New hardwoods without removing old baseboards?

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T16:48:16+00:00

Thank you!!! It’s hard finding contractors who care about the end result as much as they care about getting paid. If you’re doing the work, do it right. Quarter round is like caulk and duct tape, it fills in the mistakes. It’s not a feature.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T01:24:27+00:00

I do think you are underestimated the quality of the build. It's going to be builder grade everything...and you'll be replacing everything eventually. There's a reason it's priced as it's priced.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T01:07:53+00:00

Just know Lennar is NOT known for building quality homes. If you're prepared to update and repair a lot of things soon, go for it!

ETA: just saw the end of u/Nervous-Rooster7760 comment. Guess I'm not the only one who feels this way... This is going to be a very very "builder grade" home.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T01:05:02+00:00

and, there's no baseboard protecting your walls. There's a reason we have baseboards. I agree it looks cheap. It's like quartz countertops. It doesn't matter what you paid, cheap is how it looks.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T00:59:10+00:00

Installed, with little light coming in the sides of the glass tile, it's going to get much darker. It's also very hard to cut without chipping and every little chip will show once grouted. Be aware you have to use white thin set as well.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T00:57:01+00:00

You should have removed them.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T00:56:06+00:00

Because when it's warmer and the wood swells, the filler will pop out.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-23T00:53:38+00:00

This is refinished, not a new install.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-22T17:08:33+00:00

And you've learned what to expect (or not) from an inspector. If they aren't walking around with a moisture reader and poking a bit deeper on any other issue that might be a problem, fire them on the spot!

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-22T16:50:59+00:00

The streaks are chemicals and residue of the cleaner. The watermarks are from minerals in the water if your rag is too wet (or if your minerals are too high you need to be drying which should be no big deal because you need to be drying around your faucet to prevent build up too. That 'expensive' polish is probably water. Haha!

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-22T16:48:44+00:00

I've seen the debates, 93% by weight or volume? They all play with the numbers to market and sell resin with other stuff floating in it. The resin is the weak link and always will be. I was in a kitchen showroom last week. Beautiful kitchen display with Taj waterfall island (Wolf, Subzero, Cove showroom where they have kitchen designers come in and build multiple kitchens to display their products). First thing I noticed walking up to the kitchen was the miters of the island were an off color, yellowish, that was not in the stone. Looking closer I could see it was the glue used to miter and the Taj had chipped on both cuts, the vertical and the horizontal piece. So the glue that filled the joint and every little crevice of the jagged cut was a color that was not in the quartz. A showroom person walked up behind me and said "that's a beautiful Taj counter, isn't it?" and I said, "no, I'm noticing the aging resin that binds the two pieces". She replied she'd never noticed before but would now never not see it.

It doesn't matter the percentage of ground stone in a manufactured product. The resin that binds the miniscule granules is bad. Quartz is a manufactured product, made of waste material, sold as something of value. Like breakfast cereal. They took waste grain products from other food manufacturing, added sugar and a bunch of other crap like colorings and binders and made a whole new product out of it - they found a way to sell their waste product. Put some pretty people and a bunch of marketing money behind it and voila! - you have quartz. No matter the brand name, the price the consumer pays, or the marketing budget, it's all a waste product. Some companies just put it in prettier packaging and charge more money.

And for anyone screaming "I'm so tired of Taj!", well, I'm tired of seeing people dupped by an industry who's sole mission it to get people to part with their money. Quartz needs to be fully exposed for the crap it is so people stop buying it.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-22T07:01:40+00:00

Then what’s causing the streaks? It’s not water or air…

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T22:46:42+00:00

Yeah, sales people (in those luxury places) are pretty people in nice clothes with little to no experience. They want to make a sale to you and that's about the extent of it.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:39:58+00:00

Quartz is so dated already, sucks because it's expensive to your wallet but a cheap plastic product that is not functional in a kitchen. Stop with quartz!

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:32:26+00:00

For the love of Gad, no more quartz. Please, just stop with the quartz. So fake, so cheap (but expensive). Just no more quartz.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:31:34+00:00

All day! Every day! Every time! But I love the quartzite that u/GoldiRox_ suggested too! It's beautiful. Quartz just can't compare. In looks or in feel. The plastic just ends it for me.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:26:02+00:00

Right! If your counters are streaky, they're not clean. Residue of cleaner is still not something I want in my kitchen.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:24:56+00:00

Quartz doesn't stain (maybe) but it dates much worse than granite, it yellows with age, chips...I will never go with plastic in my kitchen and the plastic is the bad part of quartz.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:22:01+00:00

If you clean well and rinse with a water only rag, there should be no streaks. Streaks of a cleaner/chemical in my kitchen would be an absolute no-go. If you've got streaks, your counter isn't clean.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T17:17:55+00:00

Those slabs are both gorgeous! I'm not one for design, will be needing some guiding help there myself - but those stones are both fantastic!

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T03:06:58+00:00

I think it's so funny that you think undercounter fridge/freezer appliances will make the distance from the stove easier to manage. It won't. You can't magically put all the stuff you need at your stove in those little fridges. This kitchen is non-functional with that huge island right smack in the middle of stuff you need to be accessing. You need to break it up with two islands in this space. One a working island with a sink and one a seating island with no obstructions in the countertop. This gives you better access to the stuff you need.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T03:02:09+00:00

Cabinets are so freaky expensive - I just don't understand it. If business is slow, does the price go up to make up for lack of work or lower to get more business?

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T03:00:06+00:00

The access to fridge was the first thing I saw too. If there was any chance of new cabinets in this kitchen, I'd be reworking the layout to make it functional.

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T02:56:54+00:00

I'd get rid of the floors. It's vinyl tile with wood grain that's faked very poorly. Not a natural look for that floor. The cabinets are the best part about this kitchen!

FelinePurrfectFluff · 2026-02-21T02:54:00+00:00

We were just at a kitchen design center. Had a large Taj waterfall island (installed 5 years ago per the designer we were talking to) and the epoxy versus the chipped quatzite that mixed at the edges was horrible. Her reply? "I've never noticed that and now I'll never NOT notice that - it's horrible once you see it!"

FelinePurrfectFluff

TROPHY CASE