What baseboard and base shoe means in Des Moines
Baseboard is the tall trim against the wall. Base shoe, or quarter round, is the small moulding at the bottom that hides the gap between the floor and the baseboard.
That gap is not sloppy work. It is the expansion space every wood floor needs, and it is the reason base shoe exists at all.
- How it is done
- ¾ inch shoe or quarter-round, nailed to the base and never to the floor
- What goes on the floor
- primed pine, or matched hardwood where it shows
- Ready to use
- immediate
- Typical cost
- $4.50 – $7 per linear foot installed
- Service life
- as long as the paint
How baseboard and base shoe is fitted
Shoe is pinned into the baseboard, angled slightly downward, so the floor can slide underneath it as it moves through the year.
Inside corners are coped rather than mitred. A mitred inside corner opens into a visible V the first winter the house dries out, and a coped one stays shut.
Where a floor is being refinished, pulling the shoe means the sander reaches the wall and there is no dark unsanded strip at the perimeter. Refitting it afterwards is quicker than trying to edge to a painted surface.
What baseboard and base shoe costs in Des Moines, IA
Priced by the linear foot, with a separate figure for removing and refitting existing trim as against supplying new. Paint-grade and stain-grade are different materials and different money.
Where baseboard and base shoe goes wrong in Iowa
Nailing the shoe down into the floor is the single most common trade error we undo. It pins the floor at the perimeter, and on a floating floor it produces a hump across the room by mid-summer.
Where we do baseboard and base shoe
We cover Des Moines, the western suburbs, the Ankeny corridor and the older neighbourhoods inside the city, including and 18 more areas.
Questions we get asked about baseboard and base shoe
Do we need shoe moulding?
If there is a visible gap at the baseboard, yes. It is covering the expansion space, which cannot simply be closed up.
Should the shoe match the floor or the trim?
Usually the trim, so the eye reads the floor as running to the wall. Matching the floor makes the room look smaller.
Can you reuse our existing shoe?
Often, if it comes off without splitting. On painted trim that has been coated several times it usually breaks and new is cheaper than repairing it.
Get a free estimate
Tell us what you need. We answer the same day, the free estimate is on site, and nobody chases you afterwards.
Get a price for your baseboard and base shoe
Call and we will come out, measure, and leave you a written quote. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards.