Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - dont want to remove baseboards!!

Hello, first off, Fantastic forum and site, lots of help to be found. I checked all the threads and was unable to find an answer to my Q. We have just removed the carpet from our 2 yr old house and will be installing laminate floor. I placed the underlay and laminate to find that it fit's perfectly under the exsisting baseboards (like a glove). I realize that I must obtain a 1/4" gap between the flooring and walls for expansion/contraction but I want to avoid pulling out my beautiful baseboards. My baseboards come out from the wall 1/2" at the base. I have toyed with the idea of "rough guessing" the gap distance as I lay the floor and then thought of using a 1/4" piece of metal or wood rod that I could use as a shim and then pull out once the job was nearly complete, anything to save the baseboards(mainly because I know I could never reinstall them as well as they are in now). Any ideas would be a great help. oh yah i forgot to mention, my wife gave me a strick no 1/4 round or foot moulding policy that i have to obey...

Thanks again,
Confused in Canada

i've installed laminate once, so i'm not a pro, but you have to be able to put spacers in against the wall, and then be able to remove those spacers when you're done. you can't do that if you leave your baseboard on. also, on your last row, you won't be able to click the last row in and have it be under your baseboard. you've got to remove them. just go slowly & gently, only pull near the nails so you don't crack it. use a utility knife to break any paint seals, and number/label them so you know where they go back. you can always spackle the gaps you may have & repaint (if they're painted) or wood filler, if they're stained.

if there's some magic trick i don't know about, i'd love to hear it! pro's?