Vented baseboard

A floor assembly in combination with a vertical wall, the floor assembly comprising:

• a rigid support base;
• a sub-flooring supported above the support base in a spaced-apart relationship so as to define a floor gap;
• a plurality of strips of material positioned on the sub-flooring and cooperating to form a floor, the floor having a peripheral edge positioned proximate to the wall to provide an expansion gap;
• and
• a substantially L-shaped baseboard having a toe portion and a wall portion, the wall portion adhesively secured to the wall with at least a portion of the toe portion extending over a portion of the floor so that the baseboard covers the expansion gap, the wall portion having a front side, a back side, an upper end, and a lower end, the back side of the wall portion provided with a plurality of spaced-apart ventilation channels extending from the upper end of the wall portion to the lower end thereof to permit air-flow to and from the floor gap, each ventilation channel having a substantially rectangular cross-section and providing the wall portion with a flow area of at least about 0.20 square inches per linear foot when the wall portion is secured to the wall, the back side of the wall portion further having a plurality of wall contact surfaces extending between each ventilation channel, the wall contact surfaces engaging the wall and having a plurality of adhesive holding grooves formed therethrough, each groove defined by at least one acute angled surface so as to function as a catch element, the baseboard being formed of a polymeric material so as to have a weight of less than about 0.83 pounds per linear foot and so as to have a plurality of flow lines extending therethrough so as to mask evidence of marring.