moissy: you wouldn't like my baseboard; no one does but us. We're old; getting older and more tired by the minute, and I do and plan to do the housekeeping. So, I want EZ to clean. I read a couple of books by professional housekeepers and they recommended a clamshell profile on the baseboards; it sheds dust at the top edge. So, keeping it modern and holding down costs, we'll use stock trimboard 1 x 4's. They'll get narrowed by the reduction for routing down the clamshell profile. Probably ends up at the 3 3/4" width, same as you see in most modern or midrange spec houses. (Although, if you want really contemporary, I'm seeing 2-inch wide or NO baseboards!) It gets the derogatory name "ranch casing" too. We also considered a simple quarter-round-over profile, and might still do that, depending on how the side casings of the doors sit against the clamshell baseboards when we get our hands on that and can see it. On the advice of some of the pro woodworkers I got Robert Lang's book "Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interior: Cabinets, Moldings & Built-Ins For Every Room In the Home." (from amazon.com) He shows baseboards in the 5 to 6 inch range, and taller, of course, for that era. Profiles are hard to describe, but some look similar to traditional Colonial ones. In one of Susanka's books she showed a new Craftsman style bungalow with baseboards 7 1/4". Get a short ruler to carry in your purse for making those casual, discreet measurements. I've gotten flagrant in places other than confined public places. I carry a 25" long retracting measure also. Whip it out, and say, "I love your xyz. Would you mind terribly if I measured it?" People (other than architects who think you're stealing their creative ideas) are flattered. LOL!

Thanks brickeyee and Ron for this info! It really helps me learn what to ask the carpenter about. scsr5200, thanks so much for all of the points that you mentioned, especially the electrical one. There is an outlet in the baseboard that's about a foot from the right edge of the window, and on the exterior side (the enclosed porch side) is an outlet about in the same place. It's a good point to worry about how the wiring is going through the wall. The house was originally built in 1897, and I think the woodwork (baseboards, trim, etc) is from the original construction, but I could be wrong. Our house inspector, who knows old houses, said there are signs of remodeling circa 1950's, which is when the previous owners bought the house. Ron, my gut feeling was that the whole baseboard would have to come off, but the room is so long, that taking the whole thing off might cause more problems than cutting it in place with the sawzall. At least, thanks to you all, I can have an intelligent conversation with the carpenter about the options. :-) Thanks again! LA

My 1924 home has 8' ceilings and 8" baseboards. I love substantial moldings--most homes I see here on Houzz have skimpy, out of proportion moldings. "Postwar all the trim got small for some reason"--yes, due to COST. After WWII so many homes were needed that the builder homes were all cookie-cutter and mass produced (Levittown anyone?). Keeping costs down was a priority so the builders could earn a profit while not charging too much for the servicemen who came back from the war who had limited funds. So things like good proportions, plaster walls, nice trim was replaced by small, lower quality homes with skimpy clamshell moldings, no fireplaces and hollow core doors. The ironic thing is that today's new homes are even less well made than in the sixties. I grew up in a sixties home and have lived in a 1924 home for many years now. No comparison--my home is almost 100 years old and will probably stand for another 100 years unless some idiot decides to knock it down and build a monstrous McMansion.

We have an old house. Much of the trim didn't match between the old 1850ish and the addition of 1889. No one ever noticed. If the size of the 2 trims don't compliment each other, that would be more of a giveaway.