Prying off baseboards without damaging them (to wire behind them)

Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum, so I apologize if this is being posted in the wrong section. I want to wire my home media room, but I cannot access wiring options in the attic (tried several ways), so I plan to run the wires behind my baseboards.

My baseboards look a little different than the ones on a tutorial I found; I seem to have a second small trim baseboard as well (please see my attached images).

Does anyone have recommendations on how I can pry these baseboards off without damaging them, since, I'll need to re-attach them to the wall after I am done? Also, does anyone have advice on how to remove the baseboards in the room corners? I don't see how I can pry them off, even after I separate them from the wall, since they are pinned into the corners by the adjacent baseboards (I guess I can pull the removed baseboards from the center and "bow" them until them pop out).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38447[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]38448[/ATTACH]

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

Nick

 

Welcome to the forums!

You need to remove the shoe mold and cut the caulking where the baseboard meets the wall and at the joints. Then use a wide stiff putty knife to work behind the base and gently pry it out. Sometimes it's beneficial to find and drive the nails all the way thru the base to loosen it that way.

 

May have to start at doorway or any place you have a break. If you try to bow them is a good chance of breaking them.

 

I'm guessing once you pull the shoe off, you'll find a pretty large gap that you can run your wire. May not have to remove base at all.

 

The chances of removing that baseboard without damaging it and or the wall behind is close to zero. I have special putty knives I've modified specifically for doing this. I work one in behind and then a second behind it. Then I work various thicknesses of shims in between the two. Sometimes my first starting point doesn't look like it is going to work so I try another. It takes time and still the dry wood will often split.

Start with the shoe as suggested and you may be able to see where the long runs are joined together, that may help you find a starting point.

As for wiring through the attic, it is very possible an electrician can do it easily. I have often hired an electrician to run my data cables on large commercial projects and saved a lot of money. They do that all the time.

Bud

 

Running wiring right behind something that needs to be nailed is never a good idea.

 

Thats why I suggested looking for the gap under the baseboard. Since shoe should be nailed to the base, you may have up to a 3/4" gap depending on the height of the flooring.

Depends on what he finds.

 

#1 That's not shoe moulding at the top of the 1 X 6's, it's base cap moulding.
If this is a really old house with plaster walls it's likely the 1 X 6 was installed first and the flooring after so there's going to be nails holding it to the studs below the flooring into the studs.
(old houses where balloon framed so there's no bottom plates.)
No basement access?
If you could get the base boards off by prying it out and cutting off the nails with a long Bimetal fine tooth blade you could cut the old plaster below where the cap moulding sets or the sheetrock and remove it, drill through the middle of the studs, run your wires and install new strips of sheetrock to act as a spacer, then reinstall the base.

 

I don't think anyone was talking about the top cap Joe. Pretty sure we all meant the stained wood shoe-1/4 round at the floor. Maybe I mis-read.

Agree though, depends on age of the house whether this might be 2 piece base or what.

 

To the OP. This looks like it may turn into a bigger job than you anticipated. My I suggest using surface mount wireways to run your wires. You can lay right on top of the shoe molding. It won't look that bad and will blend in. You'll have the advantage of easy access when and if the time comes to make changes.

 

What problems were you encountering in the attic ?
My biggest problem is my petite size under the roof rafters.

 

Hello,

Thanks to everyone for such quick responses! I see the complexity with removing the baseboards. The only reason I started thinking to do so, was because I could not fish my wires down the walls from the attic. I've done so successfully in other rooms, but this one is different, since the roof comes down to the top of the walls at an angle. So, 1) I cannot squeeze myself close enough to drill through the top of the wall (even with an angled drill), 2) Sometimes I cannot even find the top of the wall, and 3) the front of my room where I need behind wall access, first angles down from the attic before getting to the wall - so it's even tougher to find where the top of the wall is.

To emphasize point #3 above, I included an image below. It's a rough idea of how the room looks.

Discussion about image below:
If I try to get wires from the attic down to the media cabinet (which is orange in the image), I first crawl towards wall "A" from the attic (atop the red plane in the image). I then reach the point of the angled room where the purple dotted lines show. However, the top of the "A" wall is down where I show "1" in the image! So, how would I identify where the top of the wall is, get an angled drill down there, and drill a hole to access the in-wall space? To add to the complexity, it's an external wall (as are "B" and "D").

I am confident I can wire down wall "B" from the attic. I am positive I can wire down wall "C". I also have a a Magnepull device to aid in fishing wires down walls. However, if I cannot even get the wire "to" the in-wall space, I cannot go further.

Also, the home is not old. It was built in 2008.

Any additional thoughts/advice?

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Thank you!

 

What is the gray plane in your diagram?

 

Just throwing out thoughts. Is there a path via going outside and then back in. Telephone companies often did this. Not sure what is out there, but a thought.

Bud

 

The age of the house has nothing to do with whether or not it's a 2 piece base. I've painted a lot of new houses that used 2 piece base [with base cap] but the speed base that resembles that look is more popular. I can't tell from the pics if it's speedbase or 2 pieces.

 

@wirepuller38: The gray plane is nothing. I drew it to show where I believe the top of the A wall is.

@bud5091: I'd rather rip up the baseboards than risk running the wires outside. Even though it's a lot of work, I do think it'd be the cleaner solution.

 

it is real easy to patch a hole in the drywall. Why not cut a hole just below the top plate and if needs be above the base trim and pull and fish the wire up and down and into the attic?
Then patch the holes. They will not show if you do it well and still have some paint to match it with.