To remove the skirts or not..?
Discussion
Quick question. Going to lay some laminate in a small bedroom to use as an office over the winter, while I sort out the extension.
The skirts are old and tatty, but the laminate will probably only be in there a year.
I can't work out whether just to butt up against them and lay edging, or get them off and go buy some new skirting board from wicks.
As I've written this, I've realised it probably won't add too much time to get them off and replace new ones. I presume I can hammer them off, and nail / glue the new ones..?
I should do some research.
The skirts are old and tatty, but the laminate will probably only be in there a year.
I can't work out whether just to butt up against them and lay edging, or get them off and go buy some new skirting board from wicks.
As I've written this, I've realised it probably won't add too much time to get them off and replace new ones. I presume I can hammer them off, and nail / glue the new ones..?
I should do some research.
No broken screwdriver (I found a chisel), but I might have broken my will 
So, on the stud walls the skirts are nailed into runs of wood under which run under plaster which (not sure how normal this is, it's a 1980s house) using those lovely big square nails. Most of which are bent.
This has made getting the old skirts off fairly easy, and as they're quite short skirts I can safely buy higher ones to hide any plaster damage which I might or might not have made
Just got to do the backwall under the rad now. That'll be interesting.
So, on the stud walls the skirts are nailed into runs of wood under which run under plaster which (not sure how normal this is, it's a 1980s house) using those lovely big square nails. Most of which are bent.
This has made getting the old skirts off fairly easy, and as they're quite short skirts I can safely buy higher ones to hide any plaster damage which I might or might not have made
Just got to do the backwall under the rad now. That'll be interesting.
ndg said:
jon- said:
B17NNS said:
Skirts go on prior to painting.
On a serious note, why? In my head it makes sense to paint the walls / ceiling before the floor is down, lay floor, attach Skirts with a big hammer, then paint Skirts... All while wearing a skirt!
Thanks guys, looks like I'll be painting first, joining, then probably painting again 
I'd rather paint without the new floor down.
As for attaching the skirting boards, I'm getting confused by all this talk of blocks etc. Once the floor is down surely I can just nail back into the sides, much like how the original skirts were attached?
Pictures of what was under the original skirts.
I'd rather paint without the new floor down.As for attaching the skirting boards, I'm getting confused by all this talk of blocks etc. Once the floor is down surely I can just nail back into the sides, much like how the original skirts were attached?
Pictures of what was under the original skirts.
Pooky67 said:
If the laminate is only temporary, what type of flooring will be going down afterwards?
(sorry if already mentioned!)
If the skirting is going to have to come off again in order to more easily remove the laminate or to fit other wood flooring, it may be best to plug the wall and screw the new skirting on. Leave the screws visible and don't bother caulking whilst you've got the temporary laminate down, then whip them off, change the floor, refit the skirting, fill over the screws and caulk once the new floor is in?
It'll end up a bedroom, so I'll likely carpet it in a year or so, but then if the laminate looks ok, I could just put a rug in. Skirting is cheap, I'll just resign myself to buying more, though I might use slightly smaller nails this time than the huge square ones.(sorry if already mentioned!)
If the skirting is going to have to come off again in order to more easily remove the laminate or to fit other wood flooring, it may be best to plug the wall and screw the new skirting on. Leave the screws visible and don't bother caulking whilst you've got the temporary laminate down, then whip them off, change the floor, refit the skirting, fill over the screws and caulk once the new floor is in?
Chicken Chaser said:
It doesnt need to be overly tidy underneath the skirts, it looks like there's plenty to grab onto.
I'd nail them back up with nails with just a small head, nailing them into the skirt rather than flush. You'll end up with gaps at the top of the skirt between it and the wall anyway.
Then fill the holes made by the nails over the top prior to painting the skirt so you can't see the nail or holes and caulk the skirt at the top all around before brushing with a wet paintbrush to get a smooth finish.
THEN PAINT!
Thanks I'd nail them back up with nails with just a small head, nailing them into the skirt rather than flush. You'll end up with gaps at the top of the skirt between it and the wall anyway.
Then fill the holes made by the nails over the top prior to painting the skirt so you can't see the nail or holes and caulk the skirt at the top all around before brushing with a wet paintbrush to get a smooth finish.
THEN PAINT!
The walls might be painted
! Hopefully I'll get the flooring down tomorrow then fresh skirts on next week, before painting the wood / radiators. The walls are brilliant white, so I'm not overly worried about caulk not matching.ladderino said:
Have to say you're luckier than me. In my old house, the previous owners had fitted a wooden floor with scotia all around to cover the gap to the skirting.
It looked awful, so we ripped it up, and then took the old skirting off.
Plan was to lay new floor and then put new skirting all around.
We were quite amazed to find that the plaster went only as far as the skirting, and had bare bricks behind the skirts.
Queue several weeks of me getting home from work each night to fit small sections of plasterboard to the bottom of the wall.
Looked great in the end though...
Surely this reflects my photos? Why didn't you just do what I'm doing... Get slightly taller Skirts It looked awful, so we ripped it up, and then took the old skirting off.
Plan was to lay new floor and then put new skirting all around.
We were quite amazed to find that the plaster went only as far as the skirting, and had bare bricks behind the skirts.
Queue several weeks of me getting home from work each night to fit small sections of plasterboard to the bottom of the wall.
Looked great in the end though...
Floor down, time to buy some skirting.
Was just going to pop to wicks and get some unfinished board (as I need to nail / screw it, no real point paying twice as much for the finished stuff) but reading the reviews they were mostly saying it arrived warped, and the longest lengths are only 2.4 metres.
Any suggestions on where to get some? Looking for a basic rounded profile, nothing fancy.
Was just going to pop to wicks and get some unfinished board (as I need to nail / screw it, no real point paying twice as much for the finished stuff) but reading the reviews they were mostly saying it arrived warped, and the longest lengths are only 2.4 metres.
Any suggestions on where to get some? Looking for a basic rounded profile, nothing fancy.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff