How to Paint Baseboards Close to the Carpet

You move into a new home or want to renovate the space where you live. Painting is relatively rapid, efficient and inexpensive method to beautify, refresh and sanitize a home.

Painting Baseboard Close to the Carpet
Painting Baseboard

With a little skill and experience is not too difficult to paint inside your home. Painting your home may be DIY job. However, one of the most difficult parts of painting is to protect the floor and especially the carpet.

If your intention is to replace the carpet with a new one then there is no problem. But if you keep your carpet then you should protect the carpet from paint drops.

A solution would be to mask your floor with plastic sheets or drop cloths. However, it is more difficult when you need to paint the baseboard. You have to paint very close to carpet, which can create difficulties in terms of its protection.

Photo by Critly ContractingBrowse hallway photos

1. Metal or Plastic Blade: There are some tools for that. You can find them at any hardware or paint store. There are metal or plastic blades that can slip under baseboard, protecting the carpet.  However, try not to flood your blade with paint. Wipe often your blade. Keep it clean from paint.

Before starting, tape the carpet. This will prevent the carpet to spring back and stick into the fresh paint as you change your position along the baseboard.

2. Applying Packing Tape:  Place and run packing tape along the edge of the carpet. Using a butter knife or a putty knife, push the edge of the tape under the baseboard. This will protect and also, will keep away the carpet from the your fresh painted baseboard.

3. Self-Adhering Film: Cover your carpet with self-adhering film with the adhesive face on the carpet surface. Get the edge of the self-adhering film near the baseboard. Using a putty or a spackle knife push the edge of the film under the baseboard. Now, you are ready to paint.

How to Install Colonial Baseboards – Tips and Ideas (howtobuildahouseblog.com)