HOW TO FIT & INSTALL SKIRTING BOARDS

Skirting boards are used to provide a neat finish to your walls and protect floor-level plaster. Our range of white Orac skirting boards is easy to install and finished with a white primer ready for a final coat of paint. 

Made from lightweight duropolymer, these skirting boards come in a variety of sizes and styles, catering to all homes including traditional Victorian terrace homes as well as those slightly more modern houses and apartments. 

Our Orac skirting boards are made from lightweight duropolymer materials, meaning that all you need to attach the skirting to the wall is adhesive. They are waterproof, shockproof and impact resistant, making them a great choice for modern-day homes.

For a long-lasting and high-quality result, we recommend following our step-by-step instructions below. Whether you’re replacing existing boards or giving your interior that final touch with the addition of skirting boards, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you fix your skirting boards to the wall.

As well as showing you how to fit and install skirting boards, in this article, we will also show you how to cut your skirting to size, measure and cut angles for skirting corners and how to apply skirting adhesive.

To fit your skirting boards, you will need the following tools:

• Tape measure
• Protractor
• Pencil
• Mitre box & saw
  • There are various mitre saw options including using a mitre box and a panel saw, a precision mitre saw, or an electric compound mitre saw.
• Caulking gun
• Adhesive
• Protective equipment i.e. gloves, eye protection and a dust mask

Before Starting to Fit Skirting Boards

Before you get started, we recommend storing your skirting boards and adhesives at room temperature and waiting 24 hours before installing them.

We would also suggest making sure that your walls are ready by checking the following:

• Are your walls flat?
• Are they dust-free?
• Have they been sanded and washed down?
• Are they dry with no grease stains?

If the answer to all the questions above is yes, then your walls are ready and you can start.

HOW TO CUT YOUR SKIRTING BOARDS:

Before you start fixing your skirting to the walls, you need to measure and then cut your skirting to ensure it fits perfectly against your wall and interior space. Don’t forget to calculate the angle of your wall corners as you’ll need to create internal and external corner joints as well. Internal corners face inwards, and external corners outwards.

In order to create your corner joints, use your protractor, measure the angle and if, for example, the skirting corner angle is 90 degrees, cut 2 45-degree angles.

Trade Secret: To ensure your measurements are correct, use a protractor, ruler, and pencil to mark your angles and a mitre box to cut.

Most of our skirting boards come in 2m lengths. Therefore you’ll need to measure your walls to calculate the skirting lengths required and cut the skirting boards to the required lengths for shorter sections. You’ll also need to calculate the angle of any corners and cut the ends of your skirting boards to create the required internal and external corner joints. Internal corners face inwards, and external corners outwards, as shown in the images below.

Internal corner example

Product shown: SX125 Small Contemporary Skirting Board

External corner example

Product shown: SX118 Skirting Board

When installing the skirting boards we recommend starting at the lefthand side of the door and working your way around the room in an anti-clockwise direction.

Follow the steps below for each length of skirting required.

1. To create a skirting board corner joint, using your protractor or angle measurer, measure the angle of the corner required. If the total corner angle is 90 degrees, then you will need to cut 2 45 degree angles.

Top Tip: Although we assume that all room corners are 90 degree angles, in reality this is not always the case and measuring corner angles is an important part of fitting skirting so don’t skip this step!

1. Using your tape measure, measure the required length of skirting. Mark on the back of the skirting board with a pencil the required length.
2. Hold the skirting board up to the wall to gauge the direction of the cut that is required. On the top of the skirting board, using your pencil, lightly mark the direction in which the angle cut should be made.

Example: 90 degree corner (as shown below)

A 90-degree wall corner will require each board to be cut at an opposite 45-degree angle, as shown below:

Angle 1 (top of board view)

Angle 2 (top of board view)

1. Set your mitre box to the required angle size and direction.
2. Place the skirting board into the mitre box in an upright position with the front of the skirting board facing you. Make sure you secure the board tightly into the mitre box to avoid any movement during sawing, to ensure a clean finish.

Top Tip: When cutting a long length of skirting, support the board at the end you’re not cutting, to ensure it is level with the base of the mitre box as you cut.

1. Using the saw, cut the board at the required angle.
2. Repeat the steps above for the second skirting board length to complete the corner.
3. Once you’ve cut both corners, hold the two boards together to ensure they fit together perfectly before fixing them permanently to the wall.

HOW TO FIT & ATTACH SKIRTING TO THE WALL

Unlike traditional wooden skirting boards, Orac skirting boards are made of a lightweight duropolymer meaning that you don’t need screws to fit and attach your skirting boards to the wall. The best application and finish will come from using adhesives. 

There are various adhesives available to fit Orac skirting boards. You will need two adhesives to attach your skirting boards – one to fix the skirting boards to the walls, and one to join two skirting boards together e.g. for joints and corners.

Here are the types of Orac adhesives which we would recommend choosing from as the best way to attach your skirting boards. Each adhesive comes in various sizes to meet the needs of your project.

• Decofix® Pro adhesive – for use on interior walls and porous surfaces
• Decofix® Power – for use with heavy profiles or non-porous surfaces
• Decofix® Extra adhesive – for use on skirting joins and corners

HOW TO APPLY ADHESIVE TO SKIRTING BOARDS:

Using adhesive, and following the instructions shown, is what we see as the best way to attach skirting boards to the wall.

1. Open your adhesive, attach the nozzle and snip the end off, as per product instructions, and insert the canister into the caulking gun.
2. Take your length of cut skirting and apply adhesive to the back of the skirting board areas that will touch the wall (usually the top and bottom of the skirting boards). Please ensure you apply the adhesive evenly along the entire length of the skirting to ensure a long-lasting application (do not apply sporadically in blobs).
3. Press and fix the skirting board against the wall, ensuring that you work your way along the entire length of the board to double-check that all necessary areas are firmly pressed against the wall.
4. When pressing the skirting board against the wall, you will notice that some of the adhesive may spill out of the top and out of any joints. Don’t be alarmed. This is normal. Clean away any overspill with a spatula or damp cloth to ensure a clean finish. You may need to repeat this again after a few hours.

Top Tip: Don’t forget to use the correct adhesive, depending on whether you are attaching the skirting board to the wall, or another skirting board.

Watch Orac’s video on how to fit skirting boards

Fixing and installing your skirting board can be as easy as the steps above. Give your interior that finishing touch and look with the installation of a beautiful Orac skirting board.

Here at Wm Boyle, our knowledgeable team would be happy to answer any queries you have about fitting skirting boards. Get in touch today.