Rate my skirting!
Discussion
BlindedByTheLights said:
If that is an actual trades persons work, and you are actually paying for it then I would be politely asking them to leave. That’s a crap DIY job let alone a tradespersons work.
Unless this is a wind up, then yes, this. He doesn't deserve payment for working in your house.
t job I'm going to do now.shtu said:
"Filler and paint makes me the joiner I ain't."
That's just lazy. Butt joints at the corners saves him maybe half an hour per room.
On -some- of the gaps it's a judgement call - trying to force a short piece to bend to the shape of the wall risks it looking worse than filling, and of course because they're not using any fixings, it wouldn't bend into place without being clamped.
Yet another thread that makes me realise it's less hassle overall to just DIY. I did better than that on my first attempt at skirting.
With regards bending skirting to walls… as I’ve found, against linear wood flooring it’s visually more acceptable to run parallel to the wood grains if possible, and definitely to try keep skirting boards linear to tie into the wood grain.That's just lazy. Butt joints at the corners saves him maybe half an hour per room.
On -some- of the gaps it's a judgement call - trying to force a short piece to bend to the shape of the wall risks it looking worse than filling, and of course because they're not using any fixings, it wouldn't bend into place without being clamped.
Yet another thread that makes me realise it's less hassle overall to just DIY. I did better than that on my first attempt at skirting.
This can mean fairly hefty gaps back to the wall, and ultimately it’s all a balancing act, but it’s visually preferable.
I’ve yet to finish mine off, but intending to filler it to the last 1-2mm off the top, then have a caulk topping.
Also I used some clear silicone on mine and used props across the room/hallway to push it against the wall for 8hrs or so.
I’ve had a good crack at knocking it off but a good silicone does indeed seem to be sufficient for the job.
Best of all it will tear off and be fairly easy to clean up if required.
Nails just ruin the plastering.
Screws with plugs would be my preference but not in a house with plastic pipes buried in the walls and angling and arcing all over the shop.
SIMON67 said:
BlindedByTheLights said:
If that is an actual trades persons work, and you are actually paying for it then I would be politely asking them to leave. That’s a crap DIY job let alone a tradespersons work.
Wood flooring specialist! 
To be fair the skirting isn’t the floor, so out of their specialism
I’d be starting to question how well their floor work will remain good for.
The “professional trade” cretin who fitted my karndesan undercut my stair newel by about 1cm, despite only needing a couple of mm to give the required effect.
And they used some giant circular saw thing, not a multi-tool sat on a piece of material to get it super perfect and tight.
Honestly I think 90% of trades are professional (ie, paid for their work), but they’re not actually any good, and often worse than an average DIYer.
In this high demand environment any old rubbish appears to be acceptable.
Edited by Mr Whippy on Thursday 30th March 18:43
TheInternet said:
Promised Land said:
the 2 pieces of skirting are always trying to pull away from each other as they'll be pinned to the walls
Can you explain this further? Is it true of MDF?( Go and mitre bond the joint together then try fitting it to the walls, the mitre will split and open.)
Joiners have been taught to scribe internal corners for decades, you go into an old terrace with original skirts and pull them off, they’ll be scribed in the corners not mitred. It’s just never done.
MDF or timber, you won’t get a tight fit doing it the DIY way.
Like the OP’s now caulked bull nose, if he painted it, no matter how many coats you’ll always see the plumb cut of the skirting and the little bit of caulk stuck on it.
SIMON67 said:
BlindedByTheLights said:
If that is an actual trades persons work, and you are actually paying for it then I would be politely asking them to leave. That’s a crap DIY job let alone a tradespersons work.
Wood flooring specialist! Unreal said:
I hate caulk. It always cracks when used to fill anything bigger than a hairline crack. It amazes me how rarely anyone can produce a square and flat wall to mount the skirting on.
I hate the stuff too. I much prefer to use filler and you can sand it to get square edge/corner, unlike caulk.Edited by Unreal on Thursday 30th March 17:28
TheInternet said:
Thanks. I suspect I’ll get away with an internal mitre if I get the angles right, but am tempted to pick up a coping saw even though I know I’ll lack the ability to use it.
FWIW the original, 60 year old boards that came off were just butted up; no scribing/mitres.
I found this video really helpful learning to mitre internal corners. Well worth the effort to do it this way in my opinion. FWIW the original, 60 year old boards that came off were just butted up; no scribing/mitres.
https://youtu.be/YRu_SqWNtMs
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff