The skirting boards should be installed first when putting on carpets. Floors should not be in direct touch with skirting boards when installed.
Skirting boards enhance the aesthetics of a room while also concealing the gap between the floor’s border and the wall. This opening was left open to accommodate the natural ebb and flow of space. As a result, they conceal the unsightly aspect of flooring installation and shield it from scuffs and stains.
Depending on the flooring you’re using, you may or may not need to leave a gap between the skirting boards. However, for carpets to fit correctly, they must be placed on top of the skirting boards, not below them.
Particularly in regions with much foot traffic, walls can be kicked, battered, or scuffed in ways you hadn’t previously considered. Cleaning, dealing with small children, and moving heavy furniture are all activities that put your walls at risk of being damaged by the plaster.
During daily activities, people in the house are likely to scuff and knock on walls around their base. Skirting boards prevent the plaster from cracking or breaking by using a barrier.
The primary purpose of a skirting board is to guard against damage to the wall behind it. Another benefit of using a skirting board is that it helps to give plastered walls a clean appearance. Plastering a wall down to the point where it meets the floor can be tricky; therefore, any untidiness in the plaster can be concealed by installing a skirting board.
Is It Possible to Have No Skirting?
So that no moisture may get through, there is an opening in between each wall panel. In the absence of skirting, it’ll be possible to see a gap in the plaster, which might make the room appear cluttered.
In a nutshell, skirting boards are essential for forming the connectors between construction elements and concealing messy joints. Besides that, they guard against the typical wear and tear of a home’s foot traffic.
When plastered walls have defects or uneven finishes, skirting boards can cover them up. Even though skirting boards aren’t required in most homes, they are a simple and effective solution if they are present in yours.
For practical reasons, skirting boards protect walls from vacuums, pushchairs, and furniture, as well as toddlers, dogs, and other kids’ toys. You may assume it is easy to prevent scuffing the walls from the first place, but you will be surprised at how many scuff marks show on your skirting boards once they are installed, especially if your walls have been plastered.
When selecting a skirting board to complete your room, you are no longer limited to a small number of basic styles. Instead, placing skirting boards that enhance or complement your other options available in the room is now standard, thanks to the wide variety of designs that are commonly accessible.
Is Skirting Board Necessary?
A frequent choice for new construction homes is skirting boards. Construction firms and architects love them since they’re simple to set up and have little maintenance.
Practically and aesthetically, homes and structures need skirting boards. Constructing connections between materials is vital in concealing or smoothing out uneven surfaces or seams.
Skirting boards aren’t prohibitively expensive, and they may be purchased and installed without fear of damaging your bank account. Also, you don’t have to stick to neutral colors when it comes to skirting boards; why not try out some vibrant hues in your new place?
As a cushion between floor and wall, they also prevent scuffing, damage, and grime from accumulating on the wall. Skirting boards occupy the gap between the wall and the floor.
For a room to look its best, skirting boards must be used to complete it. Depending on the color, substance, and finish of your skirting board, you may completely alter the look of a room.
What Can You Use Instead of Skirting Boards?
Most people mistakenly believe that aesthetic elements like skirting boards are not practical. However, there will always be minor cracks at the joints between plastered walls and other materials, such as a wood floor or a wooden doorframe, due to vibration or heat fluctuations.
These fissures are hidden behind skirting and architraves. Because they break up the wall plane, skirting boards and architraves are frequently eliminated in modern design efforts to produce uninterrupted surface planes.
To hide the inevitable fissures between the wood and the plaster, you’ll need something other than skirts. Replace typical skirting boards with any of these options:
- Shadow Gap
The shadow gap skirting approach is often recommended by architects and builders with a penchant for modern, minimalistic architecture when time, price, and design all line together. With a shadow gap, the surface is smooth and uninterrupted. In terms of structural integrity, this permits and absorbs the oscillations of floors and walls, preventing the much-feared fissures that are so common. - Wood Beading
One of the primary purposes of wood beading is to sustain and disperse the pressure of a building equally. Even though they’ve existed for a long time, you don’t see them employed as skirting very often. Wooden beading can be installed alongside skirting boards for additional protection, soften any junctures, and conceal gaps between walls, floors, and skirting boards.
Do You Put Skirting Boards on Before Flooring?
This is not the case! The installation of your skirting boards can’t begin until you’ve laid your wood floorboards. To allow for expansion and contraction, a space will be permitted between the barrier and the first board, and the skirting is then pressed firmly on the wood floor.
Leaving a space between your skirting and floorboards might lead to an ugly and eventually wider gap, necessitating repair. In addition, because they are made of natural wood, your skirting and floorboards may contract over time due to exposure to a home’s reduced humidity caused by systems like central heating and air conditioning.
It’s not too late to improve your trimmings if you’ve removed an old floor and discovered some lovely old boards underneath that you’d like to repair.
The old skirting boards can be reinstalled on the new floor, or new skirting can be installed in their place. To do this, you’ll need to redecorate your wall, or else you can use a longer skirting board to extend just above where the original skirting line had been.
