Cracked Molding

If you have standard molding (nothing fancy and what most big box stores carry) if it was me I would buy new molding.

I say that because I am looking at my molding right now and looks old. It is dirty with a few chips in it. And I have always considered molding, just like kitchen hardware, sort of the jewelry of the wall.

If the that is in bad shape then the whole thing looks funny (and not in good way).

If it is in fairly good shape a good cleaning and fresh paint could perk it up.

Are you talking about the wooden baseboard joint to wall? If so I would scrape the loose stuff off, and run a bead of caulk along there, wet your finger and run it along top of the caulk, and you should have a clean look.

Hi! My bet is the caulk cracked. If the molding next to your tub is wood, it is probably cracking the caulk when the wood expands from the moisture. There are moldings available now that aren't bothered by moisture and require less maintenance. Or, you could scrape, clean and reseal. Good luck and stay safe!

This molding looks like it has a few gaps in the length of it, moisture maybe part of the problem, possibly the house settling. I would remove (scrape off the cracked part) clean it well, dry, and then re-caulk..

It looks like the caulk is cracking. I would remove the old caulk, clean the wall and molding and recaulk it.

The picture just seems to show the top of the moulding where it meets the wall. Is this the only spot where it’s cracked?

I can’t tell from the zoomed in picture or your description on what the molding is, sorry.

If this area gets wet, then I’d evaluate how much water damage is behind the cracked area by scraping out the old caulk and prying the old molding away.

Then repair as required and noted above.

It looks like it's just the caulk that cracked, not the trim itself. Remove the old and run a new line of fresh caulk and you'll be set.

Hi Lauren, it looks like the molding is fine, there is some paint build up on it, you can knock the paint off the molding and seal the gap with some caulking, hope this helps you out.

It's caulk that has cracked and not the molding. Remove the caulk with a knife or putty knife. Recaulk with a tub and tile caulk or 100% silicone caulk. Silicone caulk stays flexible and less chance of cracking.

Add new caulking along the edge

Make sure you use a paintable silicone caulk. Pure silicone caulks will yellow over time if you use clear or white, and they do not hold paint well.

Hello. Caulk can tend to move- expand and contract with seasonal weather changed. After a few years it tends to crack and needed removal and replacement.

Clean the area, caulk, then touch up paint.