After laying your beautiful tile floor, install a classy-looking 5.25-inch-high skirting. How do you paint the baseboard to get professional results without spilling paint on your new floor tile? The secret is, before you install the baseboard over the tile, place blue painter’s tape on the floor in a position where the baseboard is above the tape by at least 1/4 inch.
Before we get to the point of installing and painting the new baseboard, let’s talk about the old baseboard. Before laying your new tile floor, remove the old skirting completely. Even if you like old stuff, I suggest you install new stuff. That way, you don’t have to worry about breaking it when removing it. If you have the narrow 3-inch baseboard, you can instantly make the room look more elegant by installing a wider 5.25-inch-tall baseboard. After removing the old skirting, lay the tile floor up to the wall. Then when you’re done, install the new skirting on top of the tile. Don’t leave the old skirting down and lay it up to the skirting. If you do, it looks so unprofessional. If you are going to spend the time and money to lay beautiful new tile on your floor, then do the job right. Remove the old baseboard, tile the wall (it’s okay to leave a small gap between the wall and the baseboard that is less than the thickness of the baseboard, usually 1/8 to 1/4 inch, assuming your new baseboard is 5/8-inch or thicker), and then install a new 5.25-inch-high baseboard over the tile. It looks much better and more professional.
Install the tape on the mosaic tile approximately 1/4 inch from the wall. Then install the skirting directly on top of the tape. Lay a second piece of tape on the floor, overlapping the first piece by a hair, around the baseboard to ensure a thick enough width of tape that you won’t spill paint onto the new tile and floor grout. Paint the baseboard with two coats of your favorite color of high-gloss paint (use high-gloss paint for all trim). I prefer white, but not pure bright white. Then when the paint is dry, use a razor blade knife with a new blade and run the knife along the edge of the skirting cutting the blue tape. Tilt the blade slightly so that the tip cuts just a hair below the baseboard. As long as you use a new, sharp blade (ie change the blade after every 30 linear feet of cutting), the blue tape will cut accurately and you won’t see the tape under the baseboard. This gives you a clean and beautiful finish. I find that placing the tape before installing the skirting and then installing the skirting on top of the tape results in a more professional look after painting than if you first installed the skirting and then placed the tape next to the edge of the skirting. . The paint job doesn’t look so perfect. This method provides wonderfully professional results without spilling paint on your beautiful new tile floor.
