What workarounds did people try for "Should I fix existing bad trim or just gut and redo?"?

Community members documented 4 workarounds: 1. Leaving the trim alone until it actually fails or causes a problem. 2. Ripping off the old trim and installing new baseboards from scratch. 3. Shaving the baseboards to fit, caulking the gaps, and repainting. 4. Leaving the shoddy trim as-is if the house is in a lower value neighborhood.

Should I fix existing bad trim or just gut and redo?

You have to weigh trying to repair specific mistakes—like misaligned miters, baseboard gaps, and uncovered nail holes—against completely gutting the work. Ripping it all out to redo it preventatively avoids the drama of potential future issues, especially before tenants move in.

Overview

Last updated Nov 7, 2026

People affected2 accounts across 2 forums

Workarounds found4 items attempted

Community agreement12 total upvotes

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

4 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

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1
Leaving the trim alone until it actually fails or causes a problem.
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2
Ripping off the old trim and installing new baseboards from scratch.
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3
Shaving the baseboards to fit, caulking the gaps, and repainting.
Did this help you?
4
Leaving the shoddy trim as-is if the house is in a lower value neighborhood.
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In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/HomeImprovement1 person · November 2026

“All of the trim work is really poorly done, miters not aligned, gaps in the baseboards, nail holes not covered.”source ↗

“Was wondering if I should consider trying to fix the existing or just gut it and redo.”source ↗

ngerbs32 · r/HomeImprovement · 6 upvotes

r/Flooring1 person · October 2026

“would you rip up all the scotia and re do it as a preventive method?”source ↗

Glittering-Motor-640 · r/Flooring · 5 upvotes

“i’m tossing up wether i fix it preventively to avoid the drama of it potentially causing issues when tenants move in”source ↗

Glittering-Motor-640 · r/Flooring · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/Flooring r/HomeImprovement carpentry diy flooring home improvement home renovation property maintenance renovation

Should I fix existing bad trim or just gut and redo?

What people tried

Found another way around this?

Should I fix existing bad trim or just gut and redo?

In their words

Where this came up

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