Finished laying the engineered wood flooring and have pinned the skirting board to the wall (both new, so no need for any scotia), now just about to start painting.
Are there any clever solutions for protecting the flooring from paint? The skirting board is getting a white eggshell top coat, so any 'over-run' onto the natural oak flooring is going to look pants (or be a bugger to clean off)
Thanks
Masking tape as used by vehicle refinishers. Use it to hold down some newspaper if you're really slapdash.
You won't see it once the carpet's down.
JGH
A bit late now, but paint it *before* you fix it to the wall - and then fix it with Gripfill or similar rather than nails. If the wall isn't quite flat, you may need the occasional pin, plus a thin bead of decorator's caulk along the top - both of which can easily be touched up after the event without getting any paint on the floor.
Since the skirting is already fixed to the wall . . . Hopefully you left a very small gap under it to allow the flooring to move a bit when it expands and contracts? If so, you can slip some thin plastic sheeting
*under* the skirting to protect the floor while you paint.Isn't this what masking tape was invented for?
Brian
Yes - what I did was get some DPM membrane from toolstation - small, 3x4m, not hugely expensive - but very tough.
Cut into 5-10cm wide strips and slide under the skirting. Overlap the joins by a few cm.
You can paint with impunity. While wet, slide back slightly but do not remove - this helps to stop a big blob of paint sticking to the sheet.
Remove when paint is completely dry.
HTH
Tim
I thought that you would be in favour of Gaffer tape. (I'll get my coat.)
Do the edges first with a half inch brush. Faster than masking tape
But I challenge anyone to do it faster than my method above - unless you have a very steady hand! Also, enineered wood can move so there is a high risk of getting a tiny paint line which then migrates away from the skirting.
Plastic is reusable so time to prep is mostly once for any number of jobs.
I can cut-in quite well, but I find it mentally exhausting to maintain that level of concentration.
Excellent tip.
Especially on your hands and knees :-) Mind you, if there's room to slide a membrane under the skirting, I certainly wouldn't get paint on the floor. *Some* paint needs to be on the very edge of the skirting, but not as much as on the rest
Tip 2:
If it's tight(ish) to the floor, fold 1/2" at the edge of the membrane over a wide scraper to push it under the skirting.
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