The Original: How Baseboarders Reinvented an Overlooked Category

Before Baseboarders, There Was Nothing

In 2008, an industrial designer named Jon Buss bought a fixer-upper.

Like many homeowners, he was tackling outdated finishes room by room. New floors, fresh paint, better lighting. But when he got to the baseboard heaters, long, rusted, and unsightly, he hit a wall. There were no good solutions on the market without having to pay thousands of dollars to demo them.

“I thought, surely someone has made a cover for this,” he recalls. “But everything out there was either a full replacement or a fastener-heavy workaround that didn’t look good. Nothing designed for homeowners who just wanted it to look better, without calling in a contractor.”

So, like any good designer who spots a gap in the market, he invented something entirely new: a modern snap-on baseboard heater cover.

From One House to a Market Gap

Jon spent years designing custom store fixtures for brands like Macy’s and Nike. He also had experience helping bring new products to market, like a curved shower rod a friend invented that eventually became a standard in hotels and homes.

“My friend didn’t have any sales or marketing background, so I got involved and helped distribute it. It was a great example of how a simple, problem-solving product could take off,” Jon explains.

“I’d seen firsthand how something simple and useful could become a category-defining product,” he says.

Armed with that mindset, he prototyped a slip-on steel cover for his own baseboard heaters. No screws. No tools. Just a clean, modern design that snapped into place using the existing backplate.

That prototype is now known as Baseboarders Premium and the design hasn’t changed much since.

The Strength Behind the Design: Steel

What makes Baseboarders different isn't just the product, it's the design philosophy behind it.

“I’m an industrial designer. That means I think like both an architect and an engineer. I’m always asking, how can we make this simple, beautiful, and manufacturable?”

From day one, Baseboarders was built around:

• Aesthetics: Clean lines that complement renovated interiors.
• Material performance: Steel, not plastic or aluminum.
• DIY usability: No fasteners. No tools. Just snap it on.

Steel wasn’t just a durability choice, it also made performance sense.

“Hot water baseboard heating is all about convection,” Jon explains. “That rising warm air current pulls cool air in from below, creates circulation, and spreads heat across the room.”

That’s why material matters. “The ideal material,” he says, “can temporarily hold heat energy.” Steel doesn’t just look better, it actually boosts the system’s performance.

“Steel will also help in taking the heat energy from a material into the air,” Jon adds. “Plastic can’t do that. Aluminum’s not bad, but it’s flimsy over long spans. Steel just made sense, for both durability and heat.”

Why the Market Needed This

Jon’s home wasn’t unique. Across North America, there are millions of homes with 1960s–1980s hot water baseboard systems and very few ways to update them.

“These heating systems work great. No moving parts, no noise. But the covers? They rust, they dent, they look awful. And replacing them is a nightmare,” he says.

That’s where Baseboarders came in: a tool-free, design-forward retrofit solution for one of the most overlooked design problems in the home.

After posting a single photo of the prototype to a basic webpage, Jon started getting emails.

“I hadn’t even made them for sale yet, and people were asking how to buy,” he remembers.

Getting National Recognition

It wasn’t long before the experts took notice. Richard Trethewey, America’s most famous plumber and the go-to expert on This Old House, reached out.

“He said, ‘People write to me every year asking what to do with these ugly, rusty heaters. Your product looks like the solution.’”

Baseboarders was spotlighted on air in a dedicated studio segment, explaining the problem, showing the product, and validating its place in the market.

“That kind of early credibility mattered,” says Jon. “It helped people trust a new product they hadn’t seen before.”

Why Materials Matter

Over the years, other brands have entered the space, most using either aluminum or plastic to lower costs. But those compromises come at a price.

“Plastic has zero heat conductivity. It warps. It melts. It doesn’t last,” says Jon. “Aluminum conducts heat, but it’s flimsy. At 7-foot lengths, it sags.”

Baseboarders uses a combination of 22 and 24-gauge steel, depending on product line. That’s intentional: strong enough for structure, light enough for shipping, and optimized for DIY handling.

“This is something you install once and enjoy for decades,” he says. “It should look great the whole time.”

Built for Real Life

Durability wasn’t just a theoretical goal. Baseboarders was made for homes with kids, pets, vacuums, and everything else that bangs into a baseboard.

And because it snaps on without tools, it's also accessible for:

• Homeowners doing renovations
• Renters looking for removable upgrades
• Contractors seeking quick, repeatable installations

“From the beginning, we said: no fasteners, no tools. It should feel like Lego for adults.”

About That “Thicker Steel” Claim

When a product works and earns attention, imitators often follow.

Some copycat competitors like to promote that their baseboard covers are made from steel that’s one gauge thicker than ours, implying it’s stronger or more durable.

But here’s the reality: that extra thickness doesn’t improve performance. It simply adds weight and cost, both for the manufacturer and the customer, without offering any meaningful advantage.

“When we designed Baseboarders, we chose our gauges very deliberately,” Jon explains. “They’re thick enough to be strong and durable over long spans, but not so heavy that they become harder to handle or more expensive to ship. It’s about finding the right balance.”

The proof? Thousands of installations. Glowing reviews. And covers that still look great a decade later.

Our materials are optimized, not overbuilt, for performance, aesthetics, and ease.

Staying True to the Original

Today, Baseboarders continues to be crafted with the same care and precision that defined the original. While our product line has expanded to include new sizes, profiles, and finishes, our core promise remains:

• Steel construction
• DIY ease
• Clean design
• Long-term value

Every cover is built to meet our high standards for durability, performance, and timeless style, no shortcuts, no compromises. While others have chased cheaper materials and cut corners, Baseboarders has stayed committed to being the best-looking, best-built solution in the category. 

The Bottom Line

Baseboarders invented the category, defined the standard, and continues to lead with unmatched design, quality, and performance.

When it comes to updating old baseboard heater covers, there’s only one name trusted by homeowners, designers, and contractors alike: Baseboarders.