Do I Put the floor base moulding in before or after I carpet.. It would make sense to do it before because after to patch up the nail holes and repaint it you dont have to worry about getting paint on the carpet but it wont looks as large as the carpet would cover up a portion of it.. So my question is what is the proper time to put it in? Thanks
Put the base boards on before the carpet is installed. If you ever need to replace the carpet in the future you wont have to remove all the base boards to do it. The carpet installer uses tack strips at all wall areas to hold the carpeting. Once the carpet is installed you will need to touch up the finish on the base boards do to some scratches that the carpet installer will cause. I'm a builder 30 years.
Paint your molding outside in the garage and put it on last as its job is to cover the edge of the carpet and the sheet rock.
Go ahead and put your molding on first. If you are concerned about it part of it being covered up raise it off the floor a little less than the thickness of what your pad and carpet will be.
Put the baseboard on before the carpet is installed. When attaching it, take a scrap piece of baseboard and lay it flat on the floor underneath the piece you're attaching, to use as a guide. This will give you approximately a 3/8 space between the floor and the baseboard, giving the carpet layers room to tack and tuck.
either way is acceptable. if you put the base on first, space it up about 3/8 to 1/2 inch so the carpet will tuck under. Carpet installers like to have the base on after because it's easier for them and covers a rough edge.Carpenters like to do it ahead of time so they can be done and can cut in the house without carpet in place. that saves them a lot of steps. from the homeowners point of view, being able to paint the trim without danger to the carpet is a plus, but realize that the carpet installers will bang up the new trim some, since the stretcher usually pushes against the trim. So You'll end up touching up the trim anyway.
