canalsiderenovation Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Whilst cleaning my mum's house this week, it occurred to me how much I really hate skirting boards! Now granted my mum's are those fancy lots-of-annoying-groves-type which are a pain to dust and have yellowed slightly and we current have the basic kind, but I just hate skirting board generally. I know we are going to have to pick skirting boards are some point, but please no glossed skirting boards! What do people have? Do skirting boards ever look nice? Also, randomly at the same time I was thinking about underfloor heating and flooring. E.g. tiles or whatever and would this be put in before or after skirting? (I have no idea what what we will put on the floor - that's a whole new topic)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Shadow gaps. Could fit some fancy lights in them. But that is just silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 We talked to a few joiners about shadow gaps as they do look nice but the extra cost is just not worth it, not for us anyway. It takes a lot of time, any small mistakes really stand out. Another alternative is this type of thing https://www.profilpas.com/en/tag/flush-recessed-skirting-boards 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redoctober Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 As with most things in the self build world, it comes down to budget. We went for oak skirting / door frames etc simply because I didn't want the hassle of having to paint them in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 23 minutes ago, canalsiderenovation said: Whilst cleaning my mum's house this week, it occurred to me how much I really hate skirting boards! Now granted my mum's are those fancy lots-of-annoying-groves-type which are a pain to dust and have yellowed slightly and we current have the basic kind, but I just hate skirting board generally. I know we are going to have to pick skirting boards are some point, but please no glossed skirting boards! What do people have? Do skirting boards ever look nice? Also, randomly at the same time I was thinking about underfloor heating and flooring. E.g. tiles or whatever and would this be put in before or after skirting? (I have no idea what what we will put on the floor - that's a whole new topic)! I am doing shadow gaps and because I am doing it myself the cost is not a problem but will look amazing when the house is complete. You can have shadow gaps above the skirting board or do away with the skirting board altogether and have the shadow gap at the bottom of the wall but with this method you would need to tile the floor instead of carpet IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 I'd not heard of shadow gaps, but with the OTT hoovering and mopping by the OH I can foresee issues to do away with skirting altogether (as much as I hate it), she's bad enough with the naff vinyl im the lounge and kitchen let alone hard floor throughout! Recessed is not something I'd seen though so will definitely look into that. The alternative would have to be something as maintenance free as possible, likely white we don't want oak and to have a particular wood shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Just now, canalsiderenovation said: Recessed is not something I'd seen though so will definitely look into that. The alternative would have to be something as maintenance free as possible, likely white we don't want oak and to have a particular wood shade. I think a very simple profile in white is what we will go for. One thing I did not realise until recently is how much a difference the height of the skirting board makes depending on the size of the room. In a large, open plan room shorter skirting starts to look a bit spindly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Just now, Ralph said: I think a very simple profile in white is what we will go for. One thing I did not realise until recently is how much a difference the height of the skirting board makes depending on the size of the room. In a large, open plan room shorter skirting starts to look a bit spindly. At the moment we have a 24ft long lounge/living room (albeit with a stove in a true 1970's brick fireplace in the middle) and white skirting just over 3' high so quite small compared to the room size. Bigger skirting just equals more painting and IMO actually drawing attention too it! ? Have you gone for a maintenance free option? Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 We toyed with shadow gaps but they come with a surprising cost due to the time taken to get the detailing correct. Also not a fan of skirting boards but we went with a tapered profile thats only a few mm wide at the top so they look neat and collect minimal dust. http://skirtingonline.co.uk/epages/www_skirtingonline_co_uk.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_skirtingonline_co_uk/Products/rou-18-4200-33/SubProducts/rou-18-4200-33-0001 Ours have a water based matt gloss finish and 3 years on look pretty much as they did new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Depending on the house construction type, could you not incorporate the shadow gaps into the plaster boarding, then you get your service void as well. Could make the lower edge out of extruded aluminium angle. That would take a decent bashing from an upright vacuum cleaner. If I think about it a bit more, you could also 'hide ' a ventilation and maybe heat recovert/heating system in it. Walls are often a wasted space, why we push furniture up to them, fit shelves and hang pictures on them. They need to be utilised a lot more. Mind you, I live in a tiny house, all space is at a premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultramods Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I went for a 12mm thick mdf skirting with pencil profile painting in eggshell white like this: https://skirtingboardsdirect.com/products/mdf-pencil-round-skirting-boards-12mm-thick/ Speak to your joiner but you could maybe go for 60-90 mm in height which wouldn't be very noticeable. I find the white eggshell helps the skirtings blend into the white walls. I will add a photo later on today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira Niedzwiecka Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I wanted shadow gaps until I find out the cost. Also decided against for practical reasons. I have chosen Moduleo LVT. They do a small up stand as a skirting, so totally maintenance free, no problem when the floor is mopped. It looks great. Really happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I've always fitted timber (either varnished, stained or oiled) on our builds - a lot my forgiving than white painted skirting IMHO for showing up accumulated dust/dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_r_sole Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) . Edited September 26, 2019 by the_r_sole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, Stones said: I've always fitted timber (either varnished, stained or oiled) on our builds - a lot my forgiving than white painted skirting IMHO for showing up accumulated dust/dirt. The continuous resin floor we have downstairs really showcases dust & cat hair plus whatever blows in from outside when the sliders are open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 58 minutes ago, canalsiderenovation said: Bigger skirting just equals more painting and IMO actually drawing attention too it! ? Have you gone for a maintenance free option? Any suggestions? Apparently the pre-finished MDF is pretty maintenance free and it's quite cheap and simple so I can see us going for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 16/08/2019 at 12:26, Bitpipe said: The continuous resin floor we have downstairs really showcases dust & cat hair plus whatever blows in from outside when the sliders are open. We have a lot of oak flooring, and likewise this can quickly show up dust 'tumbleweeds'. Vacuuming frequently has solved this - having a cordless Dyson which you can whip out for 5 mins has been a god send in this respect as its made dealing with it so easy ( previous vac was a Henry which was a bit of a faff to get out and use in comparison) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney12 Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I went for a 60mm high pencil profile. Its the same for the architraves as the skirting which IMHO gives a nice contemporary look. I bought primed MDF and then site sprayed it all with precat lacquer in the same white (RAL9016) as the Internorm windows. This was incredibly labour intensive! It took me a week to prep (every nail hole, nick and mitre filled and sanded), masking up another week and probably another week to prime and apply 3 top coats. It should be pretty much maintenance free for a good number of years. If you had to pay a company to spray I suspect it would be prohibitively expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 How do you deal with expansion gaps around the edges of flooring if you don't have skirting boards to cover them up? When I laid our bamboo flooring (bonded down) the MIs stated that there had to be at least a 10mm gap between the walls and the flooring, to allow for expansion and contraction. I believe the same is true for most timber flooring products, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Bitpipe said: We toyed with shadow gaps but they come with a surprising cost due to the time taken to get the detailing correct. Also not a fan of skirting boards but we went with a tapered profile thats only a few mm wide at the top so they look neat and collect minimal dust. http://skirtingonline.co.uk/epages/www_skirtingonline_co_uk.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_skirtingonline_co_uk/Products/rou-18-4200-33/SubProducts/rou-18-4200-33-0001 Ours have a water based matt gloss finish and 3 years on look pretty much as they did new. That skirting looks pretty good (and cheap) and as you say avoids the dust. We currently have pencil skirting and it's terrible for dust (I think the wood burner makes dust worse and as it's our current only form of heating as the oil heating knackered last year we are using it a lot). I'm dreading winter as we basically need to move the bed etc into the living room and treat it like a studio in the hope we can manage til the renovation starts next year and we can find somewhere else to live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 11 minutes ago, canalsiderenovation said: I think the wood burner makes dust worse and as it's our current only form of heating as the oil heating knackered last year we are using it a lot Are you not concerned about the health risks. A 10 quid panel heater would be better, and probably cheaper to run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_s Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 We used matt endurance paint on the latest renovated rooms skirting (made out of tulip/poplar) Before the endurance we used a paint made by ecopaints (now called something else) and it has a sheen to it even though it's a matt paint, washable too. Dustier looking but I hate painting on anything else other than your typical wall/ceiling paint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) 47 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: Are you not concerned about the health risks. A 10 quid panel heater would be better, and probably cheaper to run. Nope, we have an endless supply of seasoned wood currently as when we moved in bunkers were full and we have a wood too and a there were numerous felled trees. On the canal the cottages opposite are on solid fuel too (though again seasoned wood mainly, it's always available on the canal) and that's without the narrowboats going past so if I was worried on health risks I've picked the wrong house!. We will keep the wood burner but our main heating will be ASHP when the renovation is done. Edited August 16, 2019 by canalsiderenovation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Skirtings. I would recommend pre-primed. Very little extra cost fro what it saves. Mine came from Ron Currie's, family firm who have a huge internet presence. https://roncurrie.co.uk/skirting-and-architrave Hint. Paint first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, canalsiderenovation said: That skirting looks pretty good (and cheap) and as you say avoids the dust. We currently have pencil skirting and it's terrible for dust (I think the wood burner makes dust worse and as it's our current only form of heating as the oil heating knackered last year we are using it a lot). I'm dreading winter as we basically need to move the bed etc into the living room and treat it like a studio in the hope we can manage til the renovation starts next year and we can find somewhere else to live! Compare: http://skirtingonline.co.uk/epages/www_skirtingonline_co_uk.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_skirtingonline_co_uk/Products/bul-18-4200-06/SubProducts/bul-18-4200-06-0001 and https://roncurrie.co.uk/94x16mm-4-bullnose-mdf-skirting-board-primed-various-lengths Seems to be a big difference, if RC have the ones you want. Like 30 or 40% difference on eg bullnose, but I have not dug deeply - busy. Ferdinand Edited August 16, 2019 by Ferdinand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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