Overheard a finish carpenter say he never uses a tape measure for trim

I always thought you had to measure everything twice before cutting trim. But this guy at the lumber yard said he just marks it in place with a pencil and cuts right there. Tried it on some baseboard yesterday and saved like 20 minutes of measuring and rechecking. Anyone else work like that or am I asking for trouble?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler_jackson271mo ago

Wait, you mean he didn't even scribe it or anything? Just set the trim and marked it? I've done that a few times on straight walls when I'm being lazy, and yeah it works fine most of the time. But you gotta be careful with older houses where the corners aren't square or the walls are wavy. I'd say for simple rooms with straight runs, go for it, but keep that tape measure handy for the tricky spots.

oscarc121mo ago

Yeah, "straight runs" is the key there. I did basically the same thing on my last living room remodel. Just set the baseboard tight against the wall, marked the top at the corner, and cut it. Worked perfect on three of the four walls. Then I hit the wall next to the fireplace where the old plaster is all wavy and lumpy from settling. Had to pull out the scribe and do it the old fashioned way. So yeah, for new construction or any room that's reasonably square, that lazy method saves a ton of time. But you hit the nail on the head about older houses, those corners are never a true 90.

luna_wright1mo ago

Wait, did the fireplace wall really mess you up that bad? Same thing happened to me in my 1920s place, that old plaster is always a nightmare. I ended up using a contour gauge for the wavy spots and it still took three tries to get it right.

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