We have always done new baseboards and quarter rounds. Seems unfinished without quarter rounds to me, but I think it is a personal choice.

Jolene - Brand new baseboards and quarter rounds? I'm not very experienced. Are both necessary or do you just like the look of both together?

Usually the old baseboards won't be worth putting back on, whatever baseboards you choose is up to your personal style.

I don't like the look of quarter round--it looks cheap to me. As long as your floors are fairly flat, it should look good with just the baseboard (I recommend new BB).

If you type "baseboard" in a search in the living room photos, you'll see examples of each way (with and without quarter round).
There could be regional preferences but I like quarter round. I like it to match the baseboard but I notice in the south in newer homes they are matching the quarter round to the floor.

Quarter round on its own sounds a poor idea. This may be of some help:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-size-interior-trim-for-a-finished-look-stsetivw-vs~2934773

I agree with many of the above comments. Go with new baseboards and forget the quarter round. It is typically used if (A ) the floor is replaced/refinished using the old baseboards or (B) as Sustainable Dwellings mentioned, the flaws in the installation need to be covered.

New baseboards, no quarter round. Quarter round always tells me someone was too lazy to pull off baseboards when installing new floor and needed to hide the raw edge. Besides, it is a maintenance nightmare.

If the baseboards are old, there is a good chance they will crack when uninstalling. I've always left the baseboard and installed 1/4 round after the floor install. Youll need a minimum expansion gap between the floor and whatever trim you have. In my experience, I've never had enough room between the bottom of the baseboard and the new floor for that expansion. In addition, if the baseboards have been painted numerous times, you'll have carpet fuzzies and paint lines that can be covered with the quarter round. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks to all for you input. I think I like the look of just plain baseboard so I'll install new white baseboard.

Modern baseboards in apartments like yours are generally just pieces of 1x4 painted. Often they aren't even real wood...mdf instead. He may be able to salvage yours. In the old days of quality workmanship you had real baseboards with a profile and a quarter-round was used to finish off the space. Wood floors (yours?) need a gap against the wall in order to allow for expansion and contraction with heat and humidity. The quarter-round can disguise that gap. It would be odd to see only a quarter-round used IMHO.

We recently replaced carpet with hardwood. We removed and discarded old baseboard, and we installed new baseboard with no quarter round. It looks great. Wouldn't even consider putting up quarter round. The new baseboards added to the expense, but the project wouldn't have turned out looking as good as it does if we would have reused the old baseboard. Penny wise, pou d foolish sort of situation. Just my two cents.

Can you post a picture of the baseboards? I have rental property and have been able to gently pry off the baseboards, number them and reinstall pretty easily. Modern ranch casing like you have is no problem at all, even the small pieces. I bought an oscillating saw with a thin angled blade that works well for undercutting the doorframes and such. It can also be used to cut off nails if they are resisting.

The trick is to use two small prybars to take off the molding and to do a little at a time along the entire length. If you can find some old ones worn thin, that is great, and some cheap 5-in-one tool (paint scraper-putty knife) can come in handy too. The hardest part is the initial part to get the tool down in there--you might need to score the paint with a utility knife, and use a thin blade to gently work it out enough to get the prybar in. Don't force it or try to pull out nails from the face side.

Old House Journal had a good article awhile ago about this, and I've been able to successfully remove all my baseboards and quarterround and reuse it all without cracking. Saves a lot of money in the long run, and easier to not have to recut all the miters and such as long as you keep track of what goes where as you work. I draw a rough floorplan with the numbering start point indicated and the rough arrangement, and number the back of each piece with a sharpie L-1 and so forth for Living Room Once. It is easiest to do with two people working together over the weekend or something. Your contractor should be able to reinstall easily if you place it in the right order and do the prep work--less trouble actually than cutting quarter round.

It is a total waste to trash all trim because of carelessness, unless it is that plastic foam stuff. That stuff can't be salvaged. Plastic can, but you might not want to. I also find it is a good time to give the trim a good scrub and paint before reinstalling..

Another option is to undercut the baseboard to be able to slip the new floor under. While this can be a bit tricky your flooring contractor should be able to do it neatly and aforably. Keep in mind you will loose some of the height of the baseboard which may not be acceptable to you aesthetically.

Yes, new baseboards and new quarter rounds are what I like. It looks more finished to me. Growing up my parents high end home and their friends have always had them that way. When not their it seemed a way to save money, but I think you need to see what you like in your space. If keeping old they may seem short after install and quarter rounds. I also would go real wood if it was in the budget.

I read up! So glad you found a great solution. So fun!!! Post pics

I would use a COVE moulding, never quarter round as it looks cheap. Cove moulding looks really elegant...I have it all around my house and I love it. Here is a pic of mine, and another showing a close up of what it looks like on it's own...

victorianbungalowranch - we tried to pull them off gently but there were covered in like a cement glue or something and they pulled off chunks of the wall with them! i'm about to buy new baseboards now.

anitanazar - that's gorgeous

Well, if it is newer construction, they might have tacked them up with construction adhesive or something, and then nails. Sometimes they caulk along the top, but that shouldn't take the wall with it. Did you try to score the seams first?

Too bad you weren't able to salvage them. I hope they weren't that fancy in the first place. :)

Piff, update us on how you do and please post pictures when you are done!

Victorian - They were crap and they are being replaced with similar (hehehheheh - budget restrictions and all that) this time they wont be glued tho.

Not sure what happened with the original boards. My contractor showed me one of the boards and informed me the rest were coming off like that so we'd have to get new.

Anita - I definitely will!

Quarter Round, Cove Molding or just Baseboards is a personal and/or geographic preference. If you have a character or heritage home, I suggest staying with the original what ever it is. Otherwise always go with new baseboards as it will modernize your house. If you don't it looks like you have nice new flooring with some old baseboards on top. If you have no choice (maybe budget) then make sure you get someone with experience. Always lift up from the bottom when removing baseboards in order to not mark up your walls and always pull the nails from the back side especially if they are MDF.

We installed hardwood floors in the house we just sold and I did not like the look of quarter rounds. We decided to install new baseboards so we didn't have to use quarter rounds. We are now also doing the same in the new house we just purchased - new floors with new baseboards and no quarter rounds. We even had the brick fireplace undercut so that we didn't have to use quarter rounds there as well.

Remove existing baseboard then instal new flooring.

Make sure new base is high enough to cover old paint line. Product cost $1.00

Linear foot.

Have it pre painted before instal.

Dont use half round as it makes instal look amateur.

Use pine not mdf

I have a Victorian with 12 inch baseboards on the walls. We are getting ready to do a bathroom, and there is no way we are ripping out those costly baseboards! We have done so in the past, and half of them were always ruined. To replace any of these, we would have to have them milled! So...flooring going up to the baseboards with a finishing quarter round. I really like the look of quarter round; I would use it even if we replaced the baseboards -- not because we would be covering up a shoddy job, but because to me it says "finished." Guess we all have our preferences...I think it is pretty rude to assume that quarter round = amateur.

Kim your a little late to that 2015 post but YES 1/4 round is a cheap way to do it and does look amateurish. You even note that you arent doing the job correctly to save your baseboard. That is why people buy 1/4 round.

ANYTIME you are buying 1/4 round molding you are doing something wrong and covering something up. It has no other purpose.

Baseboards can be finished off with a shoe molding which has a small profile not a 1/4 round. If your baseboards are orig they have a shoe not 1/4 round. Do it right and remove the moldings. If you like the look buy the correct shoe molding.

Since the conversation began in October 2013 and contains comments through 2015, I didn't think it inappropriate to comment -- particularly since the topic is clearly one that remains a current concern. As for quarter round only being used to cover up flaws and "gaps," if want to get down to brass tacks, that's exactly what baseboards do; in fact, the purpose of all trim, including shoe molding, is to cover up the uneven places.

If baseboard is properly removed it should be reusable. Shoe molding (not quarter round) is used to cover gaps left by uneven floor height, not just poor workmanship.

ba baseboards

It may be a regional choice. In my area, all hard-surface flooring is typically finished with shoe molding, and to my eye, adds to the finished look of the job....yes, applied in high-end houses by professionals not amateurs. I realize that quarter-round and shoe molding are different, but I think many use the term 'quarter-round' for all.

Even though this thread began years ago, it is still available for reading and commenting by those interested in the subject, so why not? .

A third option is to undercut the existing baseboard with a plunge cut tool (Fein, Rockwell, etc.). I am currently in the midst of the same dilemma and that is where I ended up believing 1/4 round was an obvious shout out of shortcut.

Old, old dead thread.

It may be an old thread, but obviously the issue is ongoing...you could just ignore the notifications if you are bored with the subject...

Thank you for continuing this conversation! It's all very relevant and informative.

Whether or not your baseboards come off easily may be related to their age, how they were originally installed, and the number of coats of paint on them.....and mostly the care taken in removing them. If they were painted many times, you will not have time to refinish them before the crew finishes the flooring. That could be a problem if they need refinishing. Installing the bamboo flooring up to the current baseboards (not removing the baseboards) would require the addition of the quarter round trim to cover the seam.
Is the bamboo flooring being installed over the existing floor? Are there any squeaks you need to take care of first? Is the existing floor not worth refinishing because of its condition?
You need to be clear on the details and make a few decisions before you sign a contract.

I think I'm going to undercut mine as Joe Wilson suggested.

I know the post is old, but I was wondering if there is significantly more dust collection when using cove instead of shoe? Also, does the vacuum scuff it up?

For the quarter round experts: I had LV plank flooring installed on my second floor replacing the carpet. The floor beneath is plywood and uneven. The contractor placed the flooring but there are a lot of dips. My designer blamed the builder for that although I think the flooring contractor should have prepped more thoroughly. Anyhow, I had the mounding replaced but some areas have a significant gap between floor and moulding. A friend said that floating floors should not be caulked. Would quarter round help this?

New baseboard no quarter round. Quarter round isn’t needed and in my opinion loses the clean straight look along the baseboard at the floor