Ask the expert

I have noticed there is a quarter-inch space between the wooden floor in my dining room and molding trim at the base of the wall. It’s also like that on the other side of the wall in the kitchen between the tile floor and the bottom wall trim. The gap is about 6 inches or less in length, with the wall and floor fitting snugly everywhere else. I don’t know whether it was like that when I bought the house three years ago and I never noticed it or if this is a new development. Does this mean the floor is separating from the wall and I have foundation problems in my 1930s wooden bungalow?

“The possibility exists that the gap between the flooring and the baseboard has been there since the day you moved into the house,” says Tim Hennelly, owner of Casa Buena home inspection of Little Rock. He says the homeowner has two options, the first being to monitor the condition of the gap over time.

“With temperature and moisture variations, over the course of a year a house will tend to undergo a degree of thermal expansion and contraction,” Hennelly says, adding that a gap, crack or opening develops where none previously existed or the opposite occurs as one notices that a gap, crack or opening is now closed. Such conditions are not considered to be of major concern.

The second option, Hennelly says, is to be more proactive.

“Although your gap is not very long, its width is just at the point of being a cause of concern,” he explains. “I would recommend going into the crawl space to examine the area beneath the gap. You may find an obvious answer to why the gap developed.”

Possible causes include a compressed wood shim, excessive ground moisture, which allowed a nearby pier to settle, or a water-damaged floor joist caused by leakage down a plumbing or vent pipe in the wall.

“Whatever condition you find,” Hennelly says, “get it repaired before it potentially becomes a serious concern.”Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We’ll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or e-mail:

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