Choosing the Right Floor Molding

Choosing the right type of floor molding is crucial for any home floor renovation project. Base shoe molding is required for most laminate and hardwood flooring projects to hide the gap between the wall and the floor. Other specialized areas like doorways or stairs have their own types of floor molding. Knowing which kind of floor molding you need will help make your floor renovation project run smoothly and efficiently.

Types of floor molding: What kind do you need?

If you are only renovating your existing flooring, it is easy to figure out what type of floor molding you will need. Simply look at the molding that is already in place and take note of what types are used in each area of the room. Look around for steps or landings that may need stair nose molding as this piece is often forgotten during home renovation. Make a list of each piece of floor molding that you need and order everything with the flooring materials. This way, you will not have to stop your work and run to the home improvement store in the middle of your flooring project.

Types of floor molding: Basic requirements

Base shoe floor molding covers up gaps between hardwood and laminate flooring and the wall. There must always be a little bit of space for the floor to expand, so this type of molding is necessary to hide the spaces and give the room a finished look. If you prefer a lower profile type of floor molding, use quarter round molding to cover the gaps between your flooring and the wall. Quarter round floor molding is far smaller than base shoe molding and can be combined with a more decorative type of base molding to give the room a smooth, finished look.

Types of floor molding: Specialty areas

End molding is used to finish off laminate flooring so that it ends in a doorway. It gives the room a more polished look and creates a smooth surface at the room's entryway. If you are finishing the floor in a room that connects to another, use a reducer floor molding to smooth out the transition. The reducer molding cuts the height gap between rooms that have different flooring materials. T floor molding defines a doorway or threshold between two rooms with the same type of flooring. Both sides of the molding must be the same height. Stair nose molding is placed on the edges of landings and steps. It is used to smooth out finished joints and give the steps a rounded and softer edge.