Skirting Boards

[d1ynovice]

Hello

I've ripped out old skirting and want to put some new stuff in. Questions

1. The walls are not straight! What is the best way to make the mitre - accept its not straight and make the angle? How do I work out the angle and what mitre I should use.
2. How far off the floorboards should I put the skirting - 1mm?
3. I have a 10 fount wall and want to use one piece of skirting but some bits of the wall are straight and others are not. This means over the length of the wall the corners are not 90 degrees but if I cut the 10 foot length then over a shorter distance the wall is straight - is it a good idea to cut into smaller pieces or accept the angle is not 90 degress and fill the gaps!

Any help appreciated!

Ta

 

[mattylad]

To keep the boards off the floor boards I have recently used offcuts of 1/4" ply, using these enable me to keep it off the boards all over the room.

Having curved walls etc I have found it best to make the skirting straight & fill the gap & cover it with the wallpaper

 

[noseall]

what makes you think you need a gap under the skirting boards?

large depressions will require you to pull the skirting in using mechanical fixings, other smaller waves can be sorted with caulk.

i have a chop saw and can adjust the cut to allow for any angle discrepancies that are more or less than 90 degrees.

i would always try and cut the timber rather than fill, as filler can fall out or shrink/expand at a different rate to the wood.

dry fit some short test pieces, if you have them, to judge the accuracy of an angle.

 

[d1ynovice]

Thanks all.

gap under skirting for expansion of wood and to help with painting? Also help with carpets? I think!

what makes you think you need a gap under the skirting boards?

large depressions will require you to pull the skirting in using mechanical fixings, other smaller waves can be sorted with caulk.

i have a chop saw and can adjust the cut to allow for any angle discrepancies that are more or less than 90 degrees.

i would always try and cut the timber rather than fill, as filler can fall out or shrink/expand at a different rate to the wood.

dry fit some short test pieces, if you have them, to judge the accuracy of an angle.

 

[noseall]

there is a huge gap above the skirting for expansion.

there are few cases where timber products don't actually shrink after fitting.

if you are having carpets fitted then you would need to be clear of the floor by 20mm for a painting gap to be effective!