How to fit skirting boards

Skirting boards can make all the difference when decorating your rooms, taking them from looking half-done to neatly framed. But how do you install these all-important skirting boards?

When decorating, skirting boards should ideally be one of the first things you put in - even before the flooring. This means you won’t have to pull the skirting back up to change the floors in the future.

If you’ve never done it before, the idea of fitting skirting boards might seem a bit daunting. But with our easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide, professional looking skirting boards are just a saw and a drill away.

Always make sure you've done all the necessary preparation before you start any DIY job, so you don’t waste time stopping and starting through the job.

Work through the following steps to so you can get your skirting fitted as smoothly as possible.

Some of your equipment will depend on the type of skirting board you're using (wood or MDF) and the type of wall you are attaching it to (plasterboard or masonry).

But whatever your materials, you’ll need the following tools to fix it neatly to your walls:

 Tape measure

 Pencil

 Coping saw

 Mitre saw or mitre box

 Hammer

 Drill

 Workbench

 Building adhesive

 Wood screws and wall plugs (for a masonry wall)

 Nail heads (for a stud wall)

 Wood filler

 Decorators caulk

 Old or protective clothing

Use a tape measure to help you work out the total length of skirting you need, then add on 20% more to help you achieve a neat finish with the least number of joins. 

Using a pencil, draw a clear arrow on the back of your boards, indicating which edge is the top of the skirting. This will help save you from making mistakes when it comes to fitting your boards to the wall.

When fitting your skirting boards, you’ll first need to think about the corners of your wall as these are much easier to cut before you start fixing anything to the wall. 

There are two main types of corner, an internal corner and an external corner. Internal corners are the corners of your wall that point away from you while external corners are the corners of your wall that point towards you.

To help you get to grips with corners, here’s a step-by-step guide below to help you cutting them before securing the boards to the wall.

First, you’ll need to cut a 45-degree angle in your board. Do this using a mitre saw or mitre box, angling your cut into the corner.

Taking your pencil, shade a line along the forward-facing edge of your joint. This will help highlight the profile you are about to cut out.

Secure the cut board into your workbench ready to carve out the profiled edge.

Use your coping saw to back-cut all the material behind the pencil line. You may have to adjust the blade of your coping saw – a 25-degree angle should be fine for most styles of board.

Test your scribed board against your fitted corner and use your coping saw or sandpaper to adjust until you get a snug fit.

Remember not to fit your board until you've cut for the next join.

External corners should be easier. For these you'll just need your mitre saw or box.

Always fit your external corners in pairs. It’s far easier to adjust your joins if both boards are loose, rather than cutting a second to fit. 

Here's how to measure and cut your external corners:

Securing your right-hand board to your work bend or slotting into your mitre box, cut a 45-degree angle away from the corner – the opposite direction from your scribed cut.

Taking your second board, make the same cut on the edge you want to fit the corner. Your edges should now fit together along the corner.

If your corners aren’t right angled, you will need to use a sliding bevel to calculate the angle of the corner. You can then cut each board at half the full angle, so they slot together neatly.

Once you've fitted and secured all your board to the walls, it’s time to neaten up and fill in any gaps.

If your walls are slightly uneven, it’s normal to have slight gaps between your skirting and the wall when fitted. Use your decorators caulk to fill in these gaps, removing any excess with a damp finger to create a neat finish. 

If you’ve secured your skirting with screws, use wood filler to cover the holes before you paint.

Now that you've fitted your skirting boards, look into our Home Insurance and gain peace of mind by choosing a policy that's right for you.

Insure your home with John Lewis Home Insurance by calling us on 0345 608 9001 or get a quote online.