Are you confused about what size nails for baseboard trim you should go with? Well, that is relatable for everyone who has ever trimmed on baseboards. With a variety of nails sizes available in the marketing, choosing the best one can be overwhelming and complicated. Therefore, to help you with going with the best nails size for your baseboard trimming experience, we have this guide for you sorted out.
What to look for?
Choosing the best size of nails for trimming the baseboard means selecting the right length, width, and type of nail to be used. To select the best size, you will have to first assess the material and the thickness being used. All the baseboards may not be alike; however, all of them have the exact attributes, and therefore, this guide can help you determine the best one to use. Here are the things to look for before choosing nail size:
- Thickness: The thicker the nail is, the more wood fiber will be applied to hold the baseboard.
- Correct gauge number: more gauge number means thinner nails. For better holding power, choose the pins with fewer gauge numbers.
What size nails for baseboard trim?
Getting hands-on the wrong thickness of the nails means you are imposing a risk of breaking down your baseboard. We are sure that you’d never want it to happen and disturb your flow of work. This is why it is essential to get the right size of nails for your baseboard, and here is what you need to know about all the nail sizes to make the right decisions.
The two most common sizes of nails are:
- Finish nails (15-16 gauge)
- 18 gauge nails
- 23 gauge nails
15-16 Gauge Nails:
With the thin nature of the baseboard that it has to offer, this size of the nails is the most recommended one. This is because the bigger the size of the nail is the more profound impression it can make on the baseboard. 15 gauge nail is thicker than 16 gauge, and these two are the fattest nails that you can choose for the baseboard trim.
However, they are thin enough to not be noticeable on the baseboard. These nails are perfect for the job because they are long enough to attach to the baseboard and barely noticeable. With other nails, you may need to have extra work cleaning the baseboard surface, but with this one, you will have considerably less work as compared to different nail sizes.
For installing long nails like the 15 and 16 gauge nails, different brad nail guns such as the framing and roofing ones can quickly drive such big nails.
18 gauge nails:
When it comes to a best 18 gauge brad nailer, they are small enough to be used in some fine detailing work like for furniture and thick enough to be used for most trimming applications. These nails have a diameter of less than or equal to 2/64th of an inch, and therefore they are used for a more delicate kind of work.
However, they are not recommended for baseboards as compared to 15-16 gauge nails because they have less holding power. They only work well for trims that go deep up to half an inch.
Therefore, for the baseboards that are thicker than ½ an inch, 15-16 gauge of nails are recommended. These nails are not suitable for penetrating denser materials and therefore not much recommended for use on thicker baseboards.
23 gauge nails:
The 23 gauge nails are also known as pin nails. This nail is never recommended for the baseboard, including projects because it is the smallest in size among the three nail sizes and shoots super tiny in size 23 gauge nails.
Because of the smallest possible size, they are available, and you can never expect much of a holding power from these nails.
15-16 v/s 18 gauge nails:
Now that you know the three available sizes of the nails and 23 gauge being excluded from the options for projects, including baseboards, here is a little comparison/recap of 15-16 gauge and 18 gauge nails to make it clearer.
According to the experts’ opinions, both sizes of gauges can do an adequate job to trim the baseboards in the proper position. While the 15-16 gauge nails are more versatile and have greater holding power, the 18 gauge nails come with the advantage of leaving tiny holes on the finished project.
However, if you know that your finished project will need better holding power and a permanent holding, then going with the 15-16 gauge nail is the best option. However, if finishing and cleanliness are your primary purpose so that the holes are the least prominent on the baseboard surface after you are done with your project, then 18 gauge nails are the go-to options.
