Salvaging Wood Trim

Quick tip on prepping and reusing wood trim

Hello, and welcome to Joe Shows How! If you’ve shopped for interior wood trim recently—such as baseboard, chair rail, crown molding or window casing—then you know how expensive it has become. You can easily spend $5 or more per linear foot, which adds up very quickly. So, the next time you’re remodeling a room, consider removing, refinishing and reinstalling the existing trim work, rather than buying new trim. Prying the moldings from the wall will require a bit of work, but it’ll save you a significant amount of money, especially if your home has large or very ornate trim.

In this week’s video, I share a quick tip that’ll make salvaging moldings much less work. After prying off the moldings you’ll notice that many of the nails will pull out of the wall and be embedded in the molding. Resist the temptation to use a hammer to pound the nails through from the back side. That’ll cause splintering and chipping on the finished face of the trim, which you’ll then have to repair. Instead, grab a pair of locking pliers or end-cutting snips, and pull the finishing nails out through the back of the trim. That’ll eliminate any chance of damaging to the face of the molding.

Hope you find this tip helpful, and as always, thanks for watching!