Finishing Off Stair Molding

[Buck Turgidson]

I plan to pull up carpeting and expose HW floors, and at the same time replace my baseboards. I also want to redo the stairway end-cap (I believe there is a proper name for it, but I don't know what it is).

This is a photo of how they did it back in '61. The baseboard is just cut at a 45 against the vertical quarter-round, and filled in with caulk. It looks kinda hokey in my opinion. Even though I'll just repaint it, I'd like to do a more elegant. job on the end-cap and its joining t the baseboards.

Any suggestions on how to build the end-cap and marry it to new baseboards? I have air nailers and a miter saw, so I can get pretty fancy. I am just short of ideas.

[P.V.L.]

Is there a reason that they raised the base up like that? It looks like the old base was taller and they matched to that. Since you have a smaller base now,run it around the wall at the same height and connect it to the stairs. Run the flat sock first and then the cap. You should be able to do this without changing heights , you dont have any real angles. What does the other side look like?