A new floor draws a clean line along every wall, and the baseboard sitting on that line either still looks right or suddenly looks tired, short or patched. Should I replace baseboards when installing new flooring? Not automatically. If the existing base is sound and a height you like, keeping it and finishing the edge with new quarter round is the lighter job, at $1.30 per linear ft in a house and $1.60 in a condo. If it is damaged, too short for the room or simply not the look you want, a new 4", 5 1/4" or 7 1/4" base costs $2.80, $3.10 or $4.80 per linear ft, and that rate includes taking the old base off. Below are the checks that decide it, the price gap between the two routes, and how to choose a height. Trim can go on the same quote as the floor through our flooring installation service.
Four checks before you decide
Walk each room before the flooring is ordered and look at the base with these questions in mind. The answer can differ from room to room; a basement and a main floor may well need different treatment.
- Condition. Splits, dents, water marks along the bottom edge, swollen MDF or paint peeling away from the wall all point to replacement. A base that is straight, tight to the wall and solid when you press on it is a candidate to keep.
- Height and profile. If the base has looked short or plain to you for years, the flooring job is the easiest time to change it: the furniture is already out and the old floor is coming up anyway.
- What is underneath. Lift a corner of the old floor inside a closet and look at the bottom of the base. Rough drywall, a paint line that stops short or a wavy bottom edge means quarter round will have more to hide.
- Thickness change. Compare the old floor's thickness with the new one. A thicker floor rises further up the face of a kept base, so less of it shows. A thinner floor can leave the base hanging slightly above the new surface.
A "replace" answer on either of the first two checks usually settles it. If the base passes both, the last two tell you whether quarter round will finish the edge neatly.
Keeping versus replacing: the rate difference by the foot
Our current trim rates for both routes are per linear foot of wall, and both cover taking the old piece off and supplying and installing the new one, unpainted.
| Route | What goes on the wall | House or basement | Condo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep the base | New quarter round along the existing base | $1.30 per linear ft | $1.60 per linear ft |
| Replace | New 4" baseboard | $2.80 per linear ft | $2.80 per linear ft |
| Replace | New 5 1/4" baseboard | $3.10 per linear ft | $3.10 per linear ft |
| Replace | New 7 1/4" baseboard | $4.80 per linear ft | $4.80 per linear ft |
In a house, a new 4" base costs $1.50 more per foot than adding quarter round; in a condo the gap narrows to $1.20, because quarter round is priced higher there while the baseboard rates are the same. Stepping up from 4" to 5 1/4" adds only $0.30 a foot, while the jump from 5 1/4" to 7 1/4" adds $1.70.
To see what that means for one room, take a 12 x 14 ft bedroom. Its walls add up to 52 linear ft before you subtract the doorway and closet opening. Quarter round comes to $67.60 in a house ($83.20 in a condo). A new base comes to $145.60 at 4", $161.20 at 5 1/4" or $249.60 at 7 1/4". So replacing with the 4" profile instead of keeping the base adds $78.00 to that room. These figures are before 13% HST and leave out the floor, delivery and any extra work, which are confirmed on your quote. If you only know the floor area, our quotes start from 0.3 linear ft of trim per sq ft: the same 168 sq ft room gives 50.4 linear ft, close to the measured perimeter.
For whole-house footage and worked condo and house totals, see our per-foot trim price breakdown. This page sticks to the decision.
How the floor you pick changes the answer
The flooring itself affects both how a kept base sits and which height looks in proportion. Here are three floors from our catalogue with very different builds.
| Floor | Build | Install method | Box price | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villa European Oak engineered hardwood | 3/4" thick, 7.5" wide, 3mm oak top layer, wire brushed | Nail-down or glue-down | $97.00 per 19.42 sq ft box | $4.99 |
| Verita European Oak engineered hardwood | Same 3/4" thickness, 7.5" width and 3mm oak top layer as Villa, also wire brushed | Nail-down | $97.00 for a 19.42 sq ft box | $4.99 |
| Riche Sandstone Oak SPC vinyl plank | 9mm including a 2mm EVA pad, 5.9" wide, 12mil wear layer | Click-lock | $62.00 per 13.79 sq ft box | $4.50 |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
Thick engineered hardwood
At 3/4" thick, Villa and Verita are about twice the thickness of the Riche plank. If the floor coming out is thinner than that, the extra height climbs the face of the existing base. On a tall base it hardly registers. On a short one, the visible strip of trim shrinks enough that the wall can look unfinished at the bottom, which is a good reason to look at a taller replacement. For the floor budget itself, see our breakdown of the installed cost of engineered hardwood.
Thinner click vinyl with an attached pad
The Riche plank is 9mm with the pad already on the back, and the product page states that no separate underlay is required. It adds less height than the hardwood, so a kept base loses less of its visible face. The catch: if the old floor was thicker than 9mm and the base sat on it, removing that floor can leave a small gap under the base. Our trim service describes quarter round as a piece that seals gaps between flooring and walls, which is exactly this job.
Colour is the other half of the pairing. Whether the base should match the floor, the walls or neither is covered in our guide to matching baseboards to a new floor, along with the different ways installers work around a base that stays.
Which height to pick: from 4" up to 7 1/4"
Height is a design call, so treat what follows as design guidance rather than a rule. A useful comparison is how much of the wall each base occupies. On an 8 ft wall, which is 96 inches from floor to ceiling, the shares look like this:
| Base height | Share of an 8 ft wall | How it tends to read | Where it usually suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4" | 4.2% | A slim, quiet line | Bedrooms, basements, compact condo rooms, modern interiors |
| 5 1/4" | 5.5% | Present but not dominant | Main floors, hallways, homes mixing old and new trim |
| 7 1/4" | 7.6% | A strong band that frames the floor | Taller ceilings, large open rooms, traditional or high-end finishes |
When 4" is enough
In rooms with 8 ft ceilings and modest floor area, a slim base keeps the walls feeling tall. It is also the lowest replacement rate, which matters across a whole basement where the footage adds up quickly.
Why 5 1/4" is the middle ground
This height has enough presence to look deliberate on a main floor, yet it still sits comfortably under an 8 ft ceiling. Since it costs only slightly more than the 4" profile per foot, it is often worth pricing both before you choose.
When 7 1/4" earns its rate
The tallest option makes sense in rooms with higher ceilings, open plans where long walls need a bolder line, and wide-plank floors. A 7 1/4" base is almost exactly the width of one 7.5" Villa plank, so trim and boards read at a similar scale. Under an 8 ft ceiling in a small bedroom, the same base can feel heavy.
Two more pointers. Keep one height across any rooms that share a sightline, since a change in height at a doorway is easy to spot. And if you are still deciding between a pale and a natural oak floor, settle that first, because the floor tone affects how any base colour reads; our comparison of white-washed vs natural oak flooring covers that choice.
Planning the trim alongside the floor
The order of work is simple: the old base or quarter round comes off, the floor goes down, the new trim goes on, and painting comes last. Our trim rates do not include paint, so plan a painter or a weekend of your own for caulking and finishing coats.
Before you ask for a quote, gather three things:
- Your choice for each room: keep the base with quarter round, or replace, and at which height.
- Rough wall lengths, or at least the floor area of each room so the footage can be estimated.
- Photos of any awkward spots: curved walls, angled corners, built-ins and the area around the stairs.
Those awkward spots matter because our trim pricing covers standard straight-run baseboard installation, and the service page notes that extra charges may apply for complex cuts, curved walls or stair applications. Stairs are their own project; our post on matching your floor to custom stairs covers that side of the plan.
Baseboard and new flooring FAQ
Do flooring companies do baseboards?
Yes, we do. Baseboard and quarter round are part of our trim service, quoted per linear foot next to the floor. The baseboard rate includes removing the existing trim, supplying the new profile you pick and nailing it in place.
Do basement baseboards need replacing when the floor goes in?
Only if they fail the condition or height checks. Basements are priced at the house rates, so keeping a sound base with quarter round is $1.30 per foot and a new base starts at $2.80. Lower basement ceilings usually suit the 4" profile.
Is a 4" base too small next to wide planks?
Not necessarily; ceiling height and room size matter more than plank width. In an 8 ft room a slim base works fine with wide boards, while a large open space with tall ceilings tends to look more balanced with the 5 1/4" or 7 1/4" profile.
Is painting included in the trim price?
No. Both the quarter round and the baseboard rates are for unpainted trim. Caulking and paint are done after installation, by you or a painter.
What if only one room is getting the new floor?
Look at what the neighbouring rooms already have. If the new room is visible from them, matching their existing base height usually looks more natural than introducing a new one, even if that means keeping the old base and adding quarter round.
Get a flooring and trim quote in Toronto and the GTA
Tell us which rooms are keeping their base and which are getting a new height, and we will price the floor and trim together. You can request a flooring and trim quote with your measurements and a few photos.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819