oops sorry picture uploaded from my phone sideways.

You can click the picture to see it right side up.

I can't see the gap. I am having the same problem though. There's about 1/8" gap between the shoe and the floor. I don't understand why it was necessary to install it that way. Glad to know I am not the only one who thinks about dirt collecting, as well as being a bug entrance!

It really gets tiring with this stuff. I'm going to have to pay someone again to do it over. It really bothers me. It looks odd too, I think, like a professional didn't install it. Shoe does not sit above the floor. I'll be caulking behind it along the baseboard while I'm at it.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Mon, Mar 4, 13 at 21:04

I spoke to my builder and he says that this is the old school way of doing it and that it is done more so in New England (we are in CT). He says its more expensive to do it this way as well. I hate the way it looks.
He said they do it because the wood floor expands an contracts that u would see the gap more so if they did it the other way.
I don't know if I agree with his philosophy .

I was wondering if it might be related to expansion. I noticed it in winter but not earlier (I was also sitting on the floor recently, however!). My floor is engineered wood (less expansion issues) and I don't know that flooring gains height with humidity. I have only heard of leaving expansion gaps along the edges when the floor is installed because it needs room to move side to side.

So your builder is allowing for height expansion of your floor during the summer months? Is that what he was saying? How would you see the gap more if they did not raise the shoe off the floor? I have been lied to so many times before as if I were an ignorant homeowner/woman that wouldn't know any better (had already researched things) that I don't really believe much anymore until I've checked it out for myself.

I'm looking at other people's flooring and the shoe is sitting flush during winter, not floating above it, lol.

I do not like it either. I have been trying to seal my house better and don't like crud collectors. Drafts is another good point.

diyadvice . com

Well I've never heard of doing it that way with solid nailed down flooring. I don't see the gap...where?

We do provide for a small gap when shoe molding will meet floating wood flooring.

I've always thought (and seen in old houses) that the baseboard is attached to the wall, but the show moulding is nailed to the floor. Assuming that you finish the base before applying the shoe any movement should be pretty much invisible.