Laminate Floor Installation - Reinstalling Shoe Moldings

Now that the flooring is installed and the transition trim is added, you're almost done. You just need to cover the expansion gap with show molding. You can reinstall the old moldings or buy new ones to match your floor.

Installing old moldings is easier because they're already cut to fit. With new moldings, you'll have to cut returns at doorways and archways and miters or coping joints for corners. Practice on scrap pieces.

Drill pilot holes for 1 1/2" finishing nails every 12" along the molding. Then position it and drive the nails into the baseboard. Protect the floor with cardboard. Countersink the nails and fill the holes.

	Cutting Coping Joints Cut a piece of molding to butt in the corner. Cut the molding you will cope longer than the expanse it will cover - by one molding thickness for each coping joint on it. Cut its end at a 45º angle. With a coping saw, curve the end to fit around the first molding. Follow the line made by the angle cut (inset).
	Gluing returns Cut a 45º angle in the molding that meets the door trim. On a scrap piece of molding, cut a 45º angle in the opposite direction. Then cut a piece of at 90º angle to create a return. Glue this to the ends of the first molding..