Skirting Boards

[dan2002]

I got my room redone like 9 months ago. I had a question. How come the skirting boards were not installed flat on the wall? The builder claimed that it was not possible to get it flat on the wall. Is that true? It is a terraced house. There is a gap between the wall and the skirting board. I have had to fill the gap with filler, it has made it look better now!

 

[sxturbo]

The walls are never perfectly flat, they can be close but never perfect,

Depending on the skirting board style chosen and the wood thickness they cannot always be manipulated to sit flush on the wall. It is standard practice to go round and fill any gaps with flexible corking filler.

 

[dan2002]

The walls are never perfectly flat, they can be close but never perfect,

Depending on the skirting board style chosen and the wood thickness they cannot always be manipulated to sit flush on the wall. It is standard practice to go round and fill any gaps with flexible corking filler.

Ok thats fine then. I just filled the gaps with multipurpose filler

 

[JobAndKnock]

It depends on how much the gap is. On grand houses, the type with 10in and deeper built-up skirting (often multi part), it used to be normal to fix timber grounds to the masonry before plastering, and for the plasterer to work to the grounds. On lesser houses this was never done, simply on grounds of cost, and it still isn't. When I install skirting onto a traditional plastered wall (i.e thick plaster onto masonry) I generally have an electrician's bolster to knock off the high spots, but even so there are places where decorator's actylic caulk will be necessary. Modern dot and dab boarded or dry lined walls should be nowhere near as bad. Providing you don't need more than 4 or 5mm of caulk over part (not all) of the length of the board then I'd regard that as reasonanly acceptable

PS I also live in a terrace house (or an "artisan's dwelling" as estate agents darn sarf call them)

 

[JohnD]

It depends on how much the gap is. On grand houses, the type with 10in and deeper built-up skirting (often multi part), it used to be normal to fix timber grounds to the masonry before plastering, and for the plasterer to work to the grounds.

I still do that in my own house when replacing or patching skirtings.

It was not a grand house when I bought it

but I think it gives the best results.

 

[JobAndKnock]

Maybe so, John, but it isn't common - cost I suppose