Will Quarter Round Cover Up the Open Edges in a Laminate Floor?

The Gap

• When you install laminate flooring, you must leave a quarter-inch gap between the wall and the laminate. The gap allows for expansion and contraction of the laminate during various temperature and moisture changes in the room. If you don’t have the gap, the laminate will buckle during the expansion process. However, you won’t see the gap if you use quarter round molding.

Using Quarter Round Trim

• Whether you left the baseboard on the wall or not, quarter round gives you a piece of wood wide enough that the front edge will sit on top of the outer edge of the laminate floor, so that the expansion gap is underneath the molding.

Nailing Quarter Round

• Quarter round molding is nailed to the baseboard or wall and not to the laminate floor or to the subfloor. By nailing the molding to the wall or baseboard, it doesn’t restrict the expansion and contraction of the flooring. Generally, a nail gun is used to attach the molding with the nails inserted at a 45-degree angle every 16 inches.

Finishing Touches

• After nailing the trim down, you may see some nail holes. Use a putty stick or some wood filler to fill the holes. The putty sticks come in various stain colors, so you can match the color to the stain on the molding. Wood filler does come in different colors also, or use a dab of stain to fill the hole over the nail head.