Almost finished my DIY hardwood floor but got 2 questions

Thanks to the help from this forum, I almost finished my DIY hardwood floor project. It looks beautiful. Recently I got 2 questions

1. one end of a long plank goes higher than others. I figured out it's because of the uneven subfloor (tried to level it but it's not a perfect job - cannot sand off too much of the subfloor) and I need to cut off the lower part of the groove for installation at this location. Shall I drill a hole and put a floor screw to hold it down to subfloor and then cover the hole with a plug? I doubt whether a nail can do the job in the long run.



2. the tiles are higher than the hardwood floor. How to install the baseboards? I'm planning to replace old baseboards with higher, thicker ones.



any help is appreciated.

 

Not sure how that pop up happened if the tongues and grooves are all good. Can you press on the end of the wood and make it level with the one beside it? If so, you can drive two finish nails at slight angles to each other and it should hold. As far as the baseboard goes, how tall is the base you have. What profile is it? It doesn't look like speedbase, but if it were, you could use a taller base, either 5" or 7", rip off what you don't need and, removing the existing board and shoe, replace it with a notched version over the tile. It appears someone used a return method of base, terminating it where the top angle stops. I don't think there was tall base on the hardwood side. If you have that termination piece left, you can reattach it, and start over with shorter base, as indicated by the paint line on the wall.

 

First of all, despite what the steam mop sales person advises, NEVER use a steam mop on wood or laminate. Excessive moisture will cause problems with the finish over time and can lead to buckling and cupping. Now that I got that off my chest, I think you should go with the plug idea. What do you have there, Brazilian Cherry? Its a little hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like it has a fairly consistent, linear grain. Make sure to use a plug cutting set (don't try to eyeball it) and make it out of a piece of scrap with a similar grain and color of the piece you want to plug. Then, once you set your screw, just make sure to place the plug with the grain going in the same direction as the piece you are plugging. This will be a little tricky to do without sanding the plug, but, if you are careful, I'd bet you can do it. Regarding the base board issue, I'd center a plinth block at the joint between the two floors. Cut the bottom of the plinth to contour to the height difference and make it a little higher and thicker than the base board that will adjoin it. For instance, if you are installing 6" x 3/4" base, make the plinth 7" x 1".

 

Staabc you are amazing - it is Brazilian cherry. Other people suggested I cut the new baseboards but I don't like the idea. It means I have to cut about 3/4" of all the new baseboards for the breakfast and kitchen area, which is about 20 ft. Other than plinth block, is it better to cut a short piece of baseboard and install it above the sloped surface of the marble transition to connect both sides? with the right angle it will match the height of both sides.

 

So, are you talking about angling the base board down to meet the baseboard height in the wood areas? Like the top edge of the base is at one height in the kitchen, then slopes down at an angle to meet the height of the base in the areas with wood?