Fitting skirting board - Bit OT Sorry

[fredd500]

I know this is a bit OT, but since so many people on these forums have done complete new builds and refurbs, perhaps someone can offer some tips.

I am in the process of completely refurbishing my box room for the impending first born. No AV install I'm afraid apart from a little bit of future proofing with cable runs (I took the opportunity before plastering to run in a pair of coax and pair of CAT5e and run a fused spur up into the loft for 'node 0').

I am about to install new skirting and having googled, I am aware that I need to scribe the joins rather than mitre them. However, I can't find any guidance on the height above the floor to put them. I am going to lay Cloud Nine Cumulus (11mm) underlay and some carpet. Do I just allow perhaps 5mm under the skirting for the carpet fitters to stick the edge of the carpet under?

Many thanks

[27neth]

Hi,
You scribe the internal corners and mitre the external corners.
You dont leave any gap under the skirting, you fit it tight to the floor.

John...

[Moleshome]

Originally Posted by fredd500

Do I just allow perhaps 5mm under the skirting for the carpet fitters to stick the edge of the carpet under?

Having been a carpet fitter many years ago they will certainly thank you for having done so.

[fredd500]

Hmm. Two contradicting replies. What to do?

I have removed laminate floor from the room so if I used that as temporary packing I would get approx a 5mm gap. Since the underlay is 11mm thick, this will come above the 5mm and hide it quite nicely. Obviously the underlay won't go all the way to the wall as there will be grippers but the 5mm should give the carpet fitter a gap to stick the carpet under.

I am guessing there is no standard then?

[karltimber]

Hi fred,

your best bet is to put the boards on the floor.
5mm is a very small amount to try and gauge.
most floors are flat but the edges are rough enough - so getting an exact measurement off the floor will be hard.

straight on the floor and the carpet will be butted up against it.

K

[fredd500]

I was going to place a couple of the old laminate floor planks on the floor against the wall, put the skirting on top of that, fix, then remove the laminate planks leaving a plank height between the skirting and floor. Not much and not accurate, but a small gap to assist the carpet fitters. If they don't want to use it, the gap probably won't be any taller than the grippers anyway.

The only reason I thought of this is due to finding a small gap when we removed the existing floor. If the old laminate floor had been done properly, the skirting would have sat on top of the laminate, but it wasn't (the laminate was butted up against the skirting with no expansion gap either). This made me assume the skirting was down before the laminate and therefore the gap was intentional. I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the gap was a standard that all new builds and refurbs have. Perhaps not.

Thanks all for your help. My gut feeling is to do as I am thinking. Just hope the carpet fitters agree with it!!

[Magslad]

Originally Posted by fredd500

I was going to place a couple of the old laminate floor planks on the floor against the wall, put the skirting on top of that, fix, then remove the laminate planks leaving a plank height between the skirting and floor. Not much and not accurate, but a small gap to assist the carpet fitters. If they don't want to use it, the gap probably won't be any taller than the grippers anyway.

The only reason I thought of this is due to finding a small gap when we removed the existing floor. If the old laminate floor had been done properly, the skirting would have sat on top of the laminate, but it wasn't (the laminate was butted up against the skirting with no expansion gap either). This made me assume the skirting was down before the laminate and therefore the gap was intentional. I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the gap was a standard that all new builds and refurbs have. Perhaps not.

Thanks all for your help. My gut feeling is to do as I am thinking. Just hope the carpet fitters agree with it!!

I've had lots of new skirting laid over the past few months, it all went straight down on the floor, no gap. I think this is pretty much standard but if you want to leave a small gap I can't see this causing any problems. A decent carpet fitter will be able to work with it either way, they would put down gripper anyway so they will get a tight fit whether there's a gap or not. Once the carpet's down you wouldn't be able to tell anyway.

FWIW, there are two ways of doing laminate flooring properly. One would be to take off all the skirting, put laminate down, then redo skirting, but if you are just doing the floor this very often isn't done as you'd potentially end up having to redecorate the whole room. The other way would be to lay the laminate up to the skirting (leaving an expansion gap), then put beading around the edges (attached to the skirting not the laminate) to hide the gap.

[27neth]

I have fitted skirting boards for over 20 years and it is always fitted tight down to the floor, unless you are fitting a laminate or hardwood floor. For carpet fit it tight down.

John

[deansocial]

fit tight down in my experiences and being a joiner i think my opinion counts. I leave a small gap if down to concrete