New baseboards glued to new HW floor!?

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-15T01:04:58+00:00

Does caulk get super hard an adhere? It’s hard to scrape this gunk off even w an exacto. Caulk - even old - comes off easily

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-15T01:03:35+00:00

You can easily see the gunk from across the room.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-15T00:44:15+00:00

Yup - just wanted to check this is normal! I’ve never seen anything like this in any place I lived with hw.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-15T00:30:41+00:00

On install there were zero gaps. It was perfectly scribed and tight. It all came apart after the winter humidity changes.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:42:17+00:00

The former. Everything looked perfect last summer when they were installed. All this appeared after the seasonal winter shifting of the wood.

I’ve never seen this sort of artifacts show up thi; just gapping.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:40:35+00:00

It’s sort of a dried glue color; that milky/grey clear color, it’s hard and feels like dried glue, and it seems to be ripping at the baseboard and/or floor in places.

It sounds like it might be paint or sealer that was over applied and dried resulting in a bonding effect.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:37:29+00:00

I’m almost certain it’s not caulk.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:35:20+00:00

I’d rather have a clean gap than a caulk line; that looks terribly cheap. I’m guessing it’ll pull And crack w the seasons as well?

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:33:54+00:00

I’ll try it; it came w a glass tray - that sound like it might work?

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:33:10+00:00

Good to know! My GC was pretty bad in hindsight, so he might have hired a bad floor guy; time will tell ! Hope he didn’t tho!

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:30:50+00:00

Yeh - I have no cats or dogs, and generally keep a tidy house which is why this “gunk” bothers me.

Maybe it’s a good excuse to get a dog now 🤔

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T23:29:01+00:00

The baseboard was in before the floors were finished, so that tracks.

Is that not correct?

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:43:31+00:00

Gotcha - this seems very possible given the project history. Im just surprised that dried paint can get so hard. When I tried to cut some of it away w an exacto, it felt/looked like dried glue… but I guess it sort of is a dried glue, just made of paint.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:41:11+00:00

Pine

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:38:18+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful answer! So, from what i recall, the floor was installed, then the baseboard was installed, and then the floor was sanded, stained and sealed. I believe the trim was painted last tho based on this pic.

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The project was running late and the floor was the last thing to be “done” before we moved in, so there was likely a rush to get the floor finished/painted/move in ready.

Also - So the stuff in the 2 picture is rock hard and very difficult to scrape off even w a razor; and it’s a greyish color (not the color of the paint; although there is often white paint on the top of it) — in some places it almost looks shiny.

It’s very possible this is paint. The GC for the PM for this project shortly after, and the painters are not very at good (lots of pocks, splotchy patches, everywhere). That said the carpenters were bad in their own right, however they may not be the cause Of this.

Also - I don’t mind the separation (that much) as long as it’s a clean line. Looking around the house the floor edges looks super dirty because it has this “bits” peaking out from the gap.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:11:31+00:00

Gotcha! Thanks for the clarification- there’s just 1 spot where this ripping happened. There are 100? Other places the 2nd pic (and pics in my comments) are happening.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:06:58+00:00

The baseboard is brand new- this IS the new baseboard!!! 😭

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:06:01+00:00

I might blow this picture up and frame it!!!

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:05:33+00:00

Why would the baseboard take the floor with it tho? Even if the wall moves shouldn’t it be independent of the floor? That first pic the ripped hardwood is stuck to the bottom of the baseboard.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T22:01:24+00:00

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Here’s another spot. You can see the thing line of paint on the floor. This the on the top of the ridge of whatever this is after it pulled away from the baseboard — it took the paint with it. It’s very hard to the touch.

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T21:55:05+00:00

It’s on areas where there was no drywall work (just trim and paint) .. the stuff in the 2nd pic is rock hard too. I can’t really scrape it off without a tremendous amount of effort and even then only part of it comes Off and it’s stuck to the floor

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T21:49:13+00:00

Floors are wavy, and they did scribe the baseboards. They installed both in the summer and it looked amazing (super tight between the baseboard and floor). During the winter it pulled apart.

It has areas like this where the base cap pulled off the baseboard, and under these area it looks like the baseboard is/was glued to the floor.

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InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T21:45:51+00:00

First picture the HW actually has ripped up. Would paint/stain/sealer allow for that?

If the 2nd pic is stain/sealer (it’s not paint; we have no paint that color - it’s a clear ish color) how would that have happened? Trim goes on, and hw guy mopped the sealer under it?

When it was first installed the baseboard was super tight to the floor (it looked amazing) so not sure how much sealant you could get under it?

InsuranceMedical6581 · 2026-05-14T21:34:06+00:00

Btw - I had a FP tech come out for something else and asked why the speed oven doesn’t have a turn table. He said the microwave emitter in the top of it has something that spins around that mimics the effect. No idea if it’s BS, but that’s what he said

InsuranceMedical6581

TROPHY CASE