EMPLOY A BUILDER

I do, for jobs that I feel I can't tackle. For everything else I
prefer the DIY approach. I suspect that most on this NG feel the same
way. As it is, I still help employ the tool sellers and tool
manufacturers.

Filler? Caulking? What kind of crappy job did you have or crappy walls?
If the walls are reasonably straight all you have to do is nail the
baseboards in place.

The walls are reasonably straight (nobody's perfect), and all of the
baseboards were caulked on installation. Simply nailing the baseboards
in place does not provide a smooth, straight line between wall and
baseboard if there are imperfections in either.


If you are re-using the old baseboard first step is to make sure it is
cleaned up. The old caulk should come off fairly easily. Scrape the
back of the molding with a paint scraper or putty knife, then sand
everything where needed. I like to paint the trim before installing it
even though it will need to be painted again after it is installed. At
a minimum nail into every other stud to pull the molding tight to the
wall. The inevitable gaps can be filled with a latex based painter's
caulk, I like Alex latex plus.


remainder of post snipped

That is quite an answer! Thank you. Many of the boards ( 2' long)
are happy to stay in place without any form of fastening due to the
friction-fit in corners. I'll still probably nail 'em.