Read on to learn how to install skirting boards, whether you’re installing new ones or repairing old ones.
Before Fitting
Before you start installing skirting, remember to find building supplies you need to avoid obstacles along the way. Also, learn how to connect the skirting board in the corners: internal and external joints are the most common. Internal corners face inward, whereas external ones face outward.
If you’re putting a skirting board outside of a corner, use a mitre joint. The skirting is at a 90° angle with the wall behind it. As you travel around the turn, the shape of the skirting changes. You’ll need a mitre box (like a table saw) and a high-quality saw to cut the mitre moulding.
Fitting The Skirting Board
Step 1: Make a note of the corner location and the angle at which you’ll need to cut it on the skirting board’s rear. To help you tell them apart, make a temporary direction mark on the skirting board near the cutting mark.
Step 2: Using a saw that is sharp enough to cut through two pieces of wood without bending, make the incision. To avoid any harm as you saw, place the board so that you’re cutting the front face.
When cutting along skirting, it’s a good idea to place temporary support at the other end, such as a stack of boards, to ensure that it remains level with the base of the mitre box as you saw it.
Step 3: Clean the cut surface with fine sandpaper to make sure it’s smooth and tidy. Then you must make sure that the board forms a firm fit — if there’s a gap in the joint preventing it from fitting properly, use a sharp chisel or block pane to remove some skirting and tighten the gap.
Step 4: For any internal corners, you must cut ascribed joints. The ascribed joint is a form of join in which one of the skirting board pieces is cut square, and the other piece is formed to the shape of the skirting board. The profiled section may push up the face of the square-cut piece.
Step 5: After that, you must carefully and precisely trim the skirting board’s end that needs to have the profiled edge (this is done in the same manner as if you were creating an internal mitre junction). The profile of the skirting board is then drawn in pencil or with a coping saw, depending on your preference.
Step 6: Finally, lay out your scribed joints so that you don’t have to cut on both ends of a single skirting board. It’s easier to mark up a square cut from a profiled one than the other way around, so if you need to remove the skirting board and just have one piece, make sure you start with the profiled end.
Step 7: If you’re installing skirting boards on a masonry wall, use masonry nails or screws and wall plugs to do so. If you’re installing skirting to a timber stud partition wall, use lost head nails and a stud detector to find the studs.
If your home has metal stud partition walls, such as many current constructions, you’ll need to use screws for the installation. Use plated screws or zinc-plated screws to avoid them from corroding.
Step 8: If you’re using adhesives, apply blobs to the back of the board at regular intervals and PVA glue to any of the external mitres. You may also need to employ some small diameter pins to keep the connection tight.
Step 9: To finish, drive a screw into the edge of the skirting board’s bottom in front of its fixing position, then firmly push against the wall. If the wall is flat, you don’t need any additional fixings, but if it’s bowed, you’ll require extra screw fixings to draw the skirting to the wall.
Step 10: Mark the skirting board with a pencil if you’re using screws so that the fixing points are approximately 2cm below the start of the chamfer (the sloping surface at the edge) and 60cm apart.
Step 11: Using a countersink bit, make a countersink in each fixing hole. This must be deep enough and wide enough to fit the screwhead beneath the skirting board’s surface. Make scratches through the screw holes on the wall before taking it down to ensure that each scratch can be seen.
Step 12: Remove the masking tape and paint, if necessary. Tap in place using a hammer and pry bar until they’re completely secure. Finally, wrap masking tape around the drill to indicate when to quit drilling before drilling holes into the wall. Insert wall plugs and tap them until they are flush with the wall.
Step 13: Fill any gaps with a filler that matches the skirting color.
Step 14: Seal the gap between the skirting board and the wall with flexible decorative caulk in a mastic gun. To smooth out any bumps, dampen a clean cloth and apply it to the area.
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