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What's the rule on baseboard and carpet?

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M6erfan

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We're adding carpet in the main bedroom in a few weeks and I haven't installed the baseboards yet, but I need to. Question is, does the carpet go under the baseboard (so I leave a 1/2"(?) gap between the floor and bottom of baseboard? Or install baseboard flush to the floor and then the carpet gets installed to the baseboard face?

I've talked to two carpet installers and one said leave a gap to tuck carpet under and another said that the only proper way is against the face of the baseboard. Clear as mud right?

What do you all think?
 
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Rusted Nut

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I've been in construction for 35 years, I always put carpet under the base. You can install baseboard first, but it usually get a bit chewed up by the installer. Beat to install after carpet, unless it's painted base; then install first and touch up after.
 
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mike93lx

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Shiftless said:
My installers dinged up the existing base molding pretty badly. If I was installing new molding I would get the carpet down first. That of course would also set the proper gap.
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I went through this in 2021 when we moved. Had the painters come through to do everything and let them cut the carpets back, then had the new carpets installed. The painters had agreed to come through after carpets for any touch ups since not having to worry about protecting the floors in most of the house made their job so much easier.

Multiple ways to do it, all can work out well or very poorly
 
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M6erfan

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Rusted Nut said:
I've been in construction for 35 years, I always put carpet under the base. You can install baseboard first, but it usually get a bit chewed up by the installer. Beat to install after carpet, unless it's painted base; then install first and touch up after.
Click to expand...

Unless it's painted? I'm not following.

I always do one coat before install then fill and a touch up coat after.
 
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Vwpower

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It really doesn’t matter If the base is floating or resting on the floor. But 1/2“ is too high. No more than a 1/4“ up.
 
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marak

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My preference has always been install baseboard resting on the floor, install the carpet, then install quarter round. If carpet is replaced, I remove the quarter round, remove/install carpet, then reinstall quarter round and make any touchups with paint.


Edit: Evidentially this is not how it is done. Three houses I have lived in was done this way, not by me.
 
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mike93lx

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marak said:
My preference has always been install baseboard resting on the floor, install the carpet, then install quarter round. If carpet is replaced, I remove the quarter round, remove/install carpet, then reinstall quarter round and make any touchups with paint.
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I thought quarter round was bad enough with hardwood, but over carpet?friday-movie-daaamn.gif
 
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M6erfan

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I always remind myself this, "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes"

Rock on
 
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larry4406

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On our new construction homes, the trim carpenter holds the base up off the sub floor. A scrap piece of the baseboard is laid flat on the floor to act as a spacer to prop up and position the baseboard. Then the baseboard is nailed off.

We paint our homes prior to carpet, touch up post carpet as needed.

The carpet tack strip is nailed to the subfloor parallel to the baseboard and held forward by maybe 1/4-3/8". The kicked carpet is then tucked under the baseboard.

If you try to run the baseboard tight to the subfloor or concrete, you will likely encounter dips and peaks in the subfloor or concrete which will prevent full contact along the length of the baseboard; the spacer prop bridges over this.
 
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welder4956

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larry4406 said:
On our new construction homes, the trim carpenter holds the base up off the sub floor. A scrap piece of the baseboard is laid flat on the floor to act as a spacer to prop up and position the baseboard. Then the baseboard is nailed off.

We paint our homes prior to carpet, touch up post carpet as needed.

The carpet tack strip is nailed to the subfloor parallel to the baseboard and held forward by maybe 1/4-3/8". The kicked carpet is then tucked under the baseboard.
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^^^This. When the carpet is pulled onto the tack strip, the edge of the carpet needs to go under the baseboard. If you don't leave a gap, there will be a lot of extra time needed to trim the edges for an exact fit.
 
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Toolfool

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35 years doing finish work. Base goes in first, held up 1/2". If the carpet installer uses a stretcher bar instead of a kicker, we cover base with painter's tape. So many of our homes in the PNW were slab with radiant heat that often there wasn't much carpet in a house.
 
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M6erfan

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Got it guys thanks. The whole room will be finished/painted before the carpet install. Using scrap base would give me a 3/4" gap which seems awful big though.
 
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Rusted Nut

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M6erfan said:
Unless it's painted? I'm not following.

I always do one coat before install then fill and a touch up coat after.
Click to expand...

If it’s spray painted base, verses pre-finished stained base, it’s difficult to mask off the carpet and spray the base. In that case I would spray the base, and touch up the areas the installers mess up.
 
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Bert_

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mike93lx said:
I thought quarter round was bad enough with hardwood, but over carpet?friday-movie-daaamn.gif
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marak said:
My preference has always been install baseboard resting on the floor, install the carpet, then install quarter round. If carpet is replaced, I remove the quarter round, remove/install carpet, then reinstall quarter round and make any touchups with paint.
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Quarter round is the wrong thing. Shoe mould is what would be used. It's often not used with carpet
 
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Innovate1

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Interesting topic. We had carpet on our stairs with not skirts on the walls. It looked fine for a while and never looked really bad but the drywall gets dinged up from vacuum and things. Took up the carpet and had skirts installed. Person was highly recommended and hard to get in their schedule. The took lots of time with multiple coats of paint on the trim with sanding between coats, etc. Took forever. They did a nice job on feathering into the existing baseboards on the landing and such like but did some things that are noticable. Like the last 2" of one skirt has an obvious finish difference like he had to touch it up or something. We decided he was pretty good but not worth the time and money especially given the issues in the final job.

To get back a little more on topic he left a gap for the carpet. But the gap isn't consistent. I expect the carpet installer may have some issues with that. I don't think the gap is too big anywhere but is pretty narrow in spots.
 
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M6erfan

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Rusted Nut said:
If it’s spray painted base, verses pre-finished stained base, it’s difficult to mask off the carpet and spray the base. In that case I would spray the base, and touch up the areas the installers mess up.
Click to expand...

Ah, I use a brush.
 
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benwah

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If you install baseboard on top of the carpet, when you go to replace the carpet, you have to remove ALL your base... unless you leave some weird gap I guess, which doesn't look good / isn't professional.

If you install baseboard before carpet, you will have to brush on a final coat after the carpet install because those guys will, 100% without a doubt scratch up the base. This is what I would recommend.

Install base > prime/1st coat > install carpet > Sand base, 2nd coat
 
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Toolfool

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Big Bad Dad said:
What are you using for baseboard? Most factory made standard base is 3/8" thick. Are you using 1x4 or something??
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I have installed miles of base and have never seen 3/8" thick base. Most of what I have installed is 1/2" or 5/8" thick . I keep a stack of 1/2" thick plywood scraps in my truck for spacing base.
 
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M6erfan

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Big Bad Dad said:
What are you using for baseboard? Most factory made standard base is 3/8" thick. Are you using 1x4 or something??
Click to expand...

1x6. The original base molding was 9" high (finished) which I thought looked out of place given the 8' ceiling height, but hey, I guess that look was in 70 years ago :dunno: Anyway, the original base mold was in pretty rough shape and I didn't like the height anyway so I ripped 1x8s down to a finished 6" height which left me with lots (350 linear feet) of 3/4"x 1 1/4" strips that I decided to use as shoe molding. I ripped the 1 1/4" strips down to 1/2" thick for that purpose. I'm not using shoe mold in every room but some of the floor boards were cut just just a bit short so I'd have gaps here and there if I don't.

Here’s a quick shot of it in the spare bathroom . . .

750CB4F2-4871-45C5-B54C-92D753615E7C.jpeg
 
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M6erfan

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benwah said:
If you install baseboard on top of the carpet, when you go to replace the carpet, you have to remove ALL your base... unless you leave some weird gap I guess, which doesn't look good / isn't professional.

If you install baseboard before carpet, you will have to brush on a final coat after the carpet install because those guys will, 100% without a doubt scratch up the base. This is what I would recommend.

Install base > prime/1st coat > install carpet > Sand base, 2nd coat
Click to expand...

So far I've been; sand/prime/1st coat, install base, fill/sand/2nd coat.
 
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Big Bad Dad

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