I am in the process of building a new house, which is a typical farm style with wide porch, etc. All of the floors in the house will be either oak planking with some ceramic tile in the bath and kitchen areas. I had originally decided to trim all of my doors, windows, and baseboards with oak finished in urethane, but I see a lot of pics of homes with painted trim. I do recall a hardwood dealer once telling me that with hardwood floors, it is best to install painted baseboards because it visually looks better. Is there an rule of thumb on what to do with the baseboards, or is it just a matter of personal taste? Thanks, Chuck

I removed old carpet and planning to replace with laminate flooring. Room recently painted, so I'd rather not remove existing baseboard. (A) Is there a way to fit the laminate floor under the existing baseboard on all 4 walls? (I can see how to fit the laminate under the first, second, perhaps even third wall, but what about the last one?). If it cannot be done then adding shoe molding is the only logical option? (B) The existing gap between the baseboard and concrete slab is almost ½” while the laminate seems to be only about ¼”, (perhaps 3/8” with the underlayment?). Hence I predict a ¼’ to 1/8” gap. Is again shoe molding inevitable to close this remaining gap? Or can I perhaps caulk it? What about the expected expansion movement if I caulk? Advice appreciated.