A baseboard or skirting board is a wooden board, normally 75mm to 300mm deep, covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the join between the wall surface (usually plaster) and the floor, and to protect the wall from kicks and abrasion.

At its simplest, skirting board consists of a simple plank nailed, screwed or glued to the wall; however particularly in older houses it can be made up of a number of mouldings to provide an elaborate decorative feature. Even today, it is quite common to have a quarter round mould between the baseboard and floor.

Baseboard from Elite Moldings Inc.

Baseboards are usually found at the bottom of a wall where it meets the floor; they can be used in countless other applications as well. Baseboards were created to protect the bottom of the wall from abrasions and damage that can occur in day to day life. Baseboards also offer a beautiful finishing touch to an otherwise bland room or wall. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 2 ½ inches up to over 12 inches. Baseboards can be found in a variety of materials with the most popular being MDF or medium density fiberboard. MDF lends itself to a variety of shapes and sizes while maintaining an excellent price and durability. Most baseboard applications require a quarter round to be installed at the bottom of the baseboard; Elite Moldings believes a Shoe molding is more elegant. The quarter round or shoe molding is often required when wood floors have been installed; installers leave a gap between the floor and the wall for expansion and contraction of the floor.

Baseboards can also be used in conjunction with crown molding in what is generally referred to as a 2 step or 3 step molding. This process is used when you want to make the molding look bigger but not make the ceiling look shorter or when a more elegant look is desired from the cornice molding. In this process, the baseboard is installed first on the ceiling or upper wall and the cornice molding is installed on top of it or below it depending on which side you want bigger.