How To Easily Repair Skirting Boards
Almost all houses have skirting boards or baseboards. Some often call them mouldings or even kickboards. Back in the days, they are “mop boards” since they allow homeowners to mop the floor without drenching the wall plasterboard.
Today, you can find skirting boards in various materials – wood, PVC, or MDF. In most houses, you can find them running along the base of the interior wall. When installing skirting boards, a professional can screw, or nail or glue them onto the walls. Most are within 5 to 15 cm high and available in painted or stained variants, as well as with carvings or straight flat. The popular choices that you might find in the skirting board shop in your area are solid oak or walnut, veneered, or different types of MDF laminate skirting boards.
Aside from being a vital element in any house, skirting boards also have various purposes. Just like with any aspect of your home, a time will come when your boards need a repair job or replacement.
Purpose Of Skirting Boards
The skirting boards are vital elements in the overall flooring finishing in any house and have its share of purposes that you should know.
- Conceal loose wires. For most homeowners, electrical wiring can be an unsightly view. A practical solution is to hide the wiring in the skirting boards. With this in mind, there are several varieties of PVC skirting boards that are suitable for this purpose.
- Cover any spaces or gaps. It can be quite problematic even for skilled professionals to maintain the floor adequately in line with the walls. It is unavoidable to end up with a broad gap after the flooring installation. As a remedy, most contractors will go for skirting boards to cover up any gaps instead of redoing the entire flooring job again.
- Prevent damage to the walls. Skirting boards serve as a barrier between the walls and the furniture in your house. The skirting boards stop furniture from moving extremely close to the walls that can cause undesirable stains on the paint or wallpaper.
- Decorative factor. Since the skirting boards conceal the crevices between the walls and the floor, they provide a complete and professional look to your house. Some skirting boards have decorative mouldings that add an aesthetic appeal. You can even paint them to match it with the overall theme of your space or as a contrasting element.
Steps On How To Repair Skirting Boards
As mentioned earlier, skirting boards will eventually wear out over time. Skirting boards are the standard attributes of interior design that can add a stylish yet functional element to a room. The latest skirting boards tend to have simple outlines than the older versions, but all of them require the same steps when a repair job is necessary.
When the skirting boards in your house have a crack, splits, or showing signs of rot, it is time to swap the entire section instead of covering up the destruction with fillers and paint.
Once the time comes when you need to repair your skirting boards, you can do the task if you have the right tools. Let us check out the steps on how to fix skirting boards here:
Prepare The Tools
Check first if you have the tools and materials – chisel, hand saw, claw hammer, pry bar, tape measure, pencil, wood screws, combination square, nail fixings, filling knife, flexible filler, and power drills with drill bits in different sizes. Do not forget that you need a new skirting board and paint or stain for finishing.
Remove The Old Skirting Board
Once you have the right tools and materials, it is time to start with the repair. Begin by prying away the old skirting from the wall. Tap the chisel gently behind the skirting board starting from the top and pry it out using the claw hammer. It is best to work from one end of the skirting to the other end by inserting a chisel to loosen the nails.
Pull Off The Old Skirting Board
At this point, the old skirting board should be loose enough to insert the pry bar behind and lever out the nails. Work all the way to remove as many nails as possible and carefully pull off the board from the wall.
Preparing The New Skirting Board
Measure the length of the skirting board to replace the old one. Cut the board but make sure to allow mitered ends where they meet with the doorway or corners. You could save yourself a lot of time and effort by having your skirting board cut-to-size with your chosen moulding profile and delivered straight to your door to make installation a doddle.
Installing And Finishing
Position the new skirting board to the wall and affix it in place with countersunk screws. Take care not to drill the fixing holes close to any knots in the wood. Once the skirting board is in the right position, use a flexible filler to cover the countersunk holes and any minor crevices between the joints or along the upper edge and wall. Once the filler has dried, consider using a primer, and for the
finishing touch, add several coats of paint or wood oil – for instance, Osmo oil, which can be found at Priory Polishes, is an excellent option.
Repairing old skirting boards is a simple task that you can do at home as long as you have the proper tools. If a section of your skirting board has a tear or rotten area, it might be time to repair it. With the steps on how to fix a skirting board, you can readily tackle the job and keep the interior of your house in top shape.
