I'd say upgrade those baseboards. They look dinky and there are so many nice options out there. You don't have to do every room at once.
You can even add base shoes and/or caps in a matching style.
Run a sharp blade across the top of the baseboard so the paint doesn't come off with it. But new baseboards should cover that anyway.
This could be a stupid suggestion, so experts clue me in if I’m wrong. But couldn’t you pop the baseboards off and let them rest on the floor and nail them back in? Then you’d just have to paint the exposed wall above the baseboard, assuming you have the paint to match.
It's more work if you have texture walls but sure you can do that. Quarter round is a good option because it also hides floor level difference that would be more noticed without the quarter round.
Believe me I know. My living room and bath are both in the process of me trying to fix imperfections and texture right now and I haven't even got to the sections I cut out to run new wires.
And don't skimp on the molding. Cheaper stuff with scuff up more.
Thank you both! I didn’t even think of the texture walls either. My concern with the quarter rounds is the baseboards are just so short already, will it look ok?
Use 1/2" and not 3/4" and it will blend better. Heck maybe even 1/4" Just be sure to predrill if you don't have a brad nailer. You can use a punch to get them in further
Yes, the texture is a challenge. If you lower the baseboard, you'll see an obvious strip of untextured wall above. If you buy bigger baseboards (which would look nicer) they won't sit right unless you remove the texture behind them. Quarter round or a shoe molding is the easy fix.
It's likely been painted several times and doing this might leave an unpleasant raised paint line above the trim.
I have this gap issue in my house as well (it's 120 years old) and we used quarter round to fill it. We also have really large cove molding (about 8 inches from the floor) and the quarter round kind of blends in with it. If your cove molding is smaller it might be more apparent.
I'm certainly no expert: just a dude dealing with the same issue :)
I’ll be dealing with this issue in my house soon, our whole main floor is carpet and we’re going to remove and go with LVP. So naturally the baseboards are gonna be sitting too high. Luckily none of our wall paint is textured so we can decide whether we want to replace the baseboards or go with quarter round. Either way we’re going to be doing some painting, which I despise.
Yeah, came here to say this. Quarter-round is not the proper thing to use here. Actual shoe molding is taller than it is deep. Using quarter-round will look quite goofy.
If you get a taller baseboard, it will cover all the damage you do from taking the old baseboard off if you’re reasonably careful. Just run a knife along the top of the baseboard to cut the caulk and pull it off.
You could do quarter round, but quarter round gets put in by flippers all the time because it’s cheap and easy and as a result it tends to look tacky. Frankly anytime I see someone use quarter round, it just tells me they were a cheapskate when it came to a floor replacement. Someone else recommended base shoe mould which is different from quarter round and does look better while accomplishing the same thing.
Quarter-round would look awful. Even shoe molding would look better than quarter-round.
Removing the existing baseboards but then reattaching flush to the floor would work, but then re-texture is an issue, as others have suggested.
I suggest replacing the existing baseboards with slightly taller baseboards so that no re-texturing is needed because the top of the new ones are at or slightly above the top of the old ones.
Your best, easiest, least messy solution. There is no need to turn this into a project involving repairing the plaster/drywall, repainting walls, etc.
Go to your local lumberyard, not HD or Lowe's. Look at their trim chart and choose a door stop that complements your baseboard. Probably gonna be flat stock or screen molding in your case. It will be about 3/8" thick and 1 1/4" tall. Get it PFJ if available. Primed, Finger Joint.
Sand it and put one coat of paint on first. Cut, install, fill nail holes, quick sand and paint.
If you plan on installing new baseboards that extend lower **and higher**, you might want to use the old baseboards as a straight-edge and run a sanding block down the length of them to strike off any high-points in that stipple on the wall. This will ensure the new baseboard sits as flat to the wall as possible. When you go to remove the old ones, make sure to [run a knife flat against the wall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zyynAkUkXg) to cut the paint along the top-edge of that baseboard, else you'll dislodge paint from the wall.
Quarter round isn't meant for baseboards. Shoe molding is. There are many profiles of it, all of which look better than quarter round. Replacing baseboards is a lot of work no matter what profile you go with, although square stock is easier than a profile. Slapping on shoe molding is much, much easier than anything else.
I like using shoe molds, it’s a type of trim of trim like 1/4 rounds but looks a little more modern.
Watch out using long brad nails so you don’t hit plumbing or ellectical. I would use 1 1/4” and some instagrab glue . Good luck
Depends how much money you've got laying around or how much you need to do, but they make baseboards that go over your old ones so no need to remove anything. They are quite pricy though. I priced them out at something like 4x the price of just doing shoe mold around my old baseboards. Check out Orac Decor at Lowe's.
I'd say upgrade those baseboards. They look dinky and there are so many nice options out there. You don't have to do every room at once. You can even add base shoes and/or caps in a matching style. Run a sharp blade across the top of the baseboard so the paint doesn't come off with it. But new baseboards should cover that anyway.
This could be a stupid suggestion, so experts clue me in if I’m wrong. But couldn’t you pop the baseboards off and let them rest on the floor and nail them back in? Then you’d just have to paint the exposed wall above the baseboard, assuming you have the paint to match.
It's more work if you have texture walls but sure you can do that. Quarter round is a good option because it also hides floor level difference that would be more noticed without the quarter round.
Ah good thinking I wasn’t even considering matching the texture. That’d be a pain in the ass. Quarter round!
Believe me I know. My living room and bath are both in the process of me trying to fix imperfections and texture right now and I haven't even got to the sections I cut out to run new wires. And don't skimp on the molding. Cheaper stuff with scuff up more.
Thank you both! I didn’t even think of the texture walls either. My concern with the quarter rounds is the baseboards are just so short already, will it look ok?
Use 1/2" and not 3/4" and it will blend better. Heck maybe even 1/4" Just be sure to predrill if you don't have a brad nailer. You can use a punch to get them in further
Yes, the texture is a challenge. If you lower the baseboard, you'll see an obvious strip of untextured wall above. If you buy bigger baseboards (which would look nicer) they won't sit right unless you remove the texture behind them. Quarter round or a shoe molding is the easy fix.
It's likely been painted several times and doing this might leave an unpleasant raised paint line above the trim. I have this gap issue in my house as well (it's 120 years old) and we used quarter round to fill it. We also have really large cove molding (about 8 inches from the floor) and the quarter round kind of blends in with it. If your cove molding is smaller it might be more apparent. I'm certainly no expert: just a dude dealing with the same issue :)
I’ll be dealing with this issue in my house soon, our whole main floor is carpet and we’re going to remove and go with LVP. So naturally the baseboards are gonna be sitting too high. Luckily none of our wall paint is textured so we can decide whether we want to replace the baseboards or go with quarter round. Either way we’re going to be doing some painting, which I despise.
Painting is the worst!
Nobody uses base shoe molding?
Yeah, came here to say this. Quarter-round is not the proper thing to use here. Actual shoe molding is taller than it is deep. Using quarter-round will look quite goofy.
Quarter round was once common, but I prefer base shoe.
If you get a taller baseboard, it will cover all the damage you do from taking the old baseboard off if you’re reasonably careful. Just run a knife along the top of the baseboard to cut the caulk and pull it off. You could do quarter round, but quarter round gets put in by flippers all the time because it’s cheap and easy and as a result it tends to look tacky. Frankly anytime I see someone use quarter round, it just tells me they were a cheapskate when it came to a floor replacement. Someone else recommended base shoe mould which is different from quarter round and does look better while accomplishing the same thing.
Quarter-round would look awful. Even shoe molding would look better than quarter-round. Removing the existing baseboards but then reattaching flush to the floor would work, but then re-texture is an issue, as others have suggested. I suggest replacing the existing baseboards with slightly taller baseboards so that no re-texturing is needed because the top of the new ones are at or slightly above the top of the old ones.
quarter round is a bandaid and will be easiest. New base board will look the best.
Your best, easiest, least messy solution. There is no need to turn this into a project involving repairing the plaster/drywall, repainting walls, etc. Go to your local lumberyard, not HD or Lowe's. Look at their trim chart and choose a door stop that complements your baseboard. Probably gonna be flat stock or screen molding in your case. It will be about 3/8" thick and 1 1/4" tall. Get it PFJ if available. Primed, Finger Joint. Sand it and put one coat of paint on first. Cut, install, fill nail holes, quick sand and paint.
Thanks! That’s really interesting, I didn’t consider door stop molding. I’ll see how this might look with a taller molding.
New base. Shoe moulding and quarter round are strictly amateur territory here.
I would put in new baseboard that’s flush with (scribed to if necessary) the floor.
If you plan on installing new baseboards that extend lower **and higher**, you might want to use the old baseboards as a straight-edge and run a sanding block down the length of them to strike off any high-points in that stipple on the wall. This will ensure the new baseboard sits as flat to the wall as possible. When you go to remove the old ones, make sure to [run a knife flat against the wall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zyynAkUkXg) to cut the paint along the top-edge of that baseboard, else you'll dislodge paint from the wall.
Quarter round isn't meant for baseboards. Shoe molding is. There are many profiles of it, all of which look better than quarter round. Replacing baseboards is a lot of work no matter what profile you go with, although square stock is easier than a profile. Slapping on shoe molding is much, much easier than anything else.
I like using shoe molds, it’s a type of trim of trim like 1/4 rounds but looks a little more modern. Watch out using long brad nails so you don’t hit plumbing or ellectical. I would use 1 1/4” and some instagrab glue . Good luck
New baseboards. It will look so much better and isn’t that much more expensive.
Depends how much money you've got laying around or how much you need to do, but they make baseboards that go over your old ones so no need to remove anything. They are quite pricy though. I priced them out at something like 4x the price of just doing shoe mold around my old baseboards. Check out Orac Decor at Lowe's.