Solid wood floors? You can start under the baseboard but you can't end under the baseboard. Are the baseboards being installed high enough for the flooring?

engineered. there will be a gap for floors.

I do it all wrong. I HATE quarter round. So I install my 1* before carpet. But I install it after wood. So the wood goes almost to the wall....then the 1* goes above it. The 1* is suppose to go in first at the floor so it is the same level as rooms with carpet. All my carpeted rooms have a door, so it isn't a visual issue. If you do it my way, you would have a harder time installing the 1* before as you want it to go down to the top of the wood flooring.

@B Carey what is 1* ? thanks.

If you don’t want shoe, base goes in after floors. It’s the only way that can happen.

1 by. So 1x4 or 1x6 or 1x8....whatever size.

I sometimes put the base on first, carefully accounting for the height of the finished flooring. With stone, always first, as in the pic below.

Baseboard first, stone under.

However, if you change your mind on the finished flooring or renovate later, you may still be stuck with a shoe moulding.

Another challenge of base first, wood flooring second, is the potential for gaps between the flooring and base. And installing the last pieces of flooring is challenging.

The reason shoe moulding is used is to conceal any gaps.

If you don't want shoe moulding, or something similar, then it will have to be flooring first, base second.

Like others have said, if you want to see the 1x, and you want it to look right, floor first - base second.

No matter how you swing it, there will be gaps, all it takes for 1 joist to shrink more than the other, you will have a gap... 1x has no flex in it, so any variation in subfloor you will end up with a gap that what the shoe molding is for to hide it.

base b4 carpet, after hard floors unless its Dowton Abby (base shoe)