I want to draughtproof the skirtings, mainly any gaps between the floor and skirtings, I was going to use clear caulk for this job BUT as the floors is a cheap wooden tile overlay stuff I will be carpeting on top of this, probably around May time next year. One potential problem I see is that is it not usual to `tuck` the carpet under the skirting board when fitting, if this is the case then would I be causing a future issue, or should I refrain from draught proofing and presume the carpet will draughtproof for me?
Don't see it being aproblem. Most fitted carpets will stop that type of draught even just butting up - but running some sealant around or stuffing some tissue in won;t do any harm that I can see.
Most carpet fitters are not quite that accurate, they just bang down those grippers and stretch it to be right up to the dge and then bash it down on the grippers with that thingy I forgot the name of.
When I moved in to my first home, the fitted carpets which were only a few years old (although crap quality for the most part) were dark around the edges where air passed through the gap and the carpet filtered out the dust.
When I replaced the carpets, I first ripped out the originals, and painted the skirting with gloss paint, and deliberately spilled the gloss paint a couple if inches onto the floorboards. When the gloss had fully dried (takes quite a while), I bought a wide roll of good (expensive) sellotape, and taped along all the joins between the skirting and the floorboards, and the tape stuck very well to the new gloss paint. The tape comes up the skirtingboards by the thickness of the carpet and underlay, so even though transparent, it's not visible above the carpet. It goes along the floor enough to be trapped under the grippers. This stops any air passing through the carpet around the edges of the room, and 25 years later, there is no dark staining around the edge of the room. Even if the sellotape has come unstuck (which it almost certainly has by now), there's still no air path through the carpet edge, although the effectiveness of draughtproofing may reduce a little bit.
Make sure you get a good thick tape, and you get it right into the corner, so it's not broken by stretching the carpet onto the grippers.
I wouldn't put anything that will glue the skirting to the floor in the gap. Tightly rolled newspaper or suitable bit of rolled packing foam.
As others have said the carpet will stop most of the draft but depending on where that air is coming from you can end up eith dirty edges to the carpet from the fine muck carried an trapped. Dark carpet not a problem of course...
A fitted carpet is stretched onto the gripper spaced less than the thickness of the carpet from the skirting then the edge trimmed and a bolster used to push the carpet into the gap it's not really tucked under the skirting more tightly butted against it.
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@srv1.howhill.co.uk:
I also had the dirty edge problem in my first house and resolved never to have it happen again. I have used folded newspaper - made into a narrow "V" shaped strip and pushed into the gap. I have also used expanding foam.
I asked the same question here recently. Following recommendations used decorators caulk. It made a big difference. As far as I'm concerned, especially with very price of energy, the more draught proofing the better. Decorators caulk made a pretty much 100 per cent draught proof seal round all my skirting boards - not much else would. The difference in temperature is very noticeable. I'll do other rooms when time permits.
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