Depends how many guys were working on your friend's floor. I had 340 sq
ft engineered flooring installed (nail down) by one very good
installer, he took 2 1/2 days and did a great job. I put down new
baseboard myself, as I don't like the look of regular base plus 1/4
round, or shoe. Looks like someone added the shoe moulding rather than
use thicker base. My installer kept the gap at the walls at 3/8 max, so
I bought "1x2" (5/8 x 1 5/8) poplar, ripped it with the blade at an
angle and the wood run on edge and routed a 1/8 roundover on it to make
my own moulding. Only took a day to make and install, and looks much
cleaner IMHO.
Around floor registers, the lip at the edge of the register cover will
cover your cuts. BTW, if you can get matching solid wood, and really
want a nice cover, you can make your own. I had some stairs done in the
same wood, and made my own cover out of the scraps from that, makes it
blend right in with the floor.
Good luck.