The house where my wife, Diane, and I live has wooden baseboards that have never been painted. We decided we wanted to paint them white, but we didn’t want to risk getting the white paint all over our just-painted beige walls. We decided to would be easiest to remove the baseboards to repaint them and then reinstall them later.

There are multiple methods for removing baseboards from the wall, but the one that I found that is the most helpful is using multiple joint knives.

The first step is to use a carpet knife and run it along the top of the baseboard between it and the wall so that you can separate any paint that may exist between the baseboard and the wall.

Next, use some of the joint knives to get behind the baseboard and start to pry gently.

Continue to use this process until your baseboard is very loose on the wall. Next, begin to use your hands to pull the baseboard off (if necessary). Pull the baseboards off the wall after getting the baseboard started and continue to move down the board a few inches at a time until the boards are off the wall. Be careful while taking the baseboards off as nails are in the backs of the boards.

After the baseboards are off, you will want to continue to pull the nails through the board so you don’t step on them while they are set aside and so they are not in the way when you put the baseboards back up. The best way to do this is to put the board on the ground, put your feet next to the nails on both sides and pull the nail through with pliers. This means you will be stepping on the non-stained or non-painted side and pulling the nail through with pliers.

As you take the boards down, you should number the backs of each or identify them in some way so you know which wall they go on. This will save you a ton of time when you reinstall them after painting.

Once your baseboards have been removed, they’re ready to be primed and painted!