I want to install coping around my living room entry way and am running into some trouble. The room already has baseboard and quarter-round, including "around" the entryway --- ive mocked up an image looking down --- turquoise color is the baseboard and thin brown strip is the quarter-round; red is where the coping would go.

So that the coping goes down to the floor (rather then stopping on top of the baseboard), I know that I need to cut back the baseboard. I was also planning on just getting rid of the baseboard and quarter round that is about 8 inches long and is in the entryway. But when I started to remove the quarter-round and baseboard to make the cuts, I noticed that the hardwood floors don't go all the way to the wall (I understand this is on purpose), so I need to keep that 8-inch section of baseboard to cover the gaps. This mean that both sides of my coping will be flanked by quarter-round, is this going to look odd? Would it actually be better to just have the coping go down to the top of the baseboard rather than the floor?

On Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:43:27 +0200, giants450
wrote:


I want to install coping around my living room entry way and am running
into some trouble. The room already has baseboard and quarter-round,
including "around" the entryway --- ive mocked up an image looking down
--- turquoise color is the baseboard and thin brown strip is the
quarter-round; red is where the coping would go.

So that the coping goes down to the floor (rather then stopping on top
of the baseboard), I know that I need to cut back the baseboard. I was
also planning on just getting rid of the baseboard and quarter round
that is about 8 inches long and is in the entryway. But when I started
to remove the quarter-round and baseboard to make the cuts, I noticed
that the hardwood floors don't go all the way to the wall (I understand
this is on purpose), so I need to keep that 8-inch section of baseboard
to cover the gaps. This mean that both sides of my coping will be
flanked by quarter-round, is this going to look odd? Would it actually
be better to just have the coping go down to the top of the baseboard
rather than the floor?


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If you posted a picture of the area in question it would be helpful.

It's not clear to me what you mean by coping. Coping, as a noun means
the top layer or course of a masonry wall. As a verb it means to
shape one molding to fit together with another.

I think more people would have responded if you had used the word "casing" to describe what you want to install. I've coped more than my fair share of miter joints, but I have yet to hear of installing "coping" where one would normally install door "casing".

I can't see any good way around this problem either; except perhaps to install stained and varnished wood panels on each side and the top of the doorway to match the casing. That would allow you to run those wood boards to the floor on both sides of the door way, along with the casing, and therefore have your baseboards and shoe moldings stop at the casing.

That would prolly look a bit nicer, but it would make for a narrower doorway, AND only you know how thick those boards need to be to cover the gap currently being covered by the baseboard and shoe molding.

I'm presuming you have plaster or drywall in the entranceway now, rather than a wooden jamb. By rights, if you had a wooden door jamb in that entranceway, whomever installed that wood flooring really should have undercut the wooden jamb on each side of the entrance way to allow the flooring to go under the wooden jam. But, if the sides of that entranceway were plaster or drywall, their only option was to install baseboard and shoe molding instead. If what you have now is drywall, I'd be inclined to pull it off, put up 3/4 inch thick stained and varnised clear fir to match your casing, and solve the problem that way, but that all depends on your level of skill and experience.

ALSO, the bottom line is that most visitors to your home won't notice what you've done there regardless of what you do, so don't be concerned about it looking "odd". Things only look odd if they're different than normal and they get noticed, and in most cases, it's that second element that's absent. That's great if you're sensitibe about it, but it's frustrating when you know you've done a top notch job, and all people seem to compliment you on is your choice of paint colours.

The easiest thing to do would be to either cope your casings to fit nicely around the top of the baseboards, or deep six the idea of installing that casing in the first place, and just leave what you have the way it is. But, nobody's going to laugh out loud if you stop the casing at the baseboard. It'll look "different" out of necessity, not because you didn't know WTF you were doing.
PS:
Actually, I think the word "coping" simply means to cut along a curved line as opposed to a straight line. Coping saws, for example, are designed to cut along a curved line in any wood, not just wood moldings.

"giants450" wrote in message
...

I want to install coping around my living room entry way and am running
into some trouble. The room already has baseboard and quarter-round,
including "around" the entryway --- ive mocked up an image looking down
--- turquoise color is the baseboard and thin brown strip is the
quarter-round; red is where the coping would go.

So that the coping goes down to the floor (rather then stopping on top
of the baseboard), I know that I need to cut back the baseboard. I was
also planning on just getting rid of the baseboard and quarter round
that is about 8 inches long and is in the entryway. But when I started
to remove the quarter-round and baseboard to make the cuts, I noticed
that the hardwood floors don't go all the way to the wall (I understand
this is on purpose), so I need to keep that 8-inch section of baseboard
to cover the gaps. This mean that both sides of my coping will be
flanked by quarter-round, is this going to look odd? Would it actually
be better to just have the coping go down to the top of the baseboard
rather than the floor?


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--
giants450

try plinth blocks....

Wow, total brain fart, yes I certainly should have said CASING rather than coping!

Thanks for the info everyone. I've attached a photo of the corner I am talking about, and yes its drywall not a door jamb. I've attached another photo showing in red where the casing would theoretically go. As you can see, it leaves a small section of baseboard and quarter-round to the left.

I've seen plinth blocks but I'm not sure how they would solve the problem? If they are wider than the casing, wouldn't they extend past the drywall so that they would appear to jut out when looking at them from the other side of the entryway?

clear fir -- I definitely don't have the skill to do a good job with that.

So it seems like I have a few options:

1. Abandon plan entirely

2. Extend casing to the top of the baseboard and call it a day (maybe do miter a slight angle to visually ease the transition from the casing to the baseboard?

3. Cut back baseboard and install casing to the floor. Will leave a small amount of quarter-round on each side of the casing, which I think won't look very good (even doing a quarter-round return per this website: Cutting Quarter Round Returns) given my particular setup.

Seems like #2 may actually be my best option...

On Friday, July 26, 2013 9:36:11 AM UTC-4, giants450 wrote:
nestork;3097477 Wrote:

Snip...

Wow, total brain fart, yes I certainly should have said CASING rather
than coping!

Thanks for the info everyone. I've attached a photo of the corner I am
talking about, and yes its drywall not a door jamb. I've attached
another photo showing in red where the casing would theoretically go.
As you can see, it leaves a small section of baseboard and quarter-round
to the left.

I've seen plinth blocks but I'm not sure how they would solve the
problem? If they are wider than the casing, wouldn't they extend past
the drywall so that they would appear to jut out when looking at them
from the other side of the entryway?

clear fir -- I definitely don't have the skill to do a good job with
that.

So it seems like I have a few options:

1. Abandon plan entirely
2. Extend casing to the top of the baseboard and call it a day (maybe do
miter a slight angle to visually ease the transition from the casing t0
the baseboard?
3. Cut back baseboard and install casing to the floor. Will leave a
small amount of quarter-round on each side of the casing, which I think
won't look very good (even doing a quarter-round return per this
website: 'Cutting Quarter Round Returns' (http://tinyurl.com/phz8dn8))
given my particular setup.

Seems like #2 may actually be my best option...
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giants450

Another option is to remove the base molding and quarter round on the "interior" of the opening (where a door jamb would go) and install matching casing there.

Sort of like in this picture, which doesn't have the room-side casing that you trying to add, but certainly could. You would add the dark brown casing (in a matching color, of course) in addition to the casing you are struggling with. This solution eliminates tha pesky leftover section of base molding and quarter round that extends into the opening.

http://images-16.har.com/e1/mediadis...r3196016-4.jpg

hmm thats a thought. Is there a particular name for this very wide casing that goes in the jamb?

giants450 wrote:

So it seems like I have a few options:

1. Abandon plan entirely

2. Extend casing to the top of the baseboard and call it a day (maybe
do miter a slight angle to visually ease the transition from the
casing to the baseboard?

3. Cut back baseboard and install casing to the floor. Will leave a
small amount of quarter-round on each side of the casing, which I
think won't look very good (even doing a quarter-round return per this
website: 'Cutting Quarter Round Returns' (http://tinyurl.com/phz8dn8))
given my particular setup.

Seems like #2 may actually be my best option...

I disagree. My vote is do option 3.

Run the casing to the floor. That's where it belongs and that's the
"normal" way to do it. Then just back angle cut the quarter-round where it
sticks out past the casing so that it tapers down to the casing edge. I
didn't see that as one of the options in the quarter-round return photos
that you posted, but that's what I have in every property that I own and
that is basically all that I see anywhere else.

giants450:

My vote is to abandon the casing plan entirely.

I would look around to find something else in your house that needs doing MORE than installing casing around this doorway. I don't see anything wrong with what you have, so I'd urge you to look for something that actually needs doing.

I noticed that you stained your shoe molding. Be aware that if you were to do what you're planning on a doorway with a wooden door jamb, the casing would run down to the floor, the baseboard would butt up against the back edge of the casing, and...

...you would miter the end of the shoe molding to a 45 degree angle so that the shoe molding ends at the casing. (right where the baseboard ends)

Now, when you try to stain the end grain of of that shoe molding, be aware that the end grain will absorb liquid 15 times faster than liquid will be absorbed across the grain of wood, so the usual result is that whenever you stain wood end grain it absorbs vastly more stain than the rest of the wood and ends up staining particularily dark. Plan for that by either diluting the stain you're using with 4 parts of whatever thinner it uses (mineral spirits, alcohol or water), and staining the end grain with the dilute stain, or, apply thinner only to the wood end grain first, allow that thinner to evaporate from the wood for an hour or so, and then apply stain to the wood end grain. The thinner already in the wood will reduce the amount of stain that is subsequently absorbed into the end grain. Otherwise, you'll end up with dark spots at the exposed end grains of your shoe moldings, and that's gonna be a clear giveaway to knowledgeable handymen that visit your house that the staining (at least) was done by a rank amateur. However, if you do take measures to reduce the stain intake at the end grain, that's a clear giveaway that whomever did the work knew something about what he was doing.

Maybe cut a piece of molding at a 45 degree angle and try staining that end. Keep on cutting off the end grain until you get a good feel for how much to dilute your stain or how long to wait after applying thinner to get a uniform stain uptake at the end grain.

Hadn't thought about that, thanks.

I agree it looks fine how it is now, but we are planning on painting the room (likely a light blue) and I thought having white casing would look much better (already have white trim around the windows).

giants450 wrote:

....snip...

DerbyDad03;3097654 Wrote:

Another option is to remove the base molding and quarter round on the
"interior" of the opening (where a door jamb would go) and install
matching casing there.

Sort of like in this picture, which doesn't have the room-side casing
that you trying to add, but certainly could. You would add the dark
brown casing (in a matching color, of course) in addition to the casing
you are struggling with. This solution eliminates tha pesky leftover
section of base molding and quarter round that extends into the
opening.

http://images-16.har.com/e1/mediadis...r3196016-4.jpg

hmm thats a thought. Is there a particular name for this very wide
casing that goes in the jamb?


Wood

giants450 wrote:
DerbyDad03;3097654 Wrote:

Another option is to remove the base molding and quarter round on the
"interior" of the opening (where a door jamb would go) and install
matching casing there.

Sort of like in this picture, which doesn't have the room-side casing
that you trying to add, but certainly could. You would add the dark
brown casing (in a matching color, of course) in addition to the
casing you are struggling with. This solution eliminates that pesky
leftover section of base molding and quarter round that extends into
the opening.

http://images-16.har.com/e1/mediadis...r3196016-4.jpg

hmm thats a thought. Is there a particular name for this very wide
casing that goes in the jamb?

I think wood that you would put there is just called the door jamb -- no
special name.

I always assumed that if you were going to put casing around the opening,
you would also add wide 3/4-inch pine as the door jamb on both sides and
across the top. Then have the casing cover the side edges of the 3/4-inch
door jamb -- or depending on the casing style, maybe have it set back about
1/8-inch to create a little reveal there where 1/8-inch of the casing is
revealed.

Walk around in every building that you are in and see how their door
openings are done. Also look at the quarter-round in buildings that have
that and see how it meets up with the casing.

I once had a whole big thing going on about taking down and old chimney from
the roof line up and replacing it with something else. After posting
questions about it everywhere that I could think of, and doing a lot of my
own research, I finally figured out a plan that worked out well. But,
during the whole process, all I ever seemed to do when driving down the road
was look at other people's chimneys and see how theirs were done. I still
find myself looking at chimneys all the time. When you get done with this
project, I'll bet you won't be able to walk into a building without looking
at how the casings, jambs, and quarter-round are done.