In about 1/2 the walls in my house the drywall is hung about 1/2" above the floor. This gave me the idea of running a Jam saw around the perimeter of the room to rip out an undercut space under the drywall. This would give me an extra 5/8" to the foot stud that I could calculate into my gap and avoid nailing quarter round to my baseboard.

Aside from the hazard of hitting drywall nails, anyone see a problem with this?

Thanks,

--David

Im assuming you are considering this due to the expansion gap recommendations of the flooring company. If the wood is acclimated to your living conditions (let sit in the house for a few days) Then leaving only a gap that can be covered by your base without shoe is just fine. You have to understand that the recommendations that the companies give are only to cover their butts. One way or the other they will avoid their warranty if something were to happen to the flooor reguardless of how big you gap is.

There's nothing wrong with trimming the drywall for extra expansion space.
A lot of Base board profiles dont have the thickness for required expansion. I'm not a big fan of shoe or quarter round on base. IMO it's a lot cleaner look with just the base. So it's a good idea for that added expansion to gain that look. But be aware of the dust that's created running an undercut saw through drywall.

By all means, cut the drywall, it is done all the time. Yuo should be able to see the bottom row of nails since they are generally not filled since the baseboards cover them. Since you will be cutting just another 1/4 inch up from the bottom edge of the drywall, you shouldn't encounter any nails anyway.