Skirting question

[Parrot of Doom]

I'm doing my back bedroom. One of the walls I've just plasterboarded (partition), the other three are probably ok, need skimming in places.

I'm putting new skirting board around the entire room, and a new door jamb. The old skirting is secured in place with wooden wedges between the bricks. Is this easy to do, or am I better off just screwing the new skirting onto the brick, with plugs, and filling? I'd rather not use glue, it'll twist over time and come off.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Saturday 2nd January 19:02

[v5 rob]

i would use gripfill adhesive on the back of the skirting,a couple of big blobs every few inches should do the trick,

[Simpo Two]

If the old wedges are still there and in good condition I'd be tempted to use them again.

Gluing skirting boards on is great if the wall is fairly flat but otherwise you'll need to wallop in strategic nails as well.

'MDF' type skirting shouldn't warp and would be my preference over wood - and it's also much easier to finish.

Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 2nd January 19:19

[N Dentressangle]

Parrot of Doom said:

am I better off just screwing the new skirting onto the brick, with plugs, and filling?

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Saturday 2nd January 19:02

That's how I did mine. Re-instating the wedges just seemed more faffy and likely to not work very well.

A selection of small pieces of wood as spacers and a bit of patience are required. However, if your walls are Victorian and wonky, the screws directly into the brickwork can pull the skirting board nicely to the shape you want.

[Vespula]

OP, good luck with the corners. I used the coping saw method and it takes some practice.

[Simpo Two]

Mitre saw surely...

[Vespula]

Nope, coping saw. Old school method.

HERE

Edited by Vespula on Saturday 2nd January 19:35

[anonymous-user]

Unless you've got walls that are straight as a die then screw them on. Either in brick or existing wood if they're in good condition. Any kind of glue etc will just come off in my experience.
Mike

Edited by MH on Saturday 2nd January 20:05

[Parrot of Doom]

Vespula said:

OP, good luck with the corners. I used the coping saw method and it takes some practice.

I'll probably do that. There's no way my walls are at right angles

[Ganglandboss]

Vespula said:

Nope, coping saw. Old school method.

HERE

Edited by Vespula on Saturday 2nd January 19:35

A much more professional method.

[Simpo Two]

Ganglandboss said:

A much more professional method.

Interesting - I had envisaged something like that but imagined it in situ where the end of the coping saw would thrown the cut off square.

However, what's the advantage? On an external angle you'd end up with a visible line on one sdie (unless you're going to fill and rub down the joint)

[headcase]

You cope the internals and mitre the externals, dont make the mistake of thinking the outsides will be 90, actually measure them to get a perfect cut.

[Ganglandboss]

Simpo Two said:

Ganglandboss said:

A much more professional method.

Interesting - I had envisaged something like that but imagined it in situ where the end of the coping saw would thrown the cut off square.

However, what's the advantage? On an external angle you'd end up with a visible line on one sdie (unless you're going to fill and rub down the joint)

You have to mitre and fill the external corners unfortunately. The benefit of doing it like this is that corners are very rarely a perfect 90 degrees. In most rooms, it is only the chimney breast where you will have external corners.

[Sukh13]

If you have an external corner, and its say 86 degrees and not 90, what angles would you mitre the boards? 43 and 43?

[mackg]

Sukh13 said:

If you have an external corner, and its say 86 degrees and not 90, what angles would you mitre the boards? 43 and 43?

[Simpo Two]

mackg said:

Sukh13 said:

If you have an external corner, and its say 86 degrees and not 90, what angles would you mitre the boards? 43 and 43?

Actualy I cut both to 45 using an Ulmia mitre saw, then chamfer the inner faces on a 12" disc sander. It's very easy, and there are no ugly lines showing on the outside.

Ba-dum-tush

[Sukh13]

One more question: If you have a long straightish wall and the lengths of board aren't long enough to be one piece, what is the best way to join them? We did 45 degree overlap, but thought maybe there was a better way?

[robsartain]

If you are using the Gripfix method, I was once told (by a so called professional) that the easiest way to hold the skirting where you want it is to wedge tight some long batons againest the skirting and the opposite wall.

Personally I think this sounds like more work than its worth, espically if you have a 20 foot lounge :-)

[callyman]

Coping saw on the corners is the best way by far, as it allows for the corners not being 90 degrees.

[Stegel]

Scribing with a coping saw is the proper, joiner's, way of treating internal corners. A tip for marking out, rather than using an offcut of skirting and a pencil, is to cut a 45 degree chamfer and then cut along the line where the 45 degree cut intersects with the face. Use the coping saw solely for the twiddly bits, and a panel saw for the straight run.

For MDF, which will be stable, use Gripfil etc.. For real timber skirtings, prime front and back before fitting and either screw in place or use plugs as per the original - the advantage of the latter is that you can cut them off flush with the plaster face and avoid packers etc..