Gaps under skirting board

[Sickboy]

I have a room where the floor has sunk slightly over time and there is now a gap between the laminate floor and skirting board. The gap is about 1cm in the middle of the wall and there is no gap at either end. I don't want to rip the floor up and start again and normally I would just fill the gap and repaint but the floor must not be fixed to the skirting to allow the laminate to expand. I had thought about laying newspaper between the skirting and floor, and then filling the gap, removing the newspaper when the filler has dried but I am worried the paper might get stuck to the filler.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to fill this gap while still allowing the laminate floor to expand?

 

[murraysnudge]

As I understand it the laminate floor was laid before the skirting so the expansion gap is behind the skirting. Let's hope the floor has stopped sinking, so one way to do this is to replace the skirting and scribe it in to the floor line.
Why did the floor sink though?

 

[Sickboy]

It is a fairly new house so the builders used the cheap alternative and used chipboard instead of floorboards. The previous owners had a large cupboard where the floor has bowed but I am happy that it will not get any worse.

You are correct that the expansion gap is behind the skirting. What did you mean by scribe the skirting into the floorline? Do you basically mean sand the ends of the skirting so that the bottom of the skirting follows the curve of the floor? If I did this the ends of the skirting would be more shallow that the skirting on the neighouring wall which is still ok.

 

[murraysnudge]

My opinion is that chipboard is a great flooring material. If you have a solid concrete floor and make a good job of laying the slab you don't need to screed it. The chipboard can be laid on polystyrene sheets and gives a well insulated floor. I'm never going to screed a floor again; it's hard work. If you have got a floor like this it is more likely that the floor has not moved but rather the slab was not quite flat so left a hollow under the chipboard/polystyrene and the weight of the cupboard deflected the chipboard.
You've got the right idea but if you start with skirting a bit taller so that when it is scribed-in the height of the end matches the adjacent wall. You mount a pencil on a suitable piece of wood and run it along the floor so that the floor profile is transferred to the skirting. Use a plane to shape the skirting to the pencil line.

 

[Sickboy]

Sorry murraysnudge, I'll stick to this forum now.

I still don't understand how I can replace just the one section of skirting. The height of the skirting on the adjacent wall (which is ok) is 10cm. If I buy replacement skirting with an identical pattern for the sagging wall, this will also be 10cm high.
The floor curves so that there is a 1cm gap under the skirting in the middle of the wall, therefore the skirting needs to 1cm higher in the middle of the wall. Since the skirting is originally 10cm, when I plane it to match the curve of the floor, it will be 10cm high in the middle and 9cm high at the ends. When I fix this to the wall the 9cm end will butt up against the existing 10cm high skirting on the adjacent wall.

Please explain where I am going wrong.
Thanks

 

[murraysnudge]

OK, but the flooring section was probably the correct one It's just that if you start a thread under one heading and then cross-post it in another you get two discussions.
Anyway, what I'm suggesting is that you get a piece of 125mm skirting to start with and cut it to length. Mark the height of the existing skirting down from the top i.e. 100mm. Fit the skirting in position ready for scribing the floor profile.Find a piece of wood to mount a pencil on so that when the wood and pencil are placed on the floor the end of the pencil is at the previously marked end height i.e. 100mm from the top edge. Now when you run the wood/pencil along the floor you will transfer the floor profile onto the skirting. The pencil mark will still be 100mm down at each end but 110mm where the floor dips.
It's going to look nice.

 

[Sickboy]

Thanks, that makes sense now but I think I will find it difficult to find skirting with pattern I have, in a taller size. I will keep looking.

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

Place furniture in front of the offending skirting board!!!

 

[breezer]

Place furniture in front of the offending skirting board!!!

but if you do that you could end up with more furniture than you need, bit like that tv ad for a "cleaning sponge thingy"

Why have we got that?

to hide this

it goes on

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

I didn't say buy new furniture!!!


You inteprete things like my wife!!!

 

[TexMex]

Slide a piece of cardboard under the skirting.
Do the same with some greaseproof paper on top.
Fill the gap with plastic wood.
wait for it to set.
Paint.
slide cardboard back out.
Tear off excess paper.
Post a reply if it works.
If it don't, don't blame me, I just want to know if it would work .