Best way to fit skirting board in victorian house

[LadyM]

Hi, removed the skirting to lay a wooden floor and have bought MDF skirting to replace the old one, it was nailed in before to little wooden chocks but quite a few of these split when the old skirting came out. Is it best to fit new chocks or can i glue the skirting straight to the wall. Also it doesn't fit that tight to the wall can i just fill the gap with caulk, would an expensive one be best or would a cheapo one from wilko's do the job.
Thanks

 

[Burnerman]

Using 6mm hammer in fixings should be successful here - especially if you drill through and countersink the MDF first - after which you can overfill the hole with Polyfilla. These fixings will help pull the skirting up to an uneven wall, whereas the no nails wouldn't. Expect to fill the gaps with some decorators filler, bearing in mind it doesn't sand down well.

 

[stef86]

Hi
not to start a debate but If you can hire a finishing nail gun and glue and nail the skirting u will get a better look if ur walls are really in and out then hammer fixings will pull the skirting in and if u run ur eye along the wall u will also notice against the floor personally a would do as i say and caulk the top and if u paint the skirting white then the caulk will blend in and when ur goes along the skirting at the bottom against ur nice new floor it wont look **** .basically u will notice a curved skriting against ur floor more than u would against ur wall .

 

[LadyM]

Thanks that's a good point, in some places it does sit fairly flush, what sort of nails are best to use i won't hire a gun as it will be fairly pricey. Burnerman if filler doesn't sand down can it be smoothed out easily before it dries?

 

[Burnerman]

Just use any type of decorators filler - it smoothes perfectly using a finger or damp sponge...it just doesn't like being sanded! Regarding your original post, the fixings will depend on the straightness of the wall, and the condition of the brick or stone or whatever you are trying to fix the skirting to - sometimes all you find is rubble - in which case a no nails adhesive maybe the way to go. Cheers John

 

[stef86]

You do realise you can get a pasloade nail gun on hire for a day for about 16 quid ,usuing nails maisonary nails would b the best but u would sepnd so long punching in and filling all the holes were as wif a finishing gun gloss usually is thick enough that u do not have to fill the holes

 

[geraint]

a 2nd fix paslode is not designed to nail into masonary. buggers the tip up.. screw and plug..

 

[stef86]

and how many houses do u know that have maisonary down to the floor I have done it, do do it and on a daily basis so screw and plug is a lot of *******s !If u buy 35 mm nails u will get a fixing that will hold long enough to the no nails dries !And if we are going to b fussy put in new dooks or a new base rail to fix the skirtings to any one that advises to screw and plug any kind of finish had no idea!You just would not pay to get that kind of finish so why would you do it your self and like a said before plugging and screwing will only show up on the floor every single deformity in ur wall onto your floor!

 

[LadyM]

Our house is mostly brick behind the skirting with just a small strip of plaster that varies between about 5 & 20 mm behind the top of the skirting, so would the paslode still work?

 

[stef86]

Yes in my experience they do work ,you will get the odd nail that will bend back and not go in but if u use the smallest nails u can get i think they are 38mm the gun fires them in pretty well and if u go on the basis that the no nails is the main fixing which belive it or not done right will hold just as good as a screw and plug ,and just pin the skirting where it is kicking out and at the mitres then u will do a great job and if u get some mitre bond for your mitres and internal scribes and then caulk along the top if your walls are bad then u may have to use a filling knife depending on your experience of using a caulking gun, as far as products go jewsons own brand caulk is pretty good to work with not too runny or anything and "sticks like ****" is easily the strongest no nails on the market however at £9 a tube can be pricy so maybe go with green grip fill at around £15 a box hope that helps and trust me going with the nailing option really will give u a better finish as screwing really dose look awful against your floor as it dose tend to pull your skirting tight against your wall and show and didiscrepancies have in your wall.