Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Replacing hardwood and baseboards

My contractor stated that he was going to put down the wood baseboards before laying the floor and then use 3/4" shoe molding to cover any gaps between the hardwoods and the baseboard. His rationale was that it avoids the risk of damaging the hardwoods during the painting process. Is this a good idea?

the thinking years ago was to put the baseboard on and then the shoe mold to make up for the expansion of the wood.Personally i don't care for the shoe mold look,i would rathe r have the base put on last and then finish the floor after everything is said and done it can be done after the painting is finished without the look of shoe mold to me that is for a patch job or a job that has existing 6" base that is hard to remove.

Have him take care of all the painting and everything that needs attention before the finish goes on the floor ,cause working over the finished floor putting on shoe mold will cause alot more damage than a little paint will :cool:

It is fast and more cost effective for him to have his trim carpenters do all the baseboards at the same time. So instead of doing how you want it done he is trying to convince you to accept ¼ round.

If this is a ¾" solid hardwood, you will need ¾" of expansion space. So the floor will need to go under the baseboard and you will still need ¼ round or shoe molding, too. They may undercut the baseboard where the hardwood is going to be installed, but not likely.

floorman said it best !!!

Do the floors first, baseboards last any other way is (in my opinion) a waste of effort.

Marc