How to fill gaps between skirting and floorboard?

[parakeet]

These pictures from my upstairs middle bedroom show gaps beneath wall skirtings to exposed floorboards, on both outside- and inside-facing walls. The gaps are both vertical and somewhat horizontal, up to about 1cm to 1.5cm, leaving both masonry wall behind and under-floorboard cavity exposed.

What is the best way to fill them in?

I will be having this room carpeted on top of good underlay, so this may make up the height of the gap, but I think filling it behind the carpet would also be a good idea.

My plan was to use expanding foam. Is this a good idea? I wonder if the carpet fitter would just destroy it by bashing carpet at the skirting.

Someone recommended just sticking bits of newspaper in there.

Thanks for your thoughts.

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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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[KenGMac]

Hi, robertandrews.

Any ideas as to how long these gaps have been there?

Do the gaps appear anywhere else in the upper floor of the house?

Ken.

 

[parakeet]

Hi, robertandrews.

Any ideas as to how long these gaps have been there?

Do the gaps appear anywhere else in the upper floor of the house?

Ken.

Thanks Ken,

Yes, my rear landing skirting, at the wall shared with the neighbouring terraced property, shows some vertical space between sskirting and floorboard. See photo. Also, some gaps have emerged in the floorboards at that part. Both have increased in size in the nearly two years since we moved in, though maybe mostly/only in last 9 to 12 months For the last couple of months, rennovation has been taking place next door on that side - tremendous noise carries though at this point, I assume either through shared joists or wall holes under floorboard level or both. Very unnerving, I have not looked under, but am becoming keen to. However, the rear landing here is at the other side of the house from the middle bedroom. See attached map with discussed areas highlighted.

This is a Victorian property circa 1898, it was refurbished before sale to us, including with a wall and chimney breast removed beneath and in the back end of bedroom three.

Regarding the middle bedroom which I first posted about, there is frequently a tremendous smell of smoke coming through to this room from the neighbouring property. I had thought it was somehow coming through the wall inc chimney breast with fire place (we are aware our property's rennovator botched chimney work at our neighbour's side), though a builder friend suggested a possible cavity in the under-floorboard wall between properties, with smoke also then possibly coming up through our floorboard gaps. The plan is to carpet the room in an attempt to cure this, as this room soon needs to become a nursery, but I am curious about plugging those gaps, too. Unsure how long the gaps have been there, but I was surprised hire big they were on last viewing.

Was going to post separately about the landing gap and noise, but sounds like you have a theory.

Thanks for your interest.

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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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• parakeet
• 5 May 2015
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[TheVictorian]

If there is a smell of smoke in the room then under no circumstances would I be using that room for a nursery until the problem is resolved properly.

Plugging the gaps and carpeting is NOT a proper solution to this, just because you can't see or smell smoke does not mean that a potentially lethal level of carbon monoxide isn't present. The thought of this terrifies me in your circumstances.

If there is a leak in the neighbours chimney then it needs repairing properly, probably by lining but I am no expert in this. Who will pay for this and whether or not your neighbour is very happy about it is a different matter entirely.