Quarter round is another moulding style typically paired with baseboards to cover up gaps and imperfections between the base and the floor. As such, it essentially has the same purpose as shoe moulding. However, this style of moulding is always shaped like a quarter of a circle, hence the name.
No you never need to use quarterround.
Answered by ContractorDon: He may be trying to speed up the process of laying the floor, yes you do need expansion room for the flooring to expand but between the space normally there where the sheetrock meets the wall and the baseboard it should be enough without the 1/4 round.
Shoe molding is much the same as quarter round, having the same 90° angle on the backside but instead of being a perfect quarter radius, its profile is a bit more squat. The main use for shoe molding is to run along the intersection of the baseboard and floor.
Should Shoe Molding Match the Baseboard or the Floor? While there's no hard and fast rule on this, here's our thoughts on it: If you are laying quarter round or shoe molding on hardwood floors, you should lay a quarter round or shoe molding that matches the floor wood grain & stain.
Consideration #1: The scale of your house–The most typical dimensions of quarter round are ¾” x ¾” while the most common size of shoe molding is ½” x ¾”.
To Install Quarter Round Use Nails Not Caulk
Installing quarter round on baseboards with caulk is not a good idea because it can be difficult to remove should you need to repair the floor in the future. It is not the right choice because it won't create a strong enough bond like glue will.
The pre-primed quarter round doesn't have to be primed again before it's painted. Two coats of durable paint are fine, but if the wood is stained and unpainted, the shoe should be primed. Any solvent-based primer is fine for priming stained quarter-round trim.
Shoe molding, also spelled "moulding," is smaller and thinner than quarter round, and can have a decorative profile. Quarter round is, literally, a quarter circle. The thin profile of shoe molding allows it to bend into place easily, where the stout quarter round does a better job covering large gaps.
While quarter-round can be installed along the bottom of baseboard, trim carpenters and homeowners tend to prefer the sleeker look of shoe molding, which is taller and narrower than its curved counterpart.
quarter round is cut to be one quarter of a circle, usually in 3/4" x 3/4" with a 3/4" radius profile. shoe moulding is a narrower, sleeker profile, with measurements closer to 7/16" wide and 11/16" high.
Installing vinyl plank flooring is an easy beginner-friendly project. Get all the details of how to prep the floor and install step-by-step! We needed to install new flooring in our kitchen/entryway/staircase area. It needed to be durable, waterproof, and easy to maintain.
You don't need to use anything at all. Quarter round is great if the floors are not flat as it is flexible and you can bend the quarter round. If the floors are flat you don't even need it. I did my basement with no quarter round, just baseboards and it looks great.
Don't try to force the trim off right away. The wood might bend to the point of breaking or cracking, and you won't be able to reuse the trim later. Just create enough of a gap to fit the pry bar.
Quarter-round molding costs start at about $0.50 per foot, with eight feet being the most common length. It's so-named because it's shaped like one-fourth of a circle.
Quarter rounds should be painted or stained before you install them. You may need to paint caulk and wood putty after the installation. Place cut quarter rounds on the wall before attaching them to test their fit. Stained molding must fit perfectly but if you use painted molding you can fill gaps with caulk.
Matching Trim
If you have other natural wood trim in the room, such as window trim or chair molding, having the trim and the baseboards match the floor can lend a feeling of coherence throughout the room. The stained wood accents will tie in to one another throughout a room and complement one another.
A: Quarter-round should be nailed to the base boards only. It is intended to hide gaps between the base and floor. It should also permit a little movement in the flooring. Plus, it absorbs the impact of feet and furniture legs, so you may want to replace it sometime—thus, don't glue it.
For the most part, the best tool for nailing quarter-round is a brad nailer. Brad guns shoot thinner nails from the smaller 5/8-inch to 2-inches, which are fine for attaching light moldings such as quarter rounds – you don't want to split the molding or leave visible holes.
Baseboards should only touch the floor if you have no plans to carpet your floors and if you've already finished installing your other flooring. If you have yet to install the rest of your floor, carpet or otherwise, you'll need to take into account the height of the installed flooring.
But we'll cover some of the most basic types and their purposes here. Quarter Round: A quarter round molding is one of the most common types of molding you'll come across. It's typically ¾” inches by ¾” inches and is used to cover the expansion gap between the floor and a wall, baseboard, or toe kick.
Tip. Choose finish nails that are long enough to penetrate the thickness of the quarter round molding and the drywall with enough left over to go at least 1/2 inch into the wall's base plate. Place the nails no more than 18 inches apart for 3/4-inch molding.
Also, keep in mind that some apartment complexes and Homeowner Associations may actually require you to have your flooring installed with a sound barrier. So yes, you do need underlayment for vinyl plank flooring.
The most common way to lay hardwood flooring is by aligning the planks parallel to the longest wall. Apart from a few exceptions like sagging joists, this is the preferred direction to lay wood floors because it aesthetically provides the best result.