Can a layperson dare to handle the baseboards themselves?

Okay, I took the advice here to heart and just got started. As expected, the first two corners look pretty awful. I haven’t glued anything yet. Right now, I’m still torn between "redoing it" and "just gluing it and filling the holes with acrylic!" ... [ATTACH alt="20210123_193522.jpg" type="full"]56486[/ATTACH][ATTACH alt="20210123_193528.jpg" type="full"]56487[/ATTACH][ATTACH alt="20210123_193605.jpg" type="full"]56488[/ATTACH] The inside corner (first attempt) looks really stupid. I think I still had the problem that the angle changes depending on how the board lies in the chute. [ATTACH alt="20210123_193705.jpg" type="full"]56489[/ATTACH] If it lies slanted in the chute like in the photo, the miter angle also gets really weird. If I manage to keep it reasonably straight — that is, pressing the board against the back wall of the chute — then the angle gets a bit better (see outside corner). Now I don’t know, is there a trick to reliably fix it so it stands straight and the cut is straight accordingly? Hand-pushing the edge is quite a workout (and I’ve only made 4-5 cuts so far), plus the result isn’t perfect. Another problem I have is that this cutting chute has a certain height, and if I lay the long strip into it, it naturally rests on the floor at the back and stands high in the chute. I try to fix this by placing foam underneath at the back to get roughly to the same height as the chute, so the strip lies more or less horizontally straight inside. But even that isn’t precise when I just shove 3 foam mats under it, and probably causes inaccurate results. Can I actually do better with my angle gauge and my Japanese saw? Or am I going to have to get a chop saw after all? It’s less about the purchase cost for me, I’m more worried about getting my clumsy little fingers caught underneath. For me as a computer scientist, that would be very disabling professionally. [ATTACH alt="20210123_193645.jpg" type="full"]56490[/ATTACH] This one was just cut to size. That was the first one. It’s a bit under tension (a little too big), but overall turned out pretty well. Also not glued yet. Don’t dare to yet. [ATTACH alt="20210123_193754.jpg" type="full"]56491[/ATTACH] Looking at this picture here, I think “hmm, despite my crumpled corners it doesn’t look so bad”… maybe because I saw it without baseboards for so long before and well, anything is better than without. ;) [ATTACH alt="20210123_194033.jpg" type="full"]56492[/ATTACH][ATTACH alt="20210123_194038.jpg" type="full"]56493[/ATTACH] And then I ran into the following problem in our gallery. This is the heating circuit distributor. The metal box somehow sticks out, but only on the left side. If I hold a strip in front of it, there’s a 5–10 mm gap. How could I elegantly get around the corner there? :/

You simply cut out the strip around the [HKV]. You can use a multitool or a router. If necessary, you can also use a saw and chisel.

That works. A bit of white acrylic conceals a lot. Just don’t get discouraged, keep going. Practice and it will get better and better. In the corner with the acrylic goes a floor lamp or a rubber tree, and that’s that.

Today I also filled the baseboards with acrylic. Incredible what a difference it makes, it looks 100 times better immediately.

The "Unterlage" is the coolest! Hehe.
Regarding the topic, we had it done by the parquet layer. I put up with it once and thought for years that I was dissatisfied. Those very gaps always bothered me when looking at it. It's like a poorly cleaned piece of wall that is only 10cm. If you know it's there, you will always see it.

The "underlayment" is the coolest! Hehe. On the topic, we had it done by the parquet installer. I endured it once and thought for years that I was dissatisfied. It’s exactly these gaps that always bothered me when looking at it. It’s like a badly plastered piece of wall that’s only 10cm wide. Once you know it's there, you will always see it.

Yeah, basically all our walls are "badly plastered," we only paid for Q2 and wallpapered over it. Putting a lot of money into perfect baseboards now won’t fix that either. ;) I stole the underlayment from my son :D

You just cut the molding out around the radiator valve. Do you use a multitool or a router? In a pinch, you can also do it with a saw and a putty knife.

Cool, I even have something like that, a multitool :D

That works. A bit of white acrylic conceals a lot. Just don’t get scared, keep going. Practice and it gets better and better. In the corner with the acrylic, put a floor lamp or a rubber plant, and that’s that.

I will keep trying. The fact that my one-year-old starts crying every time I saw (by hand, mind you) is only a little helpful. :D Does anyone have a tip on how I can hold the molding straight in the drawer?