For exterior trim installation see TRIM, EXTERIOR CHOICES, INSTALLATION.

Interior Building Trim: Types, Terms, Definitions

The building interior trim types and interior trim defects or problems described here are adapted and expanded from original citations provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, Home Reference Book, with permission.

The Functions of Interior House Trim

Most houses have interior trim including baseboard, quarter round and door and window casings. These trim details protect and conceal joints, corners and changes in material.

Interior trims conceal rough cuts and edges in plaster and drywall around windows and doors and at the floor/wall or ceiling/wall juncture. They add architectural appeal to a home, and better quality moldings and trim may indicate better quality construction.

Carson Dunlop's sketch (above left) illustrates the location of the principal types of interior trim:

Definition of Cornice molding trim - at the intersection of the wall top and room ceiling
Definition of Door casing (or window casing) trim - surrounding doors or windows on the building interior
Definition of Picture molding (not shown) - horizontal trim located approximately 12" below the ceiling in Victorian era homes. The molding profile provides a shape that permitted use of flat S-hook used to hang pictures on the wall below. Pictures hung using picture molding used exposed hanging wires, often decorative themselves. Picture molding permitted hanging and even moving pictures on the room walls without damaging the wall plaster by nails.
Definition of Plate rail - horizontal trim located high on the room walls, of adequate width and including a groove that permitted support of decorative ceramic plates or similar near-flat objects. Typically you would not find both a plate rail and picture molding on the same wall. Expect to find picture molding in Victorian era homes and plate rails in Colonial era style homes.
Definition of Baseboard trim - horizontal trim boards at the wall-floor intersection
Definition of quarter-round trim - horizontal trim strips, typically 1/2" in radius, nailed at the intersection of the baseboard trim and the floor. Quarter-round trim is flexible enough to be bent to follow irregularities in the floor surface while closing any gaps between the inflexible baseboard trim and the irregular floor below.

Interior Trim: Tips, and Tricks of the Trade for Installing Interior Trim in buildings

Our photo (left) shows ornate plaster wall, cornice, and ceiling trim details photographed in a home in Mexico City.

Trim Fitting Tips:

Our mentor, Bernie Campbalik, taught his student carpenters that if the building walls or floors are not dead flat, fitting some wood trim boards perfectly can be difficult or impossible. But a few tricks of the trade can still produce beautifully-fitted interior building trim. We describe a few basic trim fitting ideas here.

Fitting Trim to an Uneven Floors or Ceilings:

If the wall is flat but the floor sags or humps, it is often possible to push more narrow boards trim down flush with the floor or up flush with the ceiling surface or close to flush with the floor or ceiling during nailing. Where the trim boards are wider or heavier stock that bending is impossible.

To fit heavier trim boards to an uneven floor surface we used two alternatives: the trim board can be scribed and custom cut or planed to meet the floor surface variations, or a smaller-gauge quarter-round additional trim strip can be nailed in place at the juncture of the larger trim baseboard and the floor. It's easy to bend quarter-round trim to accommodate wall/floor irregularities.

Fitting Trim to an Uneven Wall:

Sometimes we [DJF] found that the building walls were scalloped or bulged, perhaps because of uneven drywall installation over wall studs that were not in a flat plane, or in some older homes that were insulated using foamed-in wet urethane during the 1970's we found that the moisture of the insulation process caused a scalloping effect in the wall drywall after the insulation dried.

To fit floor/wall baseboard trim against a slightly-scalloped wall it may be possible to simply push the trim board tightly against the wall during nailing. But where the wall scallops are deeper, we use a flexible caulk to seal the otherwise dark gap that appears between the inner edge of the trim board and the wall surface.

Baseboard and Quarter-Round Interior Trim

Baseboard and quarter round are usually wood (or wood fiber) components installed at wall/floor intersections. Baseboard protects the bottom of the walls from things like feet, brooms and vacuum cleaners, and provides a clean joint at walls and floors. Baseboard can be anything from a two-inch high piece of plain lumber to an intricate two or three piece architectural molding, 10 or 12 inches high.

As we detail at TRIM, INTERIOR INSTALLATION, most wide, flat interior trim moldings are recessed reduce cupping. The figure at left is provided courtesy of Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons.

Quarter round [not shown in the sketch] is usually relatively small (approximately 3/4 inch radius) and covers the joint between the floor and the baseboard. It may be the same material as the baseboard. Some architectural treatments omit quarter round, and occasionally baseboard is omitted as well.

Solid wood trim boards that are painted or that are intended to be painted are commonly constructed of finger-jointed wood, permitting lower-cost construction of long, straight interior (or exterior) trim boards. Finger-jointed exterior trim, unlike interior finger-jointed trim boards, is exposed to weather and can be less durable - illustrated at TRIM, EXTERIOR CHOICES, INSTALLATION.

Alternatives to Wood Interior Trim

Tile or marble may be used for baseboard. This is an expensive treatment, of course. A commercial treatment occasionally found in homes is broadloom flooring turned up the wall a few inches to form a carpet baseboard. At TRIM, INTERIOR INSTALLATION we describe other alternatives to solid wood trim including MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard composite trim shown in our photos below), urethane interior trim moldings, and other flexible plastic moldings.

Finger jointed interior trim photo (C) Daniel Friedman

What is the Difference Between Door/Window Casings and Moldings?

Door and Window Casings or Trims

Door and window casings provide a finished look to the junction of a wall and door or window opening. Casings on homes built before 1985 [estimated] are most often wood.

Moldings

Moldings at wall/ceiling intersections are referred to as cornice moldings. They may be made of wood, plaster or foamed plastic like the urethane molding product shown at left.

Ceiling Medallions

Ceiling medallions or rosettes are decorative plaster or foamed plastic details on ceilings around light fixtures. These details were common in principal rooms such as living rooms or dining rooms.

Traditionally ceiling medallions were cast from plaster or were carved from wood. In modern homes ceiling medallions are more often a foam or urethane plastic molding that is lightweight and can be glued to the ceiling surface.

Ceiling medallions also can be fabricated on site although most are pre-manufactured.

Common Problems with Interior Trim

Missing, Loose, or Damaged Interior Trim

Trim can be missing, damaged or loose. Replacement of decorative trim with a matching system may not be practical. Custom millwork is expensive.

Also, some of the woods used in the past are not available today. It may be more cost effective to replace the entire trim in a room.

Tips for Preserving U Re-Using Valuable Antique Wood Trim in Homes

During renovations of a home built in 1900 (photo at left) we had to remove all of the wood trim in order to run additional electrical wiring for receptacle installation.

Because the home was trimmed in beautiful red chestnut wood, we wanted to preserve and re-use the trim boards. Working very carefully using paired flat-bars each trim board was removed without splitting the wood.

Don't try removing trim nails by hammering them back out from the pointed-nail end. Doing so will split the surface of the trim board when the nail head begins to back out.

The finish nails were pulled out of the trim boards from the back side of the board.

When we were ready to nail these antique trim boards back in place we discovered that over the nearly 100 years it had been in place, the wood had become so hard it was like iron, and almost impossible to nail without causing splits. After the first split was observed we changed tactics. Every nail hole was pre-drilled through the trim boards, successfully avoiding any more splitting.

Quarter round is often removed and not replaced when wall-to-wall broadloom is installed. New quarter round is often provided when broadloom is removed.

Plaster trim such as cornice moldings, ceiling medallions, are difficult to repair. Rebuilding or repairing a damaged molding is time consuming and expensive. Replacement of damaged interior trim with a manufactured trim system is often more practical.

Water-Damaged, Stained, or Rotted Interior Trim

Our photos of water damaged interior trim below sow two different examples of visible and hidden results of the effects of wet floors on trim and on drywall located behind floor baseboard trim.

Water damaged interior trim (C) Daniel Friedman

Water damage to interior trim from leaks can stain, damage, and even rot wood trim products. In buildings that have been flooded, even from a brief single-event flood that soaked the building floor, we often find mold damage on the back and under-edge of wood floor baseboard trim boards as well as on drywall found behind the trim boards.

Our photo (left) shows water damaged door casing trim, and you can see that floor baseboard trim to the left of the door casing has been replaced with a plastic trim product.

On a floor exposed to water or dampness, plastic trims offer the advantage of rot and mold resistance.

Watch out: however if there is drywall or drywall behind paneling that is behind the baseboard trim, keep those wall coverings at least 1/2" off of the floor to reduce the chances of moisture or water damage from small spills.

Sources of Interior Building Trim Products

List adapted with permission from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction.

Clinch-On Products, A Deitrich Metal Framing Company www.dietrichindustries.com Nail-on and clinch-on galvanized metal corner beads

Con-Form International/Strait Flex www.straitflex.com Strait-Flex fiber-composite mud-on corner bead for inside and outside off-90 degree angles

Drywall Systems International www.no-coat.com No-Coat prefinished drywall tapes for inside and outside corners, off angles and bullnose trims

Flex-Ability Concepts www.flexc.com Curved metal top and bottom plates for curved wood or metal stud walls

Grabber Construction Products www.grabberman.com Drywall screws, corner clips, and fiberglass mesh tapes

Insta Arch Corp. www.instaarch.com Galvanized steel preformed and custom arches for drywall

National Gypsum Co. www.nationalgypsum.com ProForm tapes and finishing compounds

Pla-Cor www.pla-cor.com ABS corner trims, bullnose, 3-way corner caps, and flexible arches

Phillips Manufacturing Co. www.phillipsmfg.com Metal and vinyl corner beads, bullnose trim, and flexible bullnose and angled arch trim

Trim-Tex www.trim-tex.com Vinyl drywall beads, flexible arch beads, and finishing accessories

U.S. Gypsum Beadex and Sheetrock-brand tape-on metal corner beads and trims. Complete line of drywall finishing compounds

Vinyl Corp., A Deitrich Metal Framing Company www.vinylcorp.com Full line of vinyl beads and trim

Polymer (Urethane), MDF, and Vinyl Trim Producers & Sources

Burton Mouldings www.burton-mouldings.com MDF(medium-density fiberboard), polymer, flex, and wood

Fypon www.fypon.com Polymer moldings and components

Nu-Wood www.nu-wood.com Polymer moldings and components

Outwater Plastics www.outwater.com Polymer moldings and components

RAS Industries www.rasindustries.com Polymer moldings and components

Royal Mouldings (formerly Marley Mouldings) www.royalmouldings.com Polymer, polystyrene, expanded-PVC, CPVC, and acrylic molding profiles and components

Flexible Trim Manufacturers & Sources

Flex Trim www.flextrim.com Flexible polymer moldings

Resin Art www.resinart.com Flexible polymer moldings

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Mr. Cramer serves on the ASHI Home Inspection Standards. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com
John Cranor is an ASHI member and a home inspector (The House Whisperer) is located in Glen Allen, VA 23060. He is also a contributor to InspectApedia.com in several technical areas such as plumbing and appliances (dryer vents). Contact Mr. Cranor at 804-747-7747 or by Email: johncranor@verizon.net
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides:
- Commercial Building Inspection Courses - protocol ASTM Standard E 2018-08 for Property Condition Assessments
- Home Inspection Education Courses including home study & live classes at eleven colleges & universities.
- Home Inspection Education Home Study Courses - ASHI@Home Training 10-course program.
  Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
  Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference eBook, an electronic version for PCs, the iPad, iPhone, & Android smart phones.
  Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter inspectaehrb in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors.
  Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Illustrated Home purchased as a single order Enter INSPECTAILL in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.

Construction Drawings and Details, Rosemary Kilmer
"An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Gypsum Construction Guide, National Gypsum Corporation
Gypsum Construction Handbook [purchase at Amazon.com] H17, Technical Folder SA920 and PM2, PM3 and PM4, United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124,
Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?
Plank House Construction: weblog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228, Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
Plastering, PM 5, Product & Systems Technology, US Gypsum, May 1998, web search 10.5.2010, original source: http://www.usg.com/rc/technical-articles/plaster/
plastering-technical-guide-veneer-plaster-joint-reinforcement-systems-en-PM5.pdf
United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124,
Paraphrasing from this document: USG uses the term shadowing in this document in describing the visual effect over gypsum board joints caused by the lower moisture absorption rate (take-up) and lower capacity than gypsum base face paper. Shadowing at joints occurs where veneer plaster is applied over tape joints, requiring a second coat to completely hide the tape, providing a visually uniform surface. USG Advises: "This [second] cover coat must be allowed to harden and dry before plaster application is started.
What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture, Rev., John C. Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers, Wiley; Rev Sub edition (October 6, 2003), ISBN-10: 0471250368, ISBN-13: 978-0471250364
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