We at Funky wood get asked how to fit skirting boards constantly but people seem to take a look worried when I let them know (don’t be!). In this explanation I most certainly will add pictures to help it become a little easier and use as numerous lay man terms as i possibly can because I know a large number of not joiners out generally there.

Before fitting any skirting board you’ll want to first order your skirting board  weather it be Cherry skirting boards, Walnut skirting boards, Ash or Pine along with enough wastage. I have written another article relating to this (walnut skirting) but let’s just say you’ll need 10-15% waste (hardwoods) meaning you would like that much more then you definitely need, this will cover a person for those bits right at the end and save you piecing up mismatched items of wood with grains, knots etc which are not very nice to think about especially in a smaller room. When you have got this it’s time to do timber selection you’ve got bought oak skirting therefore you noticed it has a lot of colour differential in the actual lengths, it would be good to keep similar shades together in different rooms or keep it together available as one room where it changes only once or twice.

OK! we are nearly getting ready to start fitting the skirting board, the only thing left to do is look at your timber and choose what lengths could get where once this done its time get rolling.

I was taught by a well used guy who was quite strict i really will tell you precisely what he taught me. The first thing you must do is stand in the primary doorway or the only doorway in most rooms, looking across at the wall in front of you. This is your kick off point as this is where the majority of people enter a room it require all the scribes hidden as people come into the room. Start with your first piece about the back wall or the wall opposite as this can make it harder to see the particular scribed joints.

If you don’t understand what a scribe is I allow you to know…. you are cutting a profile on the end of a bit of timber to match a new profile of timber you intend to push it too. If you use a coping saw you’ll be able to cut the profile out easily when you need to do some curved work. A tip that may also help, if you mitre the section of skirting board use some sort of jigsaw to cut on the mitre cut. The mitred cut offers you a true curve at the top of skirting board. It’s a cheat really and you need to careful but it’s sometimes simpler to cut to a line then not have one at all.

So, just to recap, the first skirting board length you’ve put in is merely a straight length with absolutely no cuts. It has to fit tight between walls. If you find it hard to measure along the wall (sometimes due to the tape measure doesn’t fit in right at the end) measure from on the list of wall and bring the tape measure across as well as mark the wall 100-200mm off the end (remember that will distance) then evaluate back. Add the two together so you get the distance on the mm. This should give you a true reading of the size of skirting board you need to start with.

So you have placed your first period of skirting board, do not fix it available just yet, keep it loose. Things always happen and it is best to keep your alternatives open till you have cut everything. The idea is to start on the other hand of the room and work your way back to the entry.

Once the first piece of skirting board is available, work around the room till you could have reached the door. As long as people haven’t fixed anything in you should check that it all calculates fine then fit the particular skirtingboards in properly.

I use a variety of different fixing methods. I will list below-

Use Gripfill, Pinkgrip etc. If you use this process it needs fixing available with a nail firearm. If it’s a difficult piece or you don’t possess a nail gun you should nail a small wooden pads on a lawn then use small of wood to shield the face of the skirting board (knight). Use another piece regarding wood and nail this for the pad and hammer as a result of the face of this soldier to push the skirting board against the wall and nail set up.

Another method is to help drill and plug. Only use a excellent plug cutter and nice plugs. There is a dealer of plugs in strips of 4 on ebay (they are the cheapest and the best) If you utilize these one’s which I might highly recommend you need a 12mm pilot cutter. Glue the plugs in and leave instantly. The next day utilize a sharp chisel and take off layers of the stopper around 1/5 mm at a time. It is important to ensure you have the grain going a similar way as the skirting aboard (horizontal).