Whats the correct way to fit skirting boards

[Marc]

Hi,

I am now fitting skirting boards to the 3rd room in my house. I have screwed the skirting to the wall in the first two rooms. My problem is that is that the edges never fit flush. I read somewhere that a better way to get edges to fit is to cut the edge of the skirting to the outline shape of the skriting board pattern..but this seems very diffuicult to do unless you have a simply design.

So my question is how to professionals fit skirting? I tried nailing it which makes it easier to get a better fit but the masonry nails just pop out. I dont want to glue it as i have a wodden floor and may need to remove the skirting if i have prblems with the floor.

Many Thanks

Marc

[visionset]

You mitre the board and then cut the profile by following the cut line of the mitre with a coping saw. Profile for internal corners. Just mitre for external corners. If you're painting it doesn't have to be perfect, gripfill or similar can fill up the gaps.

[Andy]

The problem is that skirting boards can have slight bowing or cupping, and if cut purely using a mitre the end result will not necessarily fit together well. I'm not sur ewhy a mitred joint cannot be used for an internal corner, certainly a profile joint can be used on an internal corner but it is fiddly cutting out a complicated profile as the OP said.

If the skirting boards aren't entirely true and a mitred joint doesn't fit properly, short of filling, it is possible to determine the areas of contact by butting the two pieces together in position, with chalk on one mating face, then noting where the chalk transfers to on the other mating face, and removing the high spot(s) gradually using a mini-plane or a chisel. Both must have a very sharp blade else it's hard work. Still a pain to do though.

Andy

[Stuart Noble]

Skirting is mainly cosmetic so Gripfil is neater and easier. If you work on the principle that you're going to have problems down the line, you'd never finish anything. The floor will be fine :-)

[Weatherlawyer]

Use Opera or Firefox for a spelling checker.

are you fixing them to?

If the wall is soft enough -plasterboard or breeze-block, then you can use Gripfill and pins. Cut the profiles at a slight angle and make the lengths some 3/8ths too long so that the profile will cut into the board it abuts.

Use PVA to stop them opening. If the gap is very noticeable, you can use filler or GripFill. If the joins remain awful, use GripFill instead of PVA.

[Weatherlawyer]

checker.http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/spellcheck/>> What are you fixing them to?

A couple more points are that if the floor is uneven you shouldn't expect t have 90 degree cuts. And if the plaster has a bell on it as it will have if the plasterer wasn't any good, the skirting will not sit right.

One more thing is similar to the bell in bad plasterwork, uneven thicknesses. Just fix the boards to the bumps as following bad curves in the wall will make the job look terrible.

Use packers and extra GripFill if that has to happen. Buy a bag of plastic packers from a builder's merchant or just cut up some cereal packets. Put a bit of glue on them and slide them in the gaps behind the skirting.

Then a bead of filler mastic afterwards will make it look 100%.

[Stuart Noble]

checker.http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/spellcheck/>>>> What are you fixing them to?

I agree in principle though I would flatten the higher bumps

[Roger Mills]

Forget the professionals - find a method which suits you!

I would glue them on with Gripfill. If they *do* have to come off again, they may bring a bit of plaster with them - but that's easy enough to repair.

I mitre mine for both internal and external corners. The claimed disadvantage of this compared with profiling internal corners is that, when a length of board has a mitre *both* ends, you have to be able to measure and cut *very* accurately. So what?! It's still easier than profiling in my opinion - particularly if the skirting board has a fancy cross-section.

[Marc]

Thanks all...i think ill stick with motres both ends and use wood filler.

[Mathew Newton]

checker.http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/spellcheck/>> A couple more points are that if the floor is uneven you shouldn't

Perhaps you should practice what you preach?

Mathew

[Mathew Newton]

I may have missed it if you already mentioned but are you painting (i.e. not varnishing) the skirting? If so you really don't need anywhere near perfection with the cuts as filler alone will easily produce a perfect corner which of course will not be visible once painted.

Mathew

[calums]

Marc I would recomend profiling the job. It really is quite easy... in fact you can get a pretty good job with a simply jig saw using a scribing blade. Get an offcut of skirting with both ends cut straight at 90 degrees. Then whenever you have a corner just trace round that using a pencil (on the back flat edge of the skirting). You can then cut the board either with a coping saw, jig saw, or both. For external angles just mitre. Believe me it really is quick and easy, and you get a job that knocks the socks off how you were previously doing it.

By the way, do the profile 1st and then cut to size... much easier.

Calum Sabey NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544