This happens when the baseboard is installed before the flooring is laid.

Are you trying to preserve the baseboard? Or just find the easiest/quickest way to get it removed?

How much of it is there to do? You can Dremel it so it's flush with the floor.

Are you saying that the light colored piece of wood that’s splintering on top is baseboard?? If so, remove the floor plank/planks that butt up to it (which it looks like you have to replace anyway due to moisture damage) and that’ll give you the room to get your pry bar underneath. Then, if you’re keeping the flooring, lay a new, wider, plank into the space where you removed the others so that the new baseboard can sit on top of the finished flooring. Don’t butt the the new wood flooring pieces right up to the wall, though; you do need an expansion gap.

Looking to remove the baseboard and not replace floors. Thinking the dremel tool to make it flush and then put new baseboards on top?

That might work! While you're in there, you might want to also consider caulking the gaps around the baseboard. We did it and it made a pretty big difference on the draftiness of our home. (I'm convinced it cut down on spider visits too.)

It looks like the base board is nailed into sill plate behind it. The base board is breaking at the nail line. If you have a dremmel cut the nails between the two and then try to pry the base boards out. Slide the pry bar under the baseboard, lengthwise, and use a hammer and lightly tap the pry bar under the base board and lift it, then keep going.

Thank you all for your help. Definitely going to try to seal wall behind it

Use a chisel and hammer, split/splinter the wood, remove pieces, pull out nails. All done.

What Kitchen Abode and Wacokid said. It's a pain in the neck to do, but just dig them out any way you can. It can help a lot to cut the nails on the back side with an oscillating tool. Get a carbide blade if you have a lot to do.

I'm removing blind nailed paneling (real wood) now, with intent to save. I find a reciprocating saw with a long fine metal-cutting blade works. It helps if it's variable speed. Oscillating tool as mentioned above also would work.

Why do u think that is baseboard?

Why do u think that is baseboard?

Because it's a decorative board installed at the base of a wall. That's kind of the definition of a baseboard.

Do you think it could be a support for the roof? :)

(Updated to add: This was in response to a post from Stax that they have since deleted)

My current house has it that way.

It usually happens when someone gets new flooring done and the contractor is too lazy to remove and replace the baseboards (or the homeowner is too cheap to pay for the extra work that entails). So they lay the new flooring and it butts up to the existing baseboard and buries the bottom of it.

I don't think there's any argument that it's a valid way to have it done. It's just an incorrect way of installation that happens.

(Updated to add: This was in response to a post from Stax that they have since deleted)

I'm not trying to argue, but I just don't believe you understand what I'm saying. Probably because you don't like the messenger. :)

It is definitely less work in some situations.

Here's an example:

Picture a house that is all done. Baseboards are on the wall already. Painted and finished.

Someone decides they want new hardwood floors instead of their current cheap laminate.

The contractor comes in and doesn't touch the baseboards. They simply hammer down the new hardwood on top of the existing floor and collect their paycheck and go home.

Now the baseboards are buried a half inch below the surface of the new floor.

This is much easier than removing the baseboard (which could potentially also damage the wall), removing the existing flooring down to the sub floor. Then install the hardwood. Then replacing the baseboard.

It's the 'wrong' way to do it, but it's easier and cheaper.

" I'm not trying to argue, but I just don't believe you understand what I'm saying. Probably because you don't like the messenger. :) "

Classy!

When will I learn that you (Stax) will come back and delete your posts that I reply to so that my follow up posts don't seem to make sense any more and I'm countering points that no longer exist.

Honestly, I don't know why everything I say, no matter how benign, rubs you the wrong way.

I am having a bit of an issue figuring this out since that looks much thicker than most baseboards . I would like to see a picture from further back.

I had the same problem. At the end I removed it cutting the nails with a sawzall and pulling out the baseboard with a pry bar. My question is, how do you fill the gap between the floor and the wall before replacing the baseboard? I tried to use baseboard with the same with than the previous one but it doesn't fit in all the gaps. Should I fill it up with insulating foam and install the new baseboard on top? Thanks

You might want to start a new thread since this is your project, not the OP's (and this is a very old thread). Include pictures and description. What is under the wood? A solid sub floor? A crawl space? A room downstairs?

Filling the gap is important if you think it will get drafty. But if it's wood over a solid subfloor and you know there will be no drafts, you can just hide it with the new trim if you want. If the new trim is too narrow to hide the gap well, then add a quarter round, like this:

or a more modern look:

I just ran into this problem. My floor's tile was laid after the baseboards were in place. I wanted to add some new cabinets and needed to remove baseboards to get them flush with the wall, which required removing the baseboards. I DESTROYED those baseboards getting them up.