Hardwood Flooring Installation: What Are Moldings?
Installing a hardwood floor requires a gap be left between the walls of the house and the wood.
This is because wood expands and contracts in response to humidity and temperature. The gap needed is approximately one-quarter of an inch, which means you will have a fissure in your floor all around the room.
Not good looking.
The answer, of course, is to cover it over. Here is a brief over-view on several ways to approach this:
Baseboards
- the floor goes closer to the wall, with the baseboard covering the gap.
- come in dozens of designs and sizes.
- if you already have a good baseboard, often we can remove it, install the floor, and then return the baseboard exactly as it was. (Sometimes the baseboard is old and rickety and needs to be replaced - the good news is you get to choose a new, attractive, baseboard!)
Quarter Round
- for a simpler and/or less expensive route, you can cover the gap with quarter round.
- if you have a baseboard that you do not want removed (or perhaps cannot be safely removed), you can cover the gap with quarter-round, either matching the floor or matching the baseboard in color.
- standard is ¾” x ¾” but can run anywhere from a half inch to 1-1/2”.
Shoe Molding
- shoe mold is like quarter round except one edge is half the length. Standard is ¾” x ½”. (If the rounded edge is inverted, it is often called cove molding.)
- may be the best choice with shorter baseboards, or it may be the only floor-matching choice available.
- can also be used as a “mini-reducer," i.e. if you are running a floor into a slightly higher or lower tile.
Thresholds, t-molds and reducers.
- as discussed in previous posts, these cover gaps between rooms.
These moldings can usually be done to match the floor, or match the wall or baseboard. Your FloorMan can offer you advice on which moldings you should use; though it is often a matter of personal taste.