Skirting / Architrave Pine or MDF?

[Jap90s]

Renovating a home so I have a whole house to do.

Pine has knots and occasional grain / warping issues

MDF is a pain if knocked or gets water on it

Pine in bathrooms and kitchens and MDF elsewhere ?

[PhilboSE]

MDF is so much more stable, less faff to paint as well. Can be used in bathrooms, just decorate it well and seal the edges. MDF tends to have more choice and lower prices too.

I use pine in period properties where you need the “depth” and character you can only get with wood, but MDF on everything else.

[Snow and Rocks]

I despise MDF and won't have it in the house at all. Ages/wears badly and can't really be sanded to repair and is effectively ruined by even the smallest amount of moisture.

Real wood every time. Much tougher and will look good for decades.

[Marcellus]

Decent Moisture Resistant MDF lasts very well in usual domestic environment.

By decent i mean FINSA Hidrofugo!

[J6542]

Good luck getting decent pine. Even most of the stuff at the wood merchants is rubbish now and only fit for burning I

[406GTX]

Real wood requires sealing of the knots to prevent a dark stain seeping through over the years. Not sure that I've ever accomplished the sealing sufficiently well to prevent it.

[M11rph]

MDF. Get the stuff that is already primed, it's a decent time saving when doing a whole house.

Bathrooms, I'd try and avoid any wood type product. If tiling then I'd use skirting tiles matched to the floor.

[Simpo Two]

Marcellus said:

Hidrofugo!

Sounds like a footballer!

[blueg33]

Jap90s said:

Renovating a home so I have a whole house to do.

Pine has knots and occasional grain / warping issues

MDF is a pain if knocked or gets water on it

Pine in bathrooms and kitchens and MDF elsewhere ?

MDF in our hall has been there for 20 years of kids growing up and clumsy cleaners. No issues whatsoever, it hasn’t suffered damage and is still gets a better paint finish than the pine in the sitting room.

[Mike Legerwood]

Snow and Rocks said:

I despise MDF and won't have it in the house at all. Ages/wears badly and can't really be sanded to repair and is effectively ruined by even the smallest amount of moisture.

Real wood every time. Much tougher and will look good for decades.

blueg33 said:

MDF in our hall has been there for 20 years of kids growing up and clumsy cleaners. No issues whatsoever, it hasn t suffered damage and is still gets a better paint finish than the pine in the sitting room.

So none the wiser OP!

[Jap90s]

As there isn't a clear consensus, despite always going for Pine in the past, I'm going to give MDF a try

[Gary C]

Oak !

[pghstochaj]

Snow and Rocks said:

I despise MDF and won't have it in the house at all. Ages/wears badly and can't really be sanded to repair and is effectively ruined by even the smallest amount of moisture.

Real wood every time. Much tougher and will look good for decades.

Are you getting confused with something else?

Of course MDF can be sanded. It also has a higher surface hardness to resist damage.

It doesn’t do well with water but neither does pine. For most rooms, that isn’t an issue.

I’ve used both for skirting and would never use anything other than MDF now. The product is more consistent, easier to work with and much easier to paint. I look back at buying pine as a moment of being very new to refurbishment work.

[Sixpackpert]

We used plastic wood effect and it looks great, easy to fit and clean.

https://www.trulypvc.com/collections/skirting-arch...

[Actual]

I did the whole of my upstairs using Wickes Square Edge Primed MDF Skirting / Architrave.

As it came in short 2.1m and 2.4m lengths I could easily transport it in my car.

I also purchased a DeWalt DCN660 Second Fix Nail Gun 20 deg which made the job extra easy and I didn't use any glue.

Even the lengthwise joins are invisible to anyone but me.

I'm going for the whole house Ikea look