Quad or Silicone

[maglite]

Gday All,

I have just finished installing the skirting boards in our reno.

It was pointed out to me that the skirts have gaps between the skirt and the floorboards in some areas.
What the recomended way to deal with this:
Run qhad along every board or run a line of "no more gaps" into the gap between the boars and skirts.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Steve

[journeyman Mick]

Steve,
for a quality job the skirting would be scribed to the floor (mind you, on a real quality job it wouldn't be neccessary ) If you're painting the skirting then a bit of gapfiller would be fine, much neater in my opinion than quad. Just do a metre or so at a time and wipe off any excess with a damp cloth before it skins off.

Mick

[boban]

While it might not apply here, I always let the sander do his work then come back and put on the skirting. Its fiddly and time consuming but you do get a better job this way.

If floorboards were perfectly machined you wouldn't need to sand them.

[maglite]

Mick,
You were a maybe to do the job but the airfares each weekend wouldve been a killer

Boban,

The skirts were put on after the sander did his bit.....and let me tell you this....it is fiddly + time consuming either way.

Cheers guys

Steve

[JDarvall]

Isn't it such a pain in the a*rse. Jobs finally done and someone who hasn't done any work on it comes up to you and gets picky picky.

yeh, how to fix it depends on the size of the gap. Be very fiddly trying to pack it in with quad, I reakon.

Maybe you can play with the idea of removing the skirtings around the worse area's and try again. Have to scribe off the floor to the skirt. And you do the lowest skirts first, maybe have to setout a stringline that runs along top of skirtings to ensure their all meeting up straight etc.

If you do pack, I reakon you should definetly run some tape down on the floorboards right up against the skirtings, to ensure a crisp line. Unless, unlike me your a coolhand with the brush.

goodluck

[magnet 12]

Just had to do a similar job myself. Used gap filler and as Mick suggested, wiped with a damp rag before it skimmed. I found this left a small indentation along the " wipe line", so I squeezed a bit more filler on and gently wiped again and its come out as perfect as I would want. To my eye the quad can look a bit" bodgied".

[glock40sw]

If floorboards were perfectly machined you wouldn't need to sand them.

G'day.

There is a machining tolerance for T&G flooring. This will vary as the cutter heads wear. The cut is adjusted at 30 minute intervals. However, there is always going to be slight (0.05 to 0.075mm) difference between individual boards. This is classed by the Aus Standard AS 2796.1 & .2 as "Perfectly Machined".

If the flooring is pre-finished, it has been sanded and sealed prior to sale.
It could be classed by the layman as "perfectly machined" however, pre-finished T&G will have a micro bevel at the Tongue and the Groove edges so that any miss-match tolerance will not be noticed by the punter.

Hooroo.
Regards, Trevor.
Grafton

[Auspiciousdna]

Could driving a wedge/packer (if you can get to it)under the bearer where the skriting is most effected help? because this would probably be the reason for the gap

[silentC]

Only if you want to lift the walls and everything else with it!! Crack the plaster, put the doors out of square :eek:

Gap filler. Once in and furniture scattered about, no-one will ever notice it. Quad looks tacky.

[Auspiciousdna]

This problem usually happens in older houses were floorboard type floor are usually cut in, and should not be attached to the walls And you'd be only needing to take it up a few mils, and I still stand by it.

[Gaza]

When we put skirtings on, we leave a 2mm gap if its an acoustic timber floor to stop the sound transfer, then cork with paintable sealent. (we buy no-more gaps by the pallet)

If its a std T&G floor we try to scribe as much as possible and push down as we fix the skirting board so it hugs the floor and follows the line, we then also no more gap the small gap between the wall and the top of the skirting board, then let the painter do his magic.

[maglite]

Hi Guys,
Maybe i should have conducted a poll........only i dont know how!!!!

It would appear that the gap filler wins hands down(thanks Mick+ others)....the gaps would be 3-4mm at worst and has more to do with certain stumps sinking in comparison to others....i think.
A very wet winter this end.

Anyway, many thanks for your replies and i can look forward to a few more hours on my already fragile knees........

Cheers
Steve

[Trav]

If the gap is that much, I would be inclined to scribe the bottom of the board. But that will take 10,000 years, so paintable fill wins.

Trav

[scooter]

Do yourself a favour, lash out on some knee pads.

Get hard shell ones with wide comfy straps, your knees will thank you .

Won't help the aching back tho'


Good luck...............cheers.................Sean

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

A trick when scribing: don't cut the scribed line square, use a jigsaw set at 45degree so it'll bevel the back of the skirting.

On repositioning the scribed board, unless you cut perfectly the first time there'll still be some gaps. If small enough you can tap the skirting down (compressing the edge) to take up, or hit it lightly with a hand-held sanding block. Much quicker/easier to trim the bevelled edge than the fulld width of the board.