How to install skirting boards. How to cut, fit and fix boards. This section contains everything you need to know about installing skirting boards to a high professional standard. Theres so much to know, Ive added separate pages for various aspects and quick links to those are in the right hand column of this page. On this page you will learn Some of the more common molding types available. Complete list of the tools and fixings I use. How to cut perfect internal corners. How to cut perfect external skirting miters. How to fix boards different methods depending on wall and skirting typeSome of the ways I end boards abruptly, like in the picture above. What they are and how they are fitted. Installing Baseboards On Bullnose Corners' title='Installing Baseboards On Bullnose Corners' />Create a Bullnosed Edge. If you are installing stone or porcelain tile on the shower walls, and a bullnose edge is not available, consider making your own. Also known as Base Boards they are the tall decorative moldings mitered, scribed and fitted round a room to cover and tidy the join where the wall meets the floor. They also protect the walls from getting battered by the vacuum cleaner When joining skirting boards at an external corner they will be mitered. At an internal corner one board is cut in tight to the wall and the second is cut and scribed to the exact shape of the first. This is called an. There should only ever be an internal miter if the angle is very shallow, less than 2. When planning where to start in a room try to avoid having a scribe on one end and a miter on the other if possible. I love to hear oldtimers tell stories. At a JLC Live stair building seminar taught by Jed Dixon, I talked with Jed and Don Jackson editor of JLC about installing. Any tips for working by yourself while installing crown molding Working by yourself is usually harder with crown molding. It really helps to have someone assist you. Learn about how to make the miter cuts on crown molding when installing around inside and outside corners. WishIHadThat. com is a leading provider of architectural. If the wall is so long a single board isnt long enough you will need a lengthening joint. I never Butt join two boards together square, I always join them together with a miter. This helps to hold the two pieces flush, gives the joint a large surface area to glue and they can also be fixed pinned to one another. It doesnt have to be a 4. Anything above 2. If fixing to Stud Work walls, make sure you position the join where there is a timber stud behind that you can fix the end of the overhanging board to. It will look a bit like the below picture, the marker pen on the floor is there so I know the position of the timber studs In a square room, I would normally choose the wall straight in front of me as I walk in to place the first board. The techniques are the same for all the different moldings available and also apply when cutting decorative Dado and Picture Rails. Taller skirtingbase boards can be prone to cupping and like the more decorative moldings may need a little extra attention, Ill show you how to get a perfect fit on those too. Common types of Molding. You can actually use almost anything as a Skirting Board. You can if youre feeling creative even make your own with a Router and some cutters. Manufactured boards often have grooves cut in the back to help prevent cupping and are sometimes double sided with one Molding type on each. Some of the common types of Skirting Board Moldings available off the shelf though include Square, Bullnose, Chamfered, Pencil Round, Ovolo, Torus and Ogee. They are available in several different materials like Softwood Pine, Douglas Fir for e. Hardwood Oak, Mahogany, Bamboo for etc and MDF. Tools to use for accurately fitting MDF and timber Skirting Boards Youve got to have the right tools for the job Theres a page that lists all the tools I use. Set your tools up and make sure you can support long lengths of Skirting Boards either side of the saw too. Ive got an extendable stand below but if you dont have one or anything similar you can improvise with things you can generally find on site. Put the Chop Saw on trestles and planks or scaffold boards and use timber either side the same height as the saws bed to support the ends of the Skirting Board. Tips for cutting, fitting and fixing Base Boards. Step 1 Get set up, determine how you will fix the Boards to the wall. To find out what the walls are constructed of and so what fixings to use, bang a nail into the wall somewhere it will later be covered by the skirting. Make sure you dont do this below an electric socket or anywhere else there may be a cable. For masonry, either drill, plug and screw them or use cut nails. Sometimes even both. For Stud Work, use 7. Lost Head nails andor screws. When fixing MDF Baseboards to Metal Stud Partition walls, like in new houses I use a glue like No More Nails or Gripfill and then fix in place with my brad nailer to hold them until the glue goes off. If you are fixing to Stud Work then before you start anything else locate all the studs when building stud work you can save yourself time at this stage by marking the position of the studs onto the floor. There should be one in every corner and then at equal distances of either 4. Bang a Brad Awl into the wall, again below the height of the Skirting so the hole wont be seen later. Once youve found two or three, you can measure the distance apart they are to help find the rest. A safe way is to use a Stud Detector that locates pipes as well, it could save you thousands. Mark all of the Studs onto the floor so you know where to nailscrew lateryou can put a faint pencil line on the wall if necessary. Step 2 Cut the first board. Normally the first board to cut in is tight in between two walls. When I measure this board I hold the tape off the floor at the same height as the top edge of the Skirting Board. Normally I add 2 3mm and mark this on the top edge of the board, you can always cut more off if its too long but usually that extra couple of millimeters digs into the plaster a little if anything. Kmail And Microsoft Exchange Server. I cut the ends slightly out of square so that the bottom edge that touches the floor is 5 6mm shorter overall than the top edge. No one will ever see this as the next boards will scribe into these corners and cover them. I always do this as plasterers often leave more plaster at the bottom of the wall and this allows the top edges to fit tightly in between the corners without the bottom getting in the way. Also, because I add a couple of millimeters and the board may need to dig in to the wall a little, its much easier for it to dig in if its only the top corner of the board and not the whole edge. This isnt always necessary but cutting it out of square every time saves you going back to the saw on occasions when the plasterers have been lazy Nail or screw this tight to the wall. I fix two nails in every stud when they are 4. If there are still gaps put more nailsscrews in. When fixing close to the ends of the Boards drill Pilot Holes for nails or blunt the tip of the nail with a hammer first to help avoid splitting the board. Step 3 How to cut the corners. Click here to see how I scribe perfect internal corners using a compass. Outside corners get mitered at 4. The miter is cut last, so I fit the opposite end first. Only once thats perfect can the miter be marked. To do that, I hold it in place like in the picture below and mark a line up the back of it. Place the Baseboard onto the saw bed face down so you can see the pencil line. Tilt the miter saw over to 4. Skirting miter, keeping the saw blade to the waste side and leaving the pencil line in. Repeat the process for the opposing miter, put them in place and push the two together to make sure they fit, trim a bit more off if they are too long. Step 4 Fixing Skirting Boards. I glue and pin the miter together with panel pins and plenty of wood glue. Click here for more info about how I fix Skirting Boards to different wall types. Once thats fixed together neatly I screwnail the Boards to the wall. Punch the nails under the surface and sand off any remaining pencil lines. Other ways to Finish Boards.