During home renovations, many homeowners choose to make drastic changes to the home, from complete kitchen renovations to adding several new rooms. Often though, little things can have a big impact. It’s this attention to detail that can help you save money in this slow economy, so it’s important to make the right choice the first time.
Some homeowners choose to install baseboards along with window and door trim, because it helps cover gaps and looks more attractive (in most cases). When doing so, the question arises as to whether to use a quarter round or a shoe molding. Perhaps you are running into the same problem and you don’t even see a difference between the two options. After taking a look and thinking about it, you’ll quickly realize that there are differences between these two motherboard options.
Shoe base molding is preferred by many professionals, in part because it looks sleeker than the quarter-shank. Also, the quarter-round skirting is shaped like a semi-cylinder (hence its name), so it can be difficult to drive a nail through it and into the skirting. The lack of a flat nailing surface can be a big problem for installers; molding is more likely to break or chip teeth if you are not using a pneumatic finish nailer.
In contrast, shoe base molding is sleeker and has a wide vertical surface that makes nailing easier. This, along with its aforementioned elegance, is why shoe molding is the most popular or “default” choice for contractors. That being said, any contractor worth working with will be able to professionally install the baseboard he wants. Don’t go for shoe molding if your ensemble is quarter-round.
Quarter-round molding is typically ¾” x ¾” with a ¾” radius profile, but you may be able to find quarter-round moldings of different sizes. Quarter-round molding isn’t all bad. Some things Positives include its flexibility, which makes it useful for working with a corrugated floor, and it’s bulky, making it ideal for covering large gaps between floors and baseboards.
If you don’t have a contractor, here are some tips…
If you opt for shoe molding, when you install it, be sure to nail it into the baseboard, not the floor. This will allow the flooring to expand and contract freely, without additional stress to the trim.
Since the size of the trim to be installed will vary from home to home, it would be unwise to recommend a nail size. However, for most trim work, a 4d size nail works great.
