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First time replacing floors, many estimates and nervous about what the final project will look like. We have carpet floors over a concrete slab. The carpet has sort of a high pile. Our current base molding is 3 1/8 I'm assuming and looks pretty beat up and has a terrible paint job on it. We are getting vinyl plank flooring. One estimator told has we would have to replace all the baseboards, and then never told us how much we would be charged. Another said we could do quarter round or baseboard molding and his price for new baseboards with installation was 1000 k for a 430ish square space. Third place said we could do either, we didn't get a price. And the last place said we could do shoe molding or replace the molding with 3 1/8 baseboards or 5 inch, depending on preference. Then when going over the quote he says he recommends a shoe molding OVER the new baseboard if we go that route, otherwise if the floor isn't totally even, we would have GAPS. I've never heard of this, it kinds of scarred me and I've never seen this. My in-laws who just got new hard wood flooring with new baseboards without ANY gaps. So is this just another way to get money? If the floor is cut and installed properly, should there be gaps? Would you go with an installer who is saying this?
Wanted to edit: I'm talking about the baseboards on the floor. Not sure if molding is the right word to use.
Your concrete floor is not going to be level in all spots. So when your baseboards are down you will see small gaps where it meets the concrete. Carpet hides these small gaps but vinyl planking is not as thick so the gaps could be noticeable. When I installed planking 99% of the time we were able to caulk that small gap. Some installers don't cut the planking as close so they put down shoe molding or quarter round to hide the gap. If the baseboards are in bad shape that would be another issue. Painting the moldings to match the baseboards becomes another problem as well. 1K to cover a small 400sf area sounds excessive.
Your concrete floor is not going to be level in all spots. So when your baseboards are down you will see small gaps where it meets the concrete. Carpet hides these small gaps but vinyl planking is not as thick so the gaps could be noticeable. When I installed planking 99% of the time we were able to caulk that small gap. Some installers don't cut the planking as close so they put down shoe molding or quarter round to hide the gap. If the baseboards are in bad shape that would be another issue. Painting the moldings to match the baseboards becomes another problem as well. 1K to cover a small 400sf area sounds excessive.
I think I made a mistake. I'm talking about the baseboards. Replacing them all.
Replace the molding, don’t do half round. Or pull the existing molding a paint them. Half round doesn’t look good. An installer with any credible skills can deal with the gaps and make them look great.
So would you not go with the place that is recommending the quarter round with the new baseboards? I mean he didn't say I had to, but was also the only place that ever said anything about gaps. Maybe he knows his guys will do a fast job instead of a good one?
If you google or look at any flooring brochure, you will see most wood or vinyl planking with high baseboards and 3/4 round molding. Quarter round molding can be used depending on the baseboards.
These are answers that boggle the mind... clearly not the correct answer(s). Think about it!
The english professor is substituting for the math professor today I see! Let us hope they don't use fur ¼ round!
OP, I did this last year and recently completed the trim work. I think you are getting confused on terms here. The baseboard is what trims out the bottom of your wall, usually maybe 5 inches or so tall from the floor. The flooring should be up against that piece with say a ¼ to ½ inch gap between the edge of the floor and the baseboard to allow for movement of the room itself throughout the seasons without messing up the floor.
That gap between the baseboard and the floor is covered with shoe molding, which is a small piece of trim. Depending on the dips in your floor (I hope the contractor tried to at least level some of it with self-leveler if severe), the shoe molding piece usually has some flex to it. When it is installed (I used a pneumatic pin nailer on mine), just press it down onto the floor surface and nail it into the baseboard (not the floor itself).
I did a lot of leveling work on mine last year, and it came out quite well. I would grade my work on that aspect at about a 90%. But, some areas still existed with a slight slope towards the wall that i just couldn't get to. Not bad and only I notice it because i stared at it for 7 months. But after the shoe molding went down and I gently pressed it against the floor itself to install, you don't even notice it. I do have some "gaps" of say maybe 1/16th of an inch between the shoe molding and the floor itself, but not noticeable and probably a good thing to prevent too much pressure on the shoe molding as the room moves around a bit during the seasons. Concrete moves, wall studs move, floor joists for the floor above move, it all moves a little. Too tight of a fit and you won't be happy with the results for very long..
These are answers that boggle the mind... clearly not the correct answer(s). Think about it!
I guess it doesn't take much to boggle your mind. Most of the trim carpenters by us use 1/2" quarter round mouldings for flooring. When we did wood floors we would have to tell them to use the "3/4 round" so they knew not to use the 1/2". Some of the guys would use the 1/2" to avoid making a special trip to the supplier. It was understood that "quarter round" was being used.
OP, I did this last year and recently completed the trim work. I think you are getting confused on terms here. The baseboard is what trims out the bottom of your wall, usually maybe 5 inches or so tall from the floor. The flooring should be up against that piece with say a ¼ to ½ inch gap between the edge of the floor and the baseboard to allow for movement of the room itself throughout the seasons without messing up the floor.
OP is using vinyl plank flooring. If you have 1/4" or 1/2" gap you had a bad installer. Vinyl plank should easily be cut flush. That's why most of the builders would run a bead of caulk along the base board. I don't care for caulking myself, I much prefer the look of shoe moulding.
The english professor is substituting for the math professor today I see! Let us hope they don't use fur ¼ round!
OP, I did this last year and recently completed the trim work. I think you are getting confused on terms here. The baseboard is what trims out the bottom of your wall, usually maybe 5 inches or so tall from the floor. The flooring should be up against that piece with say a ¼ to ½ inch gap between the edge of the floor and the baseboard to allow for movement of the room itself throughout the seasons without messing up the floor.
That gap between the baseboard and the floor is covered with shoe molding, which is a small piece of trim. Depending on the dips in your floor (I hope the contractor tried to at least level some of it with self-leveler if severe), the shoe molding piece usually has some flex to it. When it is installed (I used a pneumatic pin nailer on mine), just press it down onto the floor surface and nail it into the baseboard (not the floor itself).
I did a lot of leveling work on mine last year, and it came out quite well. I would grade my work on that aspect at about a 90%. But, some areas still existed with a slight slope towards the wall that i just couldn't get to. Not bad and only I notice it because i stared at it for 7 months. But after the shoe molding went down and I gently pressed it against the floor itself to install, you don't even notice it. I do have some "gaps" of say maybe 1/16th of an inch between the shoe molding and the floor itself, but not noticeable and probably a good thing to prevent too much pressure on the shoe molding as the room moves around a bit during the seasons. Concrete moves, wall studs move, floor joists for the floor above move, it all moves a little. Too tight of a fit and you won't be happy with the results for very long..
Now backs two me grammer home wok.
Thanks! This was very informative. I actually googled pictures of the baseboard with shoe molding, and it looks very nice. As you can see, I pay very little attention to baseboards lol.
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. I've never heard of this, it kinds of scarred me and I've never seen this. My in-laws who just got new hard wood flooring with new baseboards without ANY gaps. So is this just another way to get money? If the floor is cut and installed properly, should there be gaps? Would you go with an installer who is saying this?
