Large gap between baseboard and floor along wall - new build

Eh good enough.

caulking it is fine but maybe they should have lowered the shoe moulding. the top of the baseboard is caulked so if they lowered it, they'll have to remove all that caulking at the top. After that, you'll have a cm of wall that needs to be painted to match the rest of the wall and maybe some scuffs of caulking. If anything, i'd lower the shoe mould and just repaint the baseboards.

The gap is caused by an uneven floor, which is a bigger issue.

Check Tarion for max tolerance allowed, and if it exceeds ask the builder to redo the flooring.

FYI Tarion gap warranty is 5mm or they have to fix it. Sound like builder is trying to cut corners with caulking.

kopokipi wrote: ↑ FYI Tarion gap warranty is 5mm or they have to fix it. Sound like builder is trying to cut corners with caulking.

Basically this. And unless something is done builders will just try to keep getting away with anything they can. And then when massive windstorms come by one hosue is unscathed, and the other needs insurance done because the builder wanted to save $100. Or save $75 on air sealing so the environment and every owner of the house is affected until its fixed.

thr333zy wrote: ↑ Builder has come in and fixed it by just putting in caulking - is that the correct way to do it? Originally the tech had advised that they would remove baseboard and lower it to cover the gap. It seems like they've opted for a cheaper option instead.

That looks like baseboard with a shoe moulding (or they used door stop as the shoe moulding). The whole point of putting shot moulding on is to hide the gap that the thick base will leave between the floors if they are a bit uneven.

1.5cm is a massive amount to caulk, should probably have a backer piece if you were doing it anyways.

I would just get them to pop the shoe moulding off and put it back on tighter to the floor. Hard to tell if there is caulk between the shoe moulding and the baseboard.

Also, I can see pretty much every nail hole, tear out on the mitre, and a bunch of other issues here, but I digress. Much like my house, it looks like your house (and most subdivision houses) was done on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend.

Thanks for the input everyone. The pics were taken pre-fix, and the tech just came in today to caulk it up. Didn't even do a good job, like most said the 1.5cm is a lot to caulk and there are gaps. Tech said gaps are for the floating floor to expand..? Not sure if I trust that. Might end up taking it all out and just re-caulking it myself.

FYI this is empire/pace developments. Shit builder.

Could also be due to settling ...

The floor won't expand up

thr333zy wrote: ↑ Thanks for the input everyone. The pics were taken pre-fix, and the tech just came in today to caulk it up. Didn't even do a good job, like most said the 1.5cm is a lot to caulk and there are gaps. Tech said gaps are for the floating floor to expand..? Not sure if I trust that. Might end up taking it all out and just re-caulking it myself.

FYI this is empire/pace developments. Shit builder.

That's a load of BS - the 'tech' knows nothing.

Expansion gaps are left with flooring to expand laterally, not vertically. You leave 1/2" or whatever the floor material manufacturer specifies to allow for expansion. Usually this is more or less hidden by the drywall. Then baseboard overlaps the floor, and shoe molding is added to deal with any further imperfections in level. Baseboard being tall isn't flexible on the vertical plane. Shoe molding, usually 1/4 round, is flexible and can hide imperfections as a result.

Flooring doesn't get thicker to any appreciable degree as the material expands and contracts.

Refer to your warranty for the gap tolerances and file a claim. Caulking is not the answer.

Have you taken a level to the floor? Is it flat and level?

The right thing to do is remove at least the shoe molding they installed and re-install tight to the floor.

thr333zy wrote: ↑ FYI this is empire/pace developments. Shit builder.

Almost all are.

thr333zy wrote: ↑ Thanks for the input everyone. The pics were taken pre-fix, and the tech just came in today to caulk it up. Didn't even do a good job, like most said the 1.5cm is a lot to caulk and there are gaps. Tech said gaps are for the floating floor to expand..? Not sure if I trust that. Might end up taking it all out and just re-caulking it myself.

FYI this is empire/pace developments. Shit builder.

that tech is probably reading "quick responses to complaints" in their bible of bullcrap. Expansion does happen in floating floors but it expands horizontally, not vertically. When you lay down a floating floor, you leave a couple cms between the floor and the wall. typically that gets covered by the baseboard and shoe mould (if there is one). if your floor is "expanding up" it's absorbing liquid.

Does not look like 1.5cm, more like 0.5cm.

Is this laminate flooring? Do you have furniture near these area?

If yes to both, the weight of the furniture maybe compressing be underlayment and opening the gap.

2000teamti wrote: ↑ Does not look like 1.5cm, more like 0.5cm.

Is this laminate flooring? Do you have furniture near these area?

If yes to both, the weight of the furniture maybe compressing be underlayment and opening the gap.

I've never heard of furniture compressing an underlayment enough to create a gap with baseboards. I very much doubt the OP's furniture consists entirely of grand pianos.

I have separate underlayment under my laminate similar to this. Yes it adds cushion to the floor but that cushion doesn’t ‘spring back’ when there’s heavy furniture on it hence the gap at the baseboard where furniture is located. Since furniture is there nobody sees it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/catego ... -prep.html

smitty9999 wrote: ↑ I've never heard of furniture compressing an underlayment enough to create a gap with baseboards. I very much doubt the OP's furniture consists entirely of grand pianos.

the floor is uneven somewhere pushing it up. You could try and scribe the shoe molding if its very minor along the wall and it would sit flush. Id leave the gap instead of caulking that's very sloppy.

thr333zy wrote: ↑ Thanks for the input everyone. The pics were taken pre-fix, and the tech just came in today to caulk it up. Didn't even do a good job, like most said the 1.5cm is a lot to caulk and there are gaps. Tech said gaps are for the floating floor to expand..? Not sure if I trust that. Might end up taking it all out and just re-caulking it myself.

FYI this is empire/pace developments. Shit builder.

that's pure bs! the floor isn't going to rise that much to fill the gap. That would piss me off because these guys give so much garage lies to homeowners just to not fix the bigger issue.

Agreed that this is settling of the floor... Might be normal or might be poor construction