Novice seeks any tips for installing rubber wall base

Greetings all!

I am about to install about 150 feet of rubber cove wall base in the bottom floor of my house in Southern California, USA. We call this floor the "basement" since part of it is about four feet below ground level, but in truth it really isn't much like a basement. There is some moisture, but not so much as to be a problem. The floor is stained concrete and the walls are mudded and painted drywall.

I have never installed wall base before. The brand we have is Flexco, and we have it as three 50 ft. rolls, as opposed to 4 ft. strips. We also have Flexco cove base adhesive.

I see on the back of the carton that they like the product to be installed when temps are between 65 and 85 degrees. That is not a problem. However, the carton also says "maintain room temps between

55 and 95 degrees thereafter." Forever? Sadly, I can't control SoCal temps -- I assume that temps on that floor will occasionally dip below 55 (winter) and above 95 (summer). Oh well.

On at least one site (associated with a different brand of cove base) I saw that they recommended that their product be laid flat for 48 hours prior to installation. Flexco rubber cove base seems very flexible -- once uncoiled, it demonstrates no burning desire to recoil. Any thoughts as to whether I do or do not need to lay this product flat for some amount of time prior to installation?

Also...perhaps most importantly...how should I handle "inside" and "outside" corners? Do I need to use separate pieces which meet in beveled cuts at the corner, or can I bend...perhaps with the aid of some deft X-acto knife preparation...an uninterrupted piece of rubber cove base around these corners? Should I cut a little "v" in the base of the cove base for inside corners? Should I carve out a little "half of the thickness" channel on the back of the cove base where it bends around an outside corner?

Do I need some kind of specialized "wall base roller" tool to push the cove base consistently and firmly into the adhesive, or can I just do that by pressing with my hand?

Are there any online sources I should consult for advice concerning this project?

Thanks in advance for any advice at all!

Chuck

Reply to
Dolchas
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From the Flexco Site:

Inside and Outside Corners can be formed using the same techniques required for wood crown molding and wood baseboard profiles. Obtain the desired length and angel mark the piece of Base Sculptures accordingly. Set the saw blade to the required, obtained angle. Place the Base Sculptures so that it is laying flat on the saw table with the design facing up. Align the predetermined marks with the saw blade and make the required miter cut. Repeat procedure for other side of corner. Place the mitered Base Sculptures in the corner and check for the required fit. Trim or cope if a tighter fit is desired. Apply the adhesive to the back of the Base Sculptures, position in place, and roll with a hand roller to ensure an excellent bond.

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Reply to
Abe

Rubber base is more forgiving than vinyl. Roppe and Flexco are good brands. A wet rag makes an excellent "tool" to smooth the base to the wall and can also clean up any glue tracks, although a small roller works well.

If your are going to attempt going through corners, you need to skive out the back side about 1/2 or more of the thickness. Yes, inside corners require skiving the toe on one side.

Continuous strip will be hard for a beginner. Did you buy the adhesive in caulk tubes so you can use an adhesive spreader like this:

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It would be to your advantage to buy preformed outside corners.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

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Reply to
DanG

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