Once you've decided on floors, walls and other major elements wall base is the next step. Aesthetically, there are far more choices available today. More profiles, more colors and more finishes than ever before. Making it possible to create the look you're after, whether it's subtle or striking.
Traditional rubber wall base or vinyl wall base will offer you a standard straight line look with over 60 colors to choose from. If you are looking for more design our sculpted wall base offers 5 different sculpted wall base models to choose from. Finally if you would like something that really stands out, our Wood Grain Art Wall Base presents 21 stylish wood grain and art metal finishes and 4 scultped cove base designs.
- Over 60 standard colors
- 4 foot sections or 120 foot coils
- Pre-manufactured outside and inside corners
- Three standard cove base heights : 2-1/2” (6.4cm), 4” (10.2cm), 6” (15.3cm)
- Two thicknesses: 1/8” (3.2mm) and .080” (2.0mm)
- Available in cove with toe for resilient and straight for (toeless) carpet
The base of a wall is a crucial part of the design of a room, for it is this part that supports the weight of not only the wall itself, but also part of the ceiling and anything on the higher floors that rests upon it. But, like any other element of house design, it can also have decorative purposes. The base can be plain, or it can have elaborate designs on the part just beneath the wall. In this article we will deal with the installation processes involved with bases of two types—vinyl wall bases and cove bases.
1) Vinyl wall bases
A vinyl wall base should not be installed until all overhead and various other trades have been completed. The area in which the base is to be placed needs to be clean and weathertight, completely enclosed, and kept at a constant temperature of 65° F or more for 24 hours before and after installation, as well as during the process, as should the base itself and its adhesives. Likewise, if the vinyl wall base is coiled, it should be uncoiled and laid flat and kept at such a temperature for 24 hours before it is installed. Both the floor and the wall should also be kept clean and free of all foreign material, including paint, dust, and wallpaper fragments. The wall base should be installed only on a porous surface, such as concrete, gypsum wallboard, masonry, interior plaster, or mineral- reinforced cement board; it must NEVER be put in on a surface that will receive significant exposure to moisture, or that will be subject to drastic changes in temperature.
The type of adhesive used for a vinyl base depends on the type of surface—acrylic cove base for porous surfaces, contact bond for non- porous. The adhesive should be either applied with a trowel or rolled onto the surface. Some builders have attempted to use polyacrylic adhesive tape on vinyl bases, but the adherence has been poor, with the base separating from the wall after a comparatively short length of time.
2) Cove bases
Installing a cove base is somewhat different from installing a vinyl base. Both the base itself and its adhesives must be kept on the installation site at room temperature (from 65° to 85°; HVAC should also be operating during this time) for at least 48 hours before, during, and after the installation process. From then on, the temperature should remain around 55°, with an “ambient relative humidity” in the range of 40 to 60 percent. The cove base should not be pulled too hard from its carton, nor the coils unrolled too roughly; and it should be shielded from sunlight if it is being installed in an area where exposure thereto will be a problem.
Cove wall bases should never be put in over vinyl wall coverings or in places where the temperature will change significantly.
The makers of wall bases do their best to insure high quality and durability, but it is the responsibility of the homeowner—or of the person he has hired to put in the base—to make sure that it is installed correctly. If so installed, the base can last a lifetime.
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