Filling awkward gaps

[Cursitor Doom]

Hi all,

I've got a couple of tricky gaps to fill and am all out of ideas as to how to proceed. Any suggestions gratefully received...

Gap no.1 is under the skirting board at the end of a passageway which is about a metre in width. It's practically non-existent at one end, but gradually increases to around 12mm at the other. I've stuck a thin rod under the skirting and it goes back about one inch if that's relevant. The passageway floor is concrete with vinyl tiles on top. Woodlice have taken up residence behind this gap, so I'd like to eliminate it (and their access to the house's interior) with a suitable filler that can be painted afterwards along with the skirting.

Gap no. 2 is in the corners of the plaster coving I've just put up. Never was much cop with mitres, they've always been my downfall, so have gaps between 2mm to 8mm in the corners where the miters don't quite join up correctly. Obviously there's an inch or two's void behind these corners which I'm guessing needs to be filled up with expanding foam or something to form a backstop for the filler I'm asking you to recommend for this application. But that's only a guess. You lot are the experts. Rescue me!

[Andrew Mawson]

Gap \1 - squirt expanding foam into gap - let it go off for a day or two, trim back with a sharp knife and fill to surface with Pollyfiller of similar.

Gap \2 probably could be done the same way

AWEM

[The Natural Philosopher]

polystyrene followed by a skim coat of decorators caulk.

As above but leave out the polystyrene

[stuart noble]

A handy tip for filling odd gaps is to use foam pipe insulation. You can get it into all kinds of awkward gaps and it holds itself in position enough to take filler over it

[jkn]

+1

[Murmansk]

If you've not used expanding foam before I'd be very wary of using it in this situation - there's a risk you will end up with a load of the stuff bursting out all over the place that will be about fifty times the volume of what you are trying to fill!

[fred]

In article , Andrew Mawson writes

That'll work although I'd caution to go at it very gently with the foam (foam gun, not cheap can) only to fill the gap between the bottom of the skirting and the floor, you don't want to be filling the whole void (see comments about damp below).

I'd use a thin layer of caulk over the cut surface rather than polyfilla as the former is flexible and the second is not. It can be smoothed over with a filling knife.

Also, further caution, woodlice prefer damp conditions and their presence may indicate a damp problem behind the skirting .

Yes, again the foam doesn't need to fill the whole void.

[Bill Wright]

Bill

[Artic]

Cursitor Doom scribbled...

I've got a couple of sqr yards of scrap external wall foam insulation sheeting. It's ideal for filling up these kinds of holes - even used it to fill up large holes in plasterboard. Glue it in with a bit of filler, sand it back when it dry and use more filler to finish off.

[Cursitor Doom]

Given the nature of this stuff, I'd wouldn't be the least surprised if incidents such as this happen on a daily basis, with even worse outcomes.

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

Are you saying that the gap is 1m long and tapering between 0 and 12mm, or are you saying that it's much longer - eg the length of the passageway?

It seems to me that filling the gap (for stopping draughts and/or keeping the woodlice out) might be only part of the problem; do you also intend to do something to make the shirting board - floor junction look ok? Might it not just be better to remove the board, make a new one that fits the whole space, and refit it?

Or cut a piece of eg 3mm MDF to the size of the existing board plus gap and glue it to the front of the existing board making it look as if a slightly thicker skirting that fits all the way down to the ground has been fitted?

That would of course need the tapering gap filled first, or it would break if someone kicked it.

[Cursitor Doom]

Not that simple, I'm afraid. Some style guru has fitted those things that look like narrow, vertical floorboards up from the top of the skirting to the dado rail.

I like your thinking. Ingenious, that.

I've since squirted that expanding foam stuff into it, so it's suitably protected. Should have worn the gloves, though. That muck is MURDER to get off, plus it gave me a nasty and stingy rash for 12 hours following my complete failure to follow the safety instructions. But as a child of the 60s, I don't bother with safety. That's for poofs.