Introduction to Interior Finish Carpentry
Learn how to install baseboard, base cap, and window and door trim from a professional finish carpenter, complete with the essential tools, terminology, and materials involved in interior finish carpentry.
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Lesson Plan
15 Video Lessons · 53M
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1. Introduction
Your instructor, Aaron Butt, is a professional framer and finish carpenter who has been working in the trades for twenty years. Learn why finish carpentry is such a unique trade, and how it’s able to transform rough construction into a beautiful, finished space.
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2. What Is Finish Carpentry?
Finish carpentry is all around us, from baseboards to wall paneling to window trim to crown moulding. Aaron reviews the wide variety of profiles and stocks to choose from in finish carpentry, and emphasizes the necessity of consistency and attention to detail when working with trim.
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3. Trim: Basic Tools
Finish carpenters are very particular about their tool sets, and these sets often vary greatly from carpenter to carpenter. Aaron reviews a select few of his favorite trim carpentry tools to have on hand, like a rubber mallet, trimmer’s flat bar, spring clamp, and more.
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4. Trim: Process Overview
Finish carpentry is about taking construction work—regardless of the state—and making it look as good as possible. Aaron reviews a general finish carpentry workflow, which involves checking the leveling, laying out the reveals, rough cutting the material, preassembling the cut pieces and installing them, and scribing.
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5. Interior Door Trim: Marking in Place
Aaron shows you how to lay out your reveals—which means marking the areas for the trim on the edge of the door casing—with a combination square and pencil. Then, learn how to mark up the three casing pieces and safely make miter cuts so they’re ready for preassembly.
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6. Interior Door Trim: Preassembly
Preassembly is a process by which you cut and assemble all of your pieces at once, before installation. Once the pieces have been cut, learn how to join three door casings using wood glue, a rubber mallet, spring clamps, and an eighteen gauge brad gun.
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7. Interior Door Trim: Installation
Aaron demonstrates a basic door trim installation, working the eighteen gauge brad gun down the casings so they are firmly attached to the door jam. Learn how to avoid pulling the joints apart with the nails using pieces of shim and an angled finish nailer.
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8. Terminology: Miter and Bevel Cuts
Miter and bevel cuts are some of the most common cuts used in finish carpentry. Learn about making miter cuts in casing and baseboard, and how to make a bevel cut.
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9. Baseboard Installation: Wall Out of Plumb
If you inherit walls that aren’t entirely straight, you’ll end up with a gap where they meet the baseboard. Learn how to correct this mistake using a speed square and saw for a beautiful, finished space.
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10. Baseboard Installation: Floor Out of Level
To install baseboards along a floor that isn’t level, you’ll need to scribe your baseboard to the floor. Learn how to adjust the baseboard piece to the floor’s slope.
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11. Baseboard Installation: Outside Corner Angles
Sometimes wall corners don’t come together at exactly ninety degrees. Learn how to use an angle finder to measure your wall corners, then adjust your baseboard measurements to fit the wall corner–even if it isn’t square.
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12. Base Cap: Installation
A base cap is a transitional piece between the baseboard and the wall, used for safety and aesthetics. Aaron demonstrates a simple base cap installation using miter clamps and a brad gun.
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13. Interior Window Trim: Introduction
Stool caps and aprons line the bottoms of windows to create a finished look. Learn how to determine measurements and cut for an apron, stool cap, and a return stock—a small piece of trim that fits to another piece of trim to create a ninety degree angle.
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14. Interior Window Trim: Installation
Aaron takes you through a full window trim installation, starting with the stool cap, moving to the window casings, then finishing with the apron and stock returns. Finally, learn how to measure, cut, and attach an apron stock, creating a ninety degree angle on the aprons and completing the window trim.
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15. Conclusion
Each person finds their own sweet spot within carpentry. For Aaron, it’s interior finish carpentry. Learn how this trade has provided him with a great living, exciting work environment, and a satisfying way to work with his hands to make beautiful spaces come to life.
Who it's for: This course is designed for construction professionals or entry-level carpenters looking to specialize in this area of the trades and gain new skills to perform quality interior trim work for any job.
Key Topics
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Finish carpentry tools
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Miter & bevel cuts
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Installing baseboards
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Installing door & window trim
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Installing base caps
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Preassembly
5 stars
Overall rating of 48 students
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5 out of 5
JK C.,
Oct 24, 2024
I would like to see how the gentleman made the returns, What kind of saw blade to use, does all the base board gotta be level for install? What about a 16’ piece of baseboard and leveling it.
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5 out of 5
Kevin E.,
Aug 26, 2024
este curso me ayudo saber como progresar en la contruncion
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5 out of 5
Roy M.,
Mar 18, 2024
Great review over trim work
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5 out of 5
Alex B.,
Mar 10, 2024
great introduction, easy to understand.
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5 out of 5
Jalen S.,
Jan 22, 2024
great
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5 out of 5
Liam B.,
Jan 12, 2024
Great experience, especially for someone who is just starting out and who may struggle to answer questions they are asked.
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5 out of 5
Jonathan K.,
Dec 14, 2023
Excellent course lots of knowledge
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5 out of 5
Jared V.,
Dec 01, 2023
I liked the course a lot but some things seemed skimmed over while others were emphasized a lot, like cutting returns. I know how to do it but for people new to the trades it may not be as self...
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5 out of 5
Jesse T.,
Nov 09, 2023
This man is a great teacher and you can tell he loves what he does.
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5 out of 5
Chris K.,
Nov 06, 2023
I feel 1000x more prepared.
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5 out of 5
Chris V.,
Oct 20, 2023
Very helpful tips
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5 out of 5
Yuriy Y.,
Oct 15, 2023
Straight forward, very helpful
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5 out of 5
Aaron D.,
Oct 12, 2023
This was a great course to see how much detail goes into this process and the right techniques that should be used.
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5 out of 5
KT L.,
Sep 13, 2023
Awesome
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5 out of 5
Denver K.,
Aug 17, 2023
This had a lot of good information. The teacher made it very easy to understand and gave very good instructions to the process.
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5 out of 5
Jonathan G.,
Aug 13, 2023
I really enjoyed this course because it taught me the specific ins and outs of what to look out for when doing trim carpentry. I felt this information to be very interesting and I look forward to...
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5 out of 5
Jake H.,
Jun 04, 2023
This was Very Helpful and very professional! Would highly recommend purchasing this course!
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5 out of 5
Pete M.,
May 07, 2023
Great to learn new things
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5 out of 5
Anthony F.,
Apr 15, 2023
good
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5 out of 5
Alex V.,
Mar 15, 2023
Great content and clearly presented with great audio and camera work. Curious about non primed material vs primed. In the video, it was a mix of the two. Priming in place is an addition step so...
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5 out of 5
Cameron M.,
Mar 15, 2023
course was very engaging and gave me a great understanding of methods to improve my work.
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5 out of 5
Alec B.,
Feb 28, 2023
well done
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5 out of 5
Shaun V.,
Feb 18, 2023
Finish trim
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5 out of 5
Alex C.,
Feb 16, 2023
Great course, straight to the point and very informative!!!
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5 out of 5
Andraya S.,
Dec 16, 2022
I learned more from this course than I did in 4 years of working on production sites. I'm so grateful that education like this has become more easily accessible.
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5 out of 5
Jason L.,
Nov 23, 2022
Learned alot!
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5 out of 5
Shaun G.,
Nov 17, 2022
It good
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5 out of 5
Tanisha S.,
Nov 10, 2022
Good course
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5 out of 5
Dan M.,
Oct 11, 2022
This course gave me some helpful takeaways that I will definitely use in my next project.
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5 out of 5
Dayanara A.,
Aug 23, 2022
Great teacher, easy to follow best online class I've taken. thanks
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5 out of 5
Patrick H.,
Aug 18, 2022
Learned alot
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5 out of 5
Mitchell H.,
Aug 18, 2022
It was very informative and explained everything in a easy manner.
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5 out of 5
Tina B.,
Jul 20, 2022
Goes over all the basics. Wish it had more profile of trim/casing. Also is does not go over shoe molding.
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5 out of 5
Katie T.,
May 13, 2022
It was a really insightful course. The techniques were simple and very useful. I loved the emphasis on safety throughout the course. Many people don't understand the dangers of using the miter saw in...
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5 out of 5
Dennis M.,
Apr 24, 2022
Good information
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5 out of 5
Michael R.,
Feb 03, 2022
Excellent learning experience
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5 out of 5
Curtis H.,
Jan 04, 2022
Very easy to follow and informative.
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5 out of 5
Chad W.,
Jan 03, 2022
Great visualization to learn
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5 out of 5
Manuel E.,
Oct 25, 2021
Great tips, I just don’t trust YouTube anymore when it comes to learning or validating a particular aspect of the trade. This was a great course.
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5 out of 5
Robert C.,
Oct 20, 2021
For a first time DIYER THIS IS GREAT, for anyone who has installed trim this is extremely basic and would love to see an advanced course for this
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4 out of 5
Nick R.,
Jan 24, 2024
The instructor was great in the how to as well as the why, I would have enjoyed additional learning materials for example the differences and why would use mdf vs pine vs oak etc.
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4 out of 5
Gunnar R.,
Jan 04, 2024
Helpful tips and tricks to get super tight miter joints on baseboards. Simple and easy instructions for door trim as well. Would love to know wood type he is using for baseboards and know more about...
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4 out of 5
Mitchel T.,
Aug 27, 2023
Great beginers course
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4 out of 5
Ray V.,
Dec 22, 2022
Some interesting methods
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4 out of 5
Tom W.,
Dec 05, 2022
Not bad. Some test questions seem matter of opinion. Like how the instructor feels about the topic and I learned a couple new things.
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4 out of 5
Bruce H.,
Jan 22, 2022
Very useful course, well paced and not too much jargon. I’d be interested in more discussion about stud locating, dealing with bellies/humps, saw tips for blade choice/marking locations/minimizing...
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4 out of 5
Darrin M.,
Oct 31, 2021
I picked up a few basic techniques. Seemed a bit short for the price. Would be nice if there was a way to ask the instructor questions. Coping isn't covered - there's a separate course on that.
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3 out of 5
Luke S.,
Dec 23, 2022
intro to finish carp.
Aaron Butt
Lead Carpenter at Carpenter & MacNeille
Your Instructor
Aaron Butt has been in the trades for over 20 years, primarily in the custom, high end architect driven building market on the north shore of Boston Massachusetts. He is passionate about excellence and the craft of custom residential building. Having also spent time teaching a full-time carpentry program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, Aaron fully embraces his desire to continue teaching what he knows and learning from others who have gone before him.
Become Job Ready
This course will increase your knowledge for jobs like:
Finish Carpenter
Carpenter
Remodeler
Remodel Carpenter
Finisher
For more information on these roles, visit our career page.
Search for these jobs at:
Common Questions
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What is MT Copeland?
MT Copeland helps you further your career in the building industry with expert-led online education that will make you a better, smarter tradesperson.
Our training courses give you a foundation in construction fundamentals and trade skills with real-world applications and best practices to help you grow on the job.
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What do courses include?
Online courses include professionally produced videos taught by leaders in the trades and supplementary learning material such as quizzes, assessments and downloadable materials to help you acquire new skills. Watch anywhere, always at your own pace. We keep lesson videos short so they’re easy to watch after work or on your lunch break. You can finish a course in one sitting, or space it out over a week or two.
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Can you learn with MT Copeland outside of the u.s.?
Yes! You can take MT Copeland courses from anywhere in the world. Our courses are online, so if you have access to the Internet, you can watch our training videos. Courses are taught in English, with English captions and Spanish subtitles available.
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Where did the name MT Copeland come from?
MT Copeland was named after a legendary educator who promoted the idea that training in a specific trade paired with a knowledge of general business principles opens up a whole new world of career possibilities. We believe in the same powerful combination of skills and knowledge.
