How To Cope Baseboards

by Ashley@Biggerthanthethreeofus

2 Materials

$10

15 Minutes

Easy

Installing baseboards can be one of those projects that you put off. I for one, have still put them off in a few of our rooms. BUT, the reality of the project is that it's not a hard project nor does it cost a lot of money. Get the scoop on how to cope baseboards with this tutorial!

If you've never worked with baseboards before and want tips for installing baseboards (click here on my tutorial) or how to install baseboards using a scarf joint (click here for that tutorial). Ok, let's get to how to cope baseboards. So, when you have two walls that meet in a corner, one baseboard should be "coped" to fit into the other baseboard. This helps the baseboard look seamless.

First things first, cut one baseboard to length and place on the wall. Next, cope the end of the second baseboard (without measuring for the length of the wall). You will measure and cut for length after coping (you do this so that you have wiggle room with your cut after you see how the coped edge will fit).

Using a 45 degree angle on a miter saw, cut the end of the baseboard where you want to cope. After the cut is made, you will see raw wood showing and this is the area that you are going to focus your coping cuts on.

Clamp the baseboard down. Use a scrap piece of wood to place on top of your baseboard to clamp down on. This will keep your baseboard piece (that you are using) in great condition. If you don't do this, you run the risk of denting in your baseboard.

and grab your coping saw to get started. In our experience, it's easiest to use the coping saw for the decorative part of the baseboard and then finish the coped edge with a jigsaw. Lots more pictures and details can be found on my blog (link at the bottom of this post).

Practice on a scrap piece if you've never used a coping saw before. Basically, you want to focus on moving the saw up and down without pushing it to cut (it feels very similar to a drywall saw if you are familiar with one of those).

Finish the cope with a jig saw.