Tools needed. 1. Flat pry bar 2. 1/4" x 1" Lag bolt 3. Drill or 1/4" impact driver with nut driver that fist the lag bolt. 4. Hammer 5. Piece of wood (1/4" plywood works very good) Here is a video of the process. I have used it many times to remove buried base boards. Removing Buried Base Boards.

OK...I'm going to give you a little piece of advice re: Certified Inspector. You aren't going to like it but here we go: The inspection report belongs to the person/company who PAID for it. If the company pays for the inspector (what type of certification?) then the company OWNS the report and has NO NEED to share the results with you. The only way you can compel them to release the document is through the courts during 'disclosure'. Don't panic! There is a way around this. Find/pay for your OWN flooring inspector. Yep. A few hundred bucks and the inspection can happen as QUICKLY as you need it to happen. Even though this is a vinyl floor, you can reach out to the National Wood Flooring Association (www.nwfa.org) to find out where you can find Certified Flooring Inspectors. I've seen inspectors respond/arrive at the property within DAYS of first contact. In your situation, you are paying huge amounts of money to stay 'out' of the house. You need to, financially, get back INTO the house. That means the FASTER you get an inspection, the faster you get resolution. I'm going to bet my first born that you will NOT see hide nor hair of that inspector's report. And someone is going to say it was 'installation error' and then deny you the claim. Which leaves you exactly where you are right now....which is out of the house and pointing fingers at the GC. You can head this off at the pass (so to speak). You can hire YOUR OWN inspector and have your OWN document that states 'installation error' (which would make TWO documents from two separate inspectors stating install error) and that will be one HECK of a 'big stick' you can use against the GC. While you wait for your OWN inspector to call you back (because you googled everything as soon as you read my post) you will need to pull out your FLOORING contract (where ever/whatever that is) and look up how much you paid for SUBFLOOR preparation. And then, because you are already digging around in the house, you will also find/print the INSTALLATION instructions for your product. You will have BOTH of these documents ready for your own inspector to come in and view the project. As for the baseboards...leave them OFF. The flooring inspector (both yours and theirs) will have to SEE the expansion gap at the walls. Which is SUPER HELPFUL if the baseboards are NOT installed. Please tell us what product you used (brand, line, name, specs) and we will see if we can dig up a few bits and pieces for you. I can tell you right now, the expansion gap at the walls is probably too small. Are there any transition strips through doorways? Most vinyl has maximum runs...and those runs are determined by the CLICK SYSTEM. A thin product with a low-grab click edge has a maximum run of 25 feet and must ALWAYS have transition strips through doorways. A thicker product with a high-grab click system will have a maximum run of 40 feet which may NOT need a transition strip through doorways...but sometimes it needs it simply because of the total run or the width of the doorway. Whew! Lots to work with. Leave the baseboards OFF, call your OWN inspector and dig up every single stick of information you have on your flooring contract and on your floor product itself. You are going to need all of it.

(Updated to add: This was in response to a post from Stax that they have since deleted) I'm not trying to argue, but I just don't believe you understand what I'm saying. Probably because you don't like the messenger. :) It is definitely less work in some situations. Here's an example: Picture a house that is all done. Baseboards are on the wall already. Painted and finished. Someone decides they want new hardwood floors instead of their current cheap laminate. The contractor comes in and doesn't touch the baseboards. They simply hammer down the new hardwood on top of the existing floor and collect their paycheck and go home. Now the baseboards are buried a half inch below the surface of the new floor. This is much easier than removing the baseboard (which could potentially also damage the wall), removing the existing flooring down to the sub floor. Then install the hardwood. Then replacing the baseboard. It's the 'wrong' way to do it, but it's easier and cheaper.

From your description of the baseboards, I would remove the baseboards in order to better remove the carpet glue, etc. without damaging the refinished floors.