How to install skirting boards

And keep your walls looking as good as the day they went up - by Better Homes and Gardens

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The job of skirting boards is to hide the gap between floor and wall. Fixing to a plasterboard wall is as simple as gluing and nailing, but going into a masonry wall requires a little more attention.

Gather your supplies:

• Skirting boards, profile to suit

• White wall plugs

• Construction adhesive

You’ll also need:

Power saw; hammer; coping saw; 65mm nails; drill; 5mm masonry drill bit; nail punch; wood putty; sandpaper; acrylic gap filler; painting equipment; undercoat; selected enamel paint

Here’s how...

Step 1

Cut skirting to suit length of wall, allowing extra for mitred joints. At external corners, cut on a 45° angle to create mitres where necessary.

Step 2

Where skirtings will meet at internal corners, you need to create a scribed joint. Butt 1 side of skirting into corner. To scribe second piece, cut at 45° angle through skirting, then use coping saw to cut along line where face of skirting meets angled cut. Butt this cut into face of first piece of skirting fixed.

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Step 3

To mark wall for plugs, place skirting in position against wall. Drive nail through until it hits wall.

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Step 4

Remove skirting and using drill with 5mm masonry drill bit, make hole in wall where marked by nail.

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Step 5

Use hammer to tap white wall plug into hole and make flush with wall.

Step 6

Spread construction adhesive along back of skirting, place against wall and hammer nails through skirting into wall plug to secure.

Step 7

Use nail punch to knock head of nail below surface of skirting.

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Step 8

Fill holes with wood putty, let dry, then sand smooth. Fill gap between skirting and wall and in corners of skirting with gap filler. Spot prime filled areas, then paint with selected enamel paint.

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