Baseboard size in basement-please help

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:30 am

#1

Summer12345 [OP]: Newbie; Mar 1, 2015; 43 posts; 3 upvotes; Oakville, ON

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:30 am

Our home has the following ceiling heights:
Upstairs 9 feet
Main floor 10 feet
Basement 9 feet ( maybe 2inches less)

Main floor and upstairs have 7.25 inch baseboards and that looks great.

We are finishing the basement and need to decide the baseboard size.
The basement finisher has 4 inch baseboards as the standard. I think that's too small, do you agree?
We can upgrade to 5 inch for $1250 and 7 inch for $1500.
What would you do?

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Feb 22nd, 2017 9:43 am

#2

Lacklustre: Jr. Member; Jan 30, 2015; 189 posts; 79 upvotes; Toronto

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:43 am

Go to Home Depot and look in the millwork section. You can buy baseboard in whatever lengths you want. Find the cheapest in the heights you want and buy 3' of each. I doubt it will cost you more than $20. Take it home and see what it looks like in place. Then you can take the guesswork out of your decision

+1

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:46 am

#3

Thai: Deal Addict; Jul 29, 2006; 2212 posts; 457 upvotes; Guelph

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:46 am

Big is in. Go with the 7".

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:47 am

#4

jonnyb: Deal Addict; Dec 27, 2007; 1267 posts; 695 upvotes; Oshawa

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:47 am

This shouldn't even be a choice. The 7" baseboard is the way to go.

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:48 am

#5

MyDream1: Deal Addict; Oct 20, 2011; 1117 posts; 414 upvotes; Mississauga

Feb 22nd, 2017 9:48 am

Lacklustre has made a good suggestion, get some samples and decide which one appeals to you.

Your pricing isn't of much value as we don't know what the design, thickness, type of material, pre-primed etc which can more than triple the price. Sort of like saying the dealers price on a new Toyota Corolla is $24000.00 is that a good price. What trim level, what options, are their financing and the list goes on?

Feb 22nd, 2017 11:16 am

#6

jacquesstrap: Deal Addict; Nov 9, 2008; 1632 posts; 617 upvotes; Toronto

Feb 22nd, 2017 11:16 am

You've got tall ceilings in your basement, 4'' will look cheap. Go for the taller 7'' baseboard.

If you're in the GTA, you can check out Central Fairbank Lumber - they have many, many different casing options:

http://centralfairbank.com/mouldings/baseboards.html

My personal preference would be to avoid MDF baseboards in the basement due to the potential of swelling from moisture/water exposure. Go with paint grade poplar (wood)

For your reference, we are finishing our basement currently and have 7 foot ceilings. I will be using 5 1/2'' Ogee profile paint grade poplar.

Feb 22nd, 2017 11:24 am

#7

Summer12345 [OP]: Newbie; Mar 1, 2015; 43 posts; 3 upvotes; Oakville, ON

Feb 22nd, 2017 11:24 am

Thanks so much to everyone. I will absolutely go with the 7 inch.

Feb 23rd, 2017 1:05 am

#8

Jerico: Deal Guru; Jan 25, 2007; 10087 posts; 5340 upvotes; Paris

Feb 23rd, 2017 1:05 am

Joyofmouldings.com

Often larger baseboard can be layered with smaller stuff on top of simple ripped strips.

Feb 23rd, 2017 10:00 am

#9

torontotim: Deal Addict; Nov 17, 2012; 3292 posts; 2272 upvotes; Toronto

Feb 23rd, 2017 10:00 am

What material is your builder using? Unless the basement is huge with lots of doors/corners, for $1,500 I'd want poplar baseboards done with proper coped inside corners.

Feb 23rd, 2017 10:33 am

#10

KSYC: Member; Dec 7, 2004; 290 posts; 50 upvotes

Feb 23rd, 2017 10:33 am

What's the price per ft for the 5 1/2'' Ogee profile?

jacquesstrap wrote: ↑ You've got tall ceilings in your basement, 4'' will look cheap. Go for the taller 7'' baseboard.

If you're in the GTA, you can check out Central Fairbank Lumber - they have many, many different casing options:

http://centralfairbank.com/mouldings/baseboards.html

My personal preference would be to avoid MDF baseboards in the basement due to the potential of swelling from moisture/water exposure. Go with paint grade poplar (wood)

For your reference, we are finishing our basement currently and have 7 foot ceilings. I will be using 5 1/2'' Ogee profile paint grade poplar.

Feb 23rd, 2017 12:21 pm

#11

eldeejay: Deal Addict; Apr 22, 2014; 3097 posts; 468 upvotes; Oshawa, ON

Feb 23rd, 2017 12:21 pm

There is such thing as an "ideal" size. It is 6.07".

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