Fitting skirting

[Andy Burns]

New oak flooring fitted, old skirtings removed first so that 12mm expansion gap is covered by new 20mm oak skirting, rather than quarter beading.

Internal corners nicely scribed, only one external mitred corner, walls are about half and half brick/block vs stud/plasterboard.

Would you

a1) Stick with gripfill, I can't believe it's not nails etc?

a2) Fix with lost head nails into sole plates of stud walls, and dowels drilled into block walls to make sites for nails? Fill the nail holes with colour matched filler and then varnish.

a3) Fix with screws and rawlplugs, use plug cutter to cover countersunk screws with plugs made from offcuts?

To fill gap along top of skirting, would you

b1) Apply masking tape, caulk the gap and paint caulk same colour as wall?

b2) Use clear silicone instead of caulk?

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Andy Burns writes

Umm.. I'd avoid using nails in fresh Oak. Risk of discolouration. Stainless screws perhaps.

I've cut plugs for decorative ceiling beams successfully.

Pass. Why is there a gap anyway?

[Roger Mills]

I would stick with Gripfill. Sit the skirting on thin card - which you can subsequently remove - on top of the floor so that the floor can expand and contract without binding on the skirting.

Hopefully there shouldn't be any gaps. If either the wall or the skirting is not absolutely straight, hold the skirting tight to the wall while the Gripfill cures. The best way to do this is to use pairs of long pieces of 3x2 with a quick clamp in spreader mode between the two pieces of a pair to brace against the opposite wall.

[Andy Burns]

It's not exactly fresh, the skirting was bought pre-lacquered close to a decade ago!

I've cut them OK for 'garden quality' carpentry, not tried for internal stuff.

Wavy plastering!

If I screw it, I'll probably be able to close the gaps, with smallish nails I'd worry about them pulling out and re-opening the gap, I don't think NmN would have the sticking power required to bend and hold 3/4" oak in place.

[Tim Watts]

This ^^^

Use stainless or brass screws - if iron ones gets damp (OK unlikely indoors) it can stain oak.

It's what I did and it did allow me to pull the skirting into the curves a bit - and contrary to some opinion, that looks fine to me.

[Brian Gaff]

Wobbly wall syndrome I'd imagine. Oak is very hard to work with. Definitely use some form of screws. As for sealant, well, whatever you use probably won't last that long in my experience. Brian

[Andy Burns]

Yep, almost nothing here is square, level, true or plumb, or in the case of plaster consistent thickness.

Tell that by the smoke billowing from the mitre saw blade this morning.

Though I have realised that partly the gap was due a curve in one length of skirting, coinciding with a bulge in a wall, so swapping two boards over means less "pull-in" is now required.

Yes, I think I will go for the screws and plugs, means I can fix it now, then remove it again in a few weeks when I also plan to remove the radiator, then I'll have unhindered access to paint the walls, refit the skirting and plug the holes at that point.

Coming dangerously close to the second room I'll have finished in this place, several have got part-way through and then paused for a year (or decade) and been undone and are part-way through again.

[0345.86.86.888]

I've never had success with "gripfill" and skirting boards. A: it's too thick and skins over too quickly B: it never "grips" sufficiently and always leaves a bigger gap between wall and skirting then you want/need

By far the best way I've found for a nail/screw free fix is..... Expanding foam. Gun grade basic stuff that has a low expansion rate.

That, an atomiser spray with water and some concrete blocks etc to hold in place while the foam does it's magic.

Quick spray along the wall and the same along the back of the skirting to dampen both surfaces then zig-zag foam along skirting and put into position. Place weights/blocks in position and move on to sanding off the next bit.

On some particularly tricky lengths where I didn't have enough weights/blocks I've sat on the floor using my feet to hold the skirting in place for 10 minutes.

Sticks way better than grip-fill, leaves minimal gap between wall (if any) and fills any wall unevenness in the process.

Screwfix no-nonsense stuff and a gun is what I used the other month to do a 3x4m room and a 4.5 x 5.5m room (both "new" rooms/plaster)

Only had to use 2 screws in the bigger room where the skirting had warped slightly and the mitre joints between lengths wouldn't sit flush (opposite ends were locked into the corners by previous skirting run)

[Steve Walker]

Another option is fixing with brass screws and cup-washers, thus making a feature of the fixings. This would allow easy removal at any time, leaving a handy cable duct behind for phone wires, network cables, etc.

SteveW

[Andy Burns]

Actually that's worth a thought, I happen to have some of both stashed away ...

Already have three compartment dado trunking run round the wall under the desk for that ...

[Andy Burns]

It turns out I don't have as many long brass screws as I thought. They're not cheap nowadays, are they?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's the only way. ;-)

[Brian Reay]

'No More Nails' and some heavy objects to hold in place- perhaps piles of books- while it 'sets'. No More Nails tends to 'grab' quite well.

Normally I fit temporary blocks to the floor and use wedges etc but obviously you can't do that.

Another, more complex idea. Make some metal 'hooks' out of flat strip which slip under the skirting and hook over the edge of the flooring. Bend the 'free' end up and wedge against it. Make enough 'hooks' for a section, glue one, remove and reuse the hooks.

As for the gap, depends how large it is. A flexible filler is generally best, as I'm sure you know. You can get coloured ones which may mask the gap. Personally, I'd try to 'match' the wood. Walls tend to be lighter in colour and the filler discolours.

As an aside, the oak floors sound very nice. ;-)