I can see maybe removing the quarter round but not the base board. Ikea dressers are not built ins.

I would want the baseboards. There is enough room usually at the bottom of a dresser or chest, to notch it out, and keep the nicer look in the closet. He doesnt sound lazy at all. He sounds like he cares what his work looks like, and wants it finished properly. I dont know if I like the floors though, if that is the finished look.

To clarify—I did only ask to notch out the area that dresser sits in. He can certainly leave the rest. I just think the spider thing sounds made-up LOL. Right? PS. Floors in end have been stained ebony. They look great.

So, the floor isn't finished under the baseboard. Leave the baseboard and notch the dresser like @cat_ky suggested. The dressers you are putting in aren't permanent.

I would want it consistent with the rest of the room--can't tell whether there is quarter round throughout? I wouldn't want to notch it out unless that pushes the dressers into a space where the door won't close or there's some other overarching concern.

Sounds like he is being diligent. Still, I think it is a matter of preference. I personally don't care what the inside floor of my closet looks like. My contractor was so far behind on our job and installing baseboard in the closet was last on his list and I told him just to caulk it up instead. I just wanted him and his crew out of my home so we could move in. Perhaps you can have one section removed and caulking added to the seam between wall and floor?

Don’t the dressers already have a notch at the bottom? I don’t have a malm dresser, but I do have a few shoe cabinets and the lower back bottoms have notches so the cab will sit flush to the wall even with a baseboard (especially since ikea is very pro attaching cabs to the wall so they don’t tip). Maybe you could ask your guy to increase the notch to the profile for a snugger fit.

You want it flush to the wall? Tell him to come back and notch base or shoe or both.

Is he lazy? Maybe, maybe not. He may just have better things to do and he knows the excuse is stupid,, just as YOU know it is that.

In instances like this? You are either around at the moment to check progress and the result, or you specify. I'll assume he also did the floor? The floor was all done, including the closet trim, before he returned to install the closet system, yes? Of course it was lazy.....or he didn't THINK it was a big deal because we generally close the doors on a reach in closet ; the HD COMPONENTS are to keep it tidy/ organized. Which is what you will be doing. It will be behind closed doors.

Of course the answer was idiotic: ) and your answer should have been......."I don't want D.U.S.T behind it, and I need it rectified now ,please."

“I just think the spider thing sounds made-up”

It is not made up. How much it holds true is debatable, but he isn’t lying to you (assuming he caulked).

There is a reason that exterminators walked around houses spraying baseboards for 75 years and why too many still do today… that’s where the bugs are.

You could just google this. You will find pest control companies, builders, and entomologists all saying “caulk your baseboards” to keep bugs out. I would argue that paint/caulk is actually doing most of the heavy lifting, but certainly that is a lot easier with baseboards to caulk and your contractor certainly may believe the baseboards are important.

2" what the heck kind of shoe mold did he use?I ahve Malm dresser in my walk in and even with it still does not sit anywhere close to 2" from the wall.

Oh, we legit have spiders in the crevices in our old wood floors. (They also really like the cutouts for the pulleys of our old windows.) I don't really care--we like spiders generally since they eat any mosquitoes that wander in, and the black widows, which are the only ones that spook me, don't like to come inside--but if you live somewhere where spiders are common, that does seem like something that could happen. So he's not exactly wrong. That said, if you do not want baseboard, you wouldn't just leave an open gap between the wall and the floor--you'd fill it with caulk, which would solve for that in a different way. We have this in our bathroom where the baseboard was cut out around the feet of the vanity to allow the vanity to sit flush against the wall.

Another thing to weigh here, since it looks (?) like there might be an outlet in the center section of the closet in the photo--if that's what that is, are you planning to plug things in that will sit on top of the dresser? You might appreciate not having it flush at the back to run cords if so.

Yes, I meant notch the dressers, not the baseboards. I have cabinets for some collectibles. The cabinets are notched, not my baseboards.

Get a piece of 3/8 inch glass cut to protect the top of the dresser edge to edge all the way back to the wall. Any auto glass or mirror shop - all 4 sides polished. Easy to clean, no scratches on the dresser, no gap in back

Then put the clothes in, close the doors and move on: )

Don't win a battle, only to lose a war.