We are having Brazillian Cherry installed (5" plank) throughout our new home. Is it best to remove the existing base board the builder put in and replace it or is simply applying 1/4 round trim painted to match acceptable? This is a huge investment so I want the best result possible. Thanks!

Hi Mare,
If you like the baseboards you now have and they are in good shape, I would not remove them. Simply lay the flooring and afterward, install baseshoe moulding or quarter round. It will need to be bigger than 1/4" though. You can also look at other mouldings if you don't like baseshoe. You can choose to have the baseshoe match the flooring or the baseboards. I suppose the flooring installer could try to undercut the existing base and slide the flooring under but the inside corners would be difficult to deal with. The simplist and least costly and very acceptable solution is to add trim to the gap at the bottom of the baseboards where the base and flooring come together.

Are you iinstaalling 3/4" solid?....if so it needs a 3/4" expansion gap. especially in a wide room, to cover the gap you may need to remove the base and add shoe molding, it comes down to personal taste. I prefer the clean look of baseboards only, but I install a lot more 1/4 round and shoe than i re-insttall baseboards, its easier than taking off and replaciinf baseboards and can look very good also.

Also depends on the type of base that's in place. In many areas, common colonial base is used which is only 3 1/2" in height. With a 3/4" solid it's gonna look pretty darned ugly with a 5/8" or 3/4" quarter round. The example shows a 3/8" engineered floor with 3/4" qtr'd.

Ken, I gotta agree with you. Baseshoe (especially when it is the same wood as the floor) looks like crap on short baseboards. Somehow, I was thinking the customer had taller base, like 5" or 6" and in that scenerio, I feel a painted baseshoe that matches the baseboards looks best and is traditional. If one has that cheap 3&1/4" MDF colonial stuff, take it off. Even if you break half of it, it hardly costs anything. On the other hand, removing ornate 6" pine baseboards (especially finger jointed) could be very cost prohibitive. Besides, has anyone ever worked in a turn of the century home where the baseboards were nailed up first and then they plastered to them. Wouldn't be a good idea to remove those. In the right circumstance, baseshoe is the proper solution.

It is purely a matter of taste.

That which looks like crap to some, looks like ice cream to others.

Why stand in the way?

Thanks for eveyones advice and opinions. I was never a big fan of 1/4 round shoe molding but, our installer said it was the most "economical. I think for the money I should have the base replaced with new 5" base trim. I think it will be a nice "frame" for the floor and after investing the money in the floor we might as well invest in what sits right on top of it. The current base is 3 1/4" and is brand new (we are building a spec home and doing a major remodel after we close with the builder). Thanks for the pictures too Ken. They helped me to make up my mind pretty quickly!

Mare:

With 5" base board if your floor is not completely flat you will have to install shoe anyway. The wider the base the harder it is to keep tight to the floor or you will have to scribe and hand plane the base to fit the floor. I like the looks of base shoe 1/2"x3/4" the best.