How Much Does Trim Cost?
Typical Range:
$635 - $2,246
Typical Range:
$635 - $2,246
Cost data is based on actual project costs as reported by 8,112 HomeAdvisor members. Embed this data
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Updated January 16, 2023
Reviewed by Andy Kilborn, Expert Home Building and Remodeling Contributor.The national average cost of installing trim in a house is $1,380, with a typical range between $635 and $2,246. The cost at the low end is $200, and the high-end cost is $5,200.
Trim and molding are woodwork elements that embellish a home’s floors, walls, and ceilings. They can be prefabricated or custom-made from a variety of wood and related materials. These elements can complement other stylistic elements in the home such as wall color and furniture, giving it a more put-together look. Trim and molding are mostly decorative, but they also have functional uses like hiding gaps or providing minor structural reinforcement.
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National Average | $1,380 |
Typical Range | $635 - $2,246 |
Low End - High End | $200 - $7,000 |
Cost data is based on actual project costs as reported by 8,112 HomeAdvisor members.
If you’re installing trim for your space, hiring a pro makes the most significant difference in your overall project total. The trim or molding type, its material, and whether you paint or stain the trim or mold also affect project costs.
See the estimated average percentages your factors contribute to your total cost.
Professional installation is the major cost factor with this project. The major tasks included in this labor price include measuring and cutting the trim, nailing the trim, and caulking the holes. It also includes preparing the site and cleaning up afterwards.
Trim types are primarily distinguished by their location on the wall. Each type provides different aesthetic and practical effects in a room, which can contribute to or define a design style. We also cover molding types, which are purely decorative and typically have more elaborate detail.
While some trim comes prepainted or prestained, you may need to paint or stain your trim of choice to match your home's existing or desired aesthetic. Painting or staining trim is detail-oriented work that requires patience, time, and the appropriate tools and materials.
Trim and molding come in various low-end, mid-range, and high-end materials. Whether you pick from materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and medium density fiberboard (MDF) to various wood types will affect your project cost. Customizing the material will also increase costs.
When installing trim or molding in your home, your budget will play a major role in determining how much you can get done. Whether you want to install shoe molding to hide small gaps between one wall and the floor or you want custom wooden crown molding all throughout your dining room, select the cost range that best suits your needs to get started.
The different types of trim are primarily distinguished by their location on the wall. Each type provides different aesthetic and practical effects in a room, which can contribute to or define a design style.
The cost of door and window trim like shoe molding starts at about $0.50 per linear foot, which you’ll typically buy in eight-foot lengths. It’s a narrow molding consisting of two inward-facing flat sides and one outward-facing concave side. The most common use of shoe molding is to hide small gaps between a wall and floor, typically by installing it to a taller baseboard.
Quarter-round molding costs start at about $0.50 per foot, with eight feet being the most common length. It’s so-named because it’s shaped like one-fourth of a circle. The uses of quarter-round molding are generally similar to those of shoe molding, such as covering up the edge of flooring remodel work.
The cost of installing baseboard, or baseboard, starts at $0.60 per foot for fiberboard and $1.20 per foot for wood. It’s typically between two and four inches tall, although it can be taller than that. Base molding serves to define lines at the bottom of a wall, but it also hides gaps. It isn’t as detailed as crown molding, but it is available in many finishes suitable for painting or staining.
Basic styles of crown molding cost between $2 and $3 per foot, but custom moldings prepared by a finish carpenter range between $8 and $10 per foot. The most important cost variables include the material, finish and detail of the design. Crown molding installers in your area typically install crown molding at a 45-degree angle to the wall, creating a hollow space behind. The most common locations are in the corners between a wall and cabinet or another wall.
Casing has about the same cost as baseboard at $0.60 to $1.20 per foot, depending on the material, design and finish. Its primary purpose is to define windows and door frames, rather than the wall near the floor. Casing is rarely more than two inches tall since it’s usually installed at eye level. It’s otherwise similar to baseboard and often has the same style and design.
A chair rail typically costs between $1 and $2 per foot and is readily available in a variety of colors and finishes. It typically runs horizontally along a wall at a height of about three feet. The original purpose of a chair rail was to protect walls from chairs, but changes in chair styles have made chair rails largely decorative. Their most common use today is to delineate a wall with two different types of paint or wallpaper.
A picture rail costs between $1 and $2 per foot, depending on design and style. Their purpose is to provide a place to hang pictures without creating holes in drywall. Picture rails are similar to chair rails except they’re narrower and often have a lip on top that you can use to anchor hanger wires on a frame. They also sit higher on the wall than chair rails.
Wall frames usually cost between $8 and $25, depending on their size and material. Unlike other types of molding and trim, they consist of premade squares rather than a length of material. Wall frames are purely decorative and typically found in high-end homes. Homeowners may also paint the interior of a wall frame in a different color or cover it with wallpaper.
While some trim comes prepainted or prestained, you may find that you need to paint or stain your trim of choice to match your home's existing or desired aesthetic. Painting or staining trim is detail-oriented work that requires patience, time, and the appropriate tools and materials.
On average, standard interior trim painting costs $1 to $3 per linear foot, with custom trim painting costing slightly more for an average of $1 to $3.50 per linear foot. Because baseboards are often wider than other trim types and require more time and materials, the average cost of baseboard painting is $1 to $5 per linear foot.
The trim for an existing house typically costs between $635 and $2,246, depending on the material and intricacy of the design.
The cost of removing the existing trim from a house ranges from $0.55 to $1.17 per linear foot, or between $70 and $150 for a typical house with 125 linear feet of trim. The great majority of this cost is for labor needed to score the trim where it’s bonded to an adjacent surface and pry the trim away from it without damaging that surface. It also includes the cost of preparing the area, removing the trim from the premises, and cleaning up the site afterward.
The total cost of labor for installing the new trim is between $410 and $660, almost all of which is for installation. This project requires about 6.3 hours, with an hourly rate ranging from $65 to $105 per hour. The major tasks included in this labor cost include measuring and cutting the trim as well as nailing the trim and caulking the holes. It also includes preparing the site and cleanup.
Style and Material | Cost per Eight-Foot Length |
---|---|
Crown molding, PVC and MDF | $10 |
Crown molding, wood | $25 |
Crown molding, polyurethane | $32 |
Baseboard molding, pine and PVC | $10 |
Shoe and quarter round, pine and PVC | $3 – $4 |
Plain chair rail, wood | $4 |
Intricate or embossed chair rail, wood | $20 |
Intricate or embossed chair rail, MDF | $12 |
A professional carpenter should install trim and molding. An experienced DIY carpenter might be able to get good results for walls that are completely flat, but this is rarely the case in practice. A pro will be able to get tighter joints and smoother runs by knowing how to adjust the cuts to conform to curved walls.
"Modifications of the trim in your home can vary in complexity. Though it looks simple, a professional can make the trim installation look much more seamless," Andrew Kilborn, Expert Review Member and Owner of Andy's Handyman, said.
Baseboard installers in your area routinely install trim on crooked walls. This is a common problem in older houses, where the house may have settled or warped over the years. However, these installations may require more time, increasing the cost.
Trim is a general term for the material at the corners between walls, floors, and ceilings. It also includes materials around openings in walls such as windows and doors. Molding is a type of trim that’s purely decorative and typically has more elaborate detail.
Finish carpenters can install trim at the rate of about 20 linear feet per hour. A typical project requiring 125 linear feet of trim would take about 6.25 hours to install.
When you add the labor required to trim your house, the price of materials, and the cost to finish or paint the trim once installed, it will cost roughly $2,000 to $2,800 to trim a 2,000-square-foot house. Of course, this could be higher if you choose custom moldings, or lower if you choose a more affordable option like quarter round.
To get an accurate price, chat with a carpenter who can calculate the materials needed to frame certain aspects of your home like windows, doors, and baseboards, as well as adding custom features like wainscoting or crown molding.