# What size nails for Quarter Round or Shoe Molding



## Boudreaux

Yeah, still a new kid on the block here.

You may not understand this, but the wife and I have elected to install Engineered Flooring (Armstrong Hickory, floated), in the master bed room and the Living Room. (many of my friends feel I should contract the project out, 600 sqf)

In preparation for the project, I told her that I would need some certainl tools that I don't have. Things like a miter saw (Dewalt), a new 80 tpi Diablo blade for the miter saw, an 18 GA Brad Nailer (Senco), and 50' flexible air hose. (I have a 25' hard hose that I fight every time I use it to air up the tires), and few other small accessories to make the project easier. I have my trusty Ryobi table saw to rip, and Dewalt Jig Saw for inticate cuts.

After the flooring is installed, I will be installing quarter round to conceal the expansion crack near the wall all around the floor.

I'm wondering (no previous experience) if I should use 1 1/4 18 ga brads, or will I be assured of better holding power with the 1 1/2 long 18 ga brads (shot into the base board)

Wilson Boudreaux
from Cajun Country


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## GCotton78

How thick is your 1/4 round? If it's 3/4 thick and you are shooting into baseboard, 1 1/4 brads ought to be good enough. What is behind the base? What could the nail be potentially shooting into?

Plus (and this makes it a bit more difficult to remove, but you want this stuff to stay on, right?) you could get yourself a tube of construction adhesive and put a little dab every foot or so. Watch that you don't get it all over the place (that stuff can get messy quick), and that quarter round will stay where you put it.

Good luck!


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## Boudreaux

Quarter Round will be 3/4×3/4…......


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## cabmaker

Either, but why do you choose 1/4rd over shoemold ?


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## Boudreaux

I have not found shoe moulding 3/4×7/8. They all seem to come 5/8×3/4.

I want at least 3/4×3/4 coverage.


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## joebloe

If you have base board that should cover the espansion joint,or are you just triming for a different look? shoe molding 1'' or1 1/4'',if you use quarter round 1 1/2''brads.put something under it for a small gap so the floor can expand and contract.It can be as thin as the cardboard cover for a book of matches.that is how I done my living room,400 sq ft.


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## Boudreaux

Once I pull the carpet, i will know more about how much coverage I will need for expansion. If my base board goes to the floor, I have the option of using quarter round, or rent a flush cut saw, remove some base board 7/16 off the floor. That would give me the under-the-wall expansion that I need. If that happens I can use 5/8×3/4 shoe mouldlng.

If I choose not to cut the base board, then I would need 3/4 coverage.

Strange that you should mention a spacer under the quarter round I was thinking about that this afternoon.

thanks for the info…......


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## BDinTX

I recently completed a very similar project. We also went with quarter round because raising the trim would require raising trim even in areas we didn't refloor. I bought an 18 gauge nailer since the 15 gauge one was too big. I think as long as the nail fully penetrates the baseboard you should be fine, the only thing behind it at that level should be drywall and 2×4 bottom plate.

A few suggestions:
We repainted the quarter round and trim together so there wasn't a visible crack between the two. It looks great but fill your nail holes with putty. The caulk I used shrank and were still noticable after painting.

I also used 13 mil plastic cut into 12" strips. I put it down first, then nailed the quarter round in place. Painted and then waited until the latex was almost dry and pulled it out. It worked really well, kept the paint off the floor, and pulled out easily.

A word of caution on a new air hose. I have an old one that I leave attached to the compressor and a couple that I only use when I need a longer run. The brass fittings on the other hoses still have rather sharp knurling on them and I got some scratches on the floor from it. If I was more careful or wrapped it with something that wouldn't have happened.
-Brad


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## joebloe

Brad that's a good idea,you could cover the couplings with pipe wrap and tape it in place


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## Boudreaux

*YES BRAD…..great ideas.* I had thought of having an old towel as a pad when I need to put the nailer down, but I had not thought of wrapping the brass work on the air line to avoid scratches.

Thanks to everyone for such great information. This forum is great…...!!!


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## Sawkerf

For wood-to-wood nailing, the length of the nails should be twice the thickness of the molding. If you're nailing thru drywall, add the drywall thickness (typically 1/2")

The size (gauge) should be as small as possible. If you can get away with it, 23 gauge pin nails wouldn't require filling.

I find that business cards make excellent spacers between the flooring and the moldings.

As far as protecting the floor, an old towel should work just fine. The finish on engineered flooring is really tough so scratching is seldom an issue.

f you DIY your flooring, you can probably skip the 80 tooth blade. Your cuts will (or should be) hidden by your baseboards.


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## dhazelton

Are you painting the moulding? At HD a lot of those smaller profiles are available in the white PVC and fake plastic wood looking material, which are both paintable with some scuffing up. A Delta chop saw is over kill, your cross cuts will all be hidden at the ends of your runs and you can just use your table saw and a miter gauge or a hand held trim saw, but I won't tell your wife. The floating floors are all very slippery, so no spacer is needed when you put down trim moulding - just don't bear down on it hard when you nail it. My wife and I did our entire attic, about 800 square feet in a weekend. Hardest part was I bought 69 cent a square foot stuff and it required a lot persuasion to click together. But any piece that had it's edge damaged by the hammering block was saved for the ends of the runs where short pieces were needed.


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## dhazelton

Oh, and prepaint your trim. If you use a pin nailer you'll only need to touch up your scarf joints later. Even then, plan your runs of trim so cuts are hidden behind furniture.


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## Boudreaux

Well….today is a good day….

My Senco 18MG 18GA Brad nailer (with nails) came in an hour ago. I was comparing a 1 1/4 bard nail to quarter round on the wall, and it looks like the 1 1/4 length will work out very well. I have an ample supply of both the 1 1/4 & 1/1/2 nails should I feel one or the other won't work.

The Diablo 80 TPI came shipped along with the Dewalt DW 713, has been installed and cut tested, so no issue there.

We were lucky enough to pick up the flooring (600 sqf) this morning (high rain percentages expected for the next four days). We leave for a bike gathering in Kerrville, TX on April 4th returning on the 9th. The flooring will have acclimated for more than ten days. (that's good right).

We should begin the project around the 11th. We are so ready to get this done….... It's all about bragging rights …....right….??

Thanks again for all the info…...!!!


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## Boudreaux

Hi Hazleton, For years I have been harping on my need for the Dewalt DW 713 or facsimiles. But I could never justify the purchase. That is until this project popped up. She knows the DIY project will have saved us some $1500 in labor costs, so she didn't scream when I purchased $650 in needed tools….

I have always had the urge toward small wood projects, but we were so busy riding the countryside over the last ten years (thirty-eight states in ten years). well, I think the time is right for getting back into the shop and play with some wood….and the right tools will go for toward personal satisfaction…..right…..???

OH…..hope to use pre-painted wooden quarter round.


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## FatherHooligan

Is the blade rated for cutting engineered flooring? I loaned my mitre saw to a buddy doing his floor and the blade was duller than mud when I got it back. When we did our basement we bought a blade specifically for cutting engineered flooring, it cut way better and stayed sharp the whole project… something to think about.


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## dhazelton

Isn't Armstrong a snap and click product? I think I used some of that in a small 1/2 bath (you have to use a lot of caulk around the toilet flange if you get a leak. It's more of a masonite with a laminated printed finish - makes a ton of dust. The prefinished real wood planks will kill a blade in no time. Something about the finish applied has silica in it.


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## Boudreaux

We considered the Bruce Fold & Lock (by Armstrong) installation. In the end, we chose the tongue and groove, glue, floating installation.


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## thebicyclecafe

Mark, maybe your buddy was cutting laminate flooring and not "engineered wood" flooring, which is just plywood with a face veneer? Laminate has the aluminum oxide top layer and it'd be like cutting sandpaper constantly. The only thing I could think of is that the layers of glue in the engineered floor can dull a blade faster.

Instead of getting an expensive blade for laminate, I'd just get a junker blade and toss it when it's done. There's no real point in cutting the flooring without chipout or whatever, as the ends would just be covered by your molding.

Boudreaux, 
Instead of putting in new molding, why not just remove the base moulding and set it lower to the floor, and use that to cover up the expansion gap? 
Good luck on the flooring, just remember to be patient, and make sure your subfloor is level before you start- especially since you're removing carpet, the tolerances on subfloor flatness might have been more lenient. Saves a lot of headaches to level before hand, rather than wait until you're at a point where it's higher and lower than the rest. 
BTW, how are you planning on ripping the flooring?


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## Boudreaux

Hi BTC,
The master bedroom, & Living room where the project will take place both have carpet (baseboard but no quarter round). The kitchen, two bathrooms, the foyer, a hall, dinning area, all have vinyl tile (baseboard and quarter round).

Quarter round in the two project rooms will standardize the walls in those rooms with the rest of rest of the house except the two carpeted bedrooms (no quarter round, just base board)

I have a Ryobi BT3000 table saw that I hope will allow clean crisp rips on two walls. Using 5" boards will mean that one wall is have a two inch board. I hope to equal the difference and have a ripped board on each side.


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