Additional layers of flooring can bury baseboards making them look squat (bad) and difficult to remove (worse)
If you use a pry bar to remove the baseboard behind built-up layers of flooring, you will split the baseboard.
Instead, break it free from the wall, prying the top away from the wall about an inch.
Pop it back tight against the wall and screw a 1-1/4 inch lag bolt into the baseboard right about where the shoe molding ended.
Use the bolt head as a handle for the prybar as you pry up. Prybars with forked tips work best, such as the Stanley Wondebar.
Tip: Use a protective board over the flooring to minimize the scope of your job.
—Richard McMurray, of dfw Crown Molding, is new to ProTradeCraft but has a good pile of videos on YouTube. Look for the best ones to be highlighted here in the coming weeks, months, and years.
