How to Install Wood Trim About a Hot Water Baseboard Heater

Hydronic baseboard heaters provide reliable heat in almost any climate, and they function best when the El Paso AC repair specialists elements have space beneath and behind them for air to circulate. The design of a heater cover provides this area, and since the cover attaches directly to the drywall and takes the place of baseboards, you don’t need to install trim above or under it. The only area you do need trim is next to a heater, and it can come as close to the cover as you can — even bothering it. The cover doesn’t get dangerously hot.

Install the heaters before you install the baseboards. The covers will need to rest flush against the drywall and be secured into the wall framing. Snap on the end caps.

Cut the baseboard that goes next to a heater using a chop saw, making a straight butt edge. The baseboard should be long enough to create the smallest possible gap between the end of the board and the heater end cap. Wood trim can actually touch the heater, though you’ll probably need a 1/4-inch clearance to receive it in position.

Nail the baseboard into the wall framing with complete nails, then sink the nail heads and then fill them with wood filler. Caulk the top border of the baseboard with acrylic latex caulk, and if you do so, caulk the gap between the heater and the baseboard as well.

Prime and paint the baseboard, using a colour that blends with the baseboard cover or fits it.