Too late, but try to visit some websites that can handle this kind of situations. Linda of Admission-service.com.

Thanks Chas ... I need posts like this. Take a breath, get off the ladder ... stand back and say does it really matter .... ?? LOL. Thank you! I like your idea, can handle a dremel, chisel and putty knife. Good call on slipping a blade between the brick and anything loose ... I would have just nicked away at it and scored the brick as you have noted. I will try that on the bigger chunks and those especially that are in the mortar grooves. If I can get a relatively "straight" line of caulk/paint ... even to the eye from far away ... I'll be happy. Thanks for the comment on the nice job ... painting today. Used oil as a primer so this should go smooooothly. I'll post a pic when done. Tx. again.

OPs issue: I don't use "1/4 round" but install cabinets first and tile to and/or install my toe kicks and base boards after flooring. Cabinets without toe kicks are also installed and leveled before flooring, and flooring is cut flush (or grouted). An island with custom end panels can have a tall base or piece that matches the panel thickness. Below is effectively a "base shoe" on the flush ends only but these could have been grouted if the end panels were flat. @wdccruise To respond …. the issue with installing floors before cabinets vs after is avoiding damage with 5-6 more trades working on top of finished floors (hardwood & vinyl) vs 100 sf of material in a small home. The savings in flooring is negligible vs potential damage and schedule delay. I also want to be able to attach this island to the subfloor, not the finished flooring. At the custom home level, there are often last minute changes to plumbing & electrical locations that require opening walls and patching, which is easier to do without finished flooring in place. Which gets changed more often over the life of a home or kitchen.... flooring or cabinets? I'm guessing flooring 3:1 for some of the lighter floors such as engineered hardwoods, vinyl, and LVT. Builders refine their sequences over decades. Their teams of trades & suppliers work relatively smoothly with this system. A quality on schedule finish reduces costs. When you hire a builder for the whole job, its reasonable to assume they've priced it based on their proven process, not the one a product reseller is pitching in order to sell their product. So when you dictate a change in process after signing a contract, there's going to be some head scratching. Some will agree, some will not. Most of the time it will impact and lengthen the schedule until the turmoil settles.

Yes the flooring guys put in the new floor. I told them I didn’t want the quarter round, when I showed up they installed it and said “it looked good so they just finished it up and thought I’d like it” - we agreed they would show me a sample before installing it - I had told them I wanted a very tiny square edge piece, and instead when I arrived at our appointed time, apparently they got there early and installed all of it!! So I had them take it out. I hired and paid a carpenter to put the new molding on top of the old toe kick. He used 1/2” but it didn’t cover it on that one side (the most visible side). Now I don’t know what to do! :-(