How To Put On Skirting Boards

Skirting boards might seem like a small detail, but they make a noticeable difference to a finished room. They cover the junction between walls and flooring, help protect the bottom of your walls and create a consistent finish throughout your home.

Installing them involves more than cutting a few boards and attaching them to the wall. Tight corners, accurate lengths and careful fixing all matter, especially when the walls and floors are not perfectly straight.

At Skyline Concepts, our carpenters have fitted skirting boards plenty of times as part of renovations and finish carpentry projects. In our experience, the best results come from preparing properly, checking each joint before fixing and taking the time to get the details right.

Here is how to put on skirting boards, from choosing your materials through to filling and painting.

How Do You Put On Skirting Boards?

To install skirting boards, prepare the wall, measure each section, cut the boards and corner joints, then test the fit before securing them. Use fixings and adhesive suitable for the board and wall construction. Finish by filling fixing holes, sealing small wall gaps and painting where required.

The fixing method depends on your walls. Timber framing, masonry and proprietary clip systems need different approaches, so there is no single nail or adhesive specification that suits every installation.

Choose The Right Skirting Boards

Before buying materials, consider the look you want and how the boards will meet the rest of your interior.

MDF Skirting Boards

MDF is commonly used for painted interiors because it provides a smooth surface and is available in various profiles. Pre-primed options can reduce preparation work.

Standard MDF is vulnerable to moisture. Where moisture exposure is possible, choose a material specifically suitable for the location. Moisture-resistant MDF is not waterproof.

Solid Timber Skirting Boards

Solid timber can suit painted or natural timber finishes. The species, grade and condition affect its appearance, workability and movement.

For clear or stained finishes, neat joints are particularly important because filler and caulk cannot disguise mistakes as easily as they can on painted trim.

Height, Thickness And Profile

Choose a profile that suits the room, ceiling height and existing mouldings. Check the thickness against your door architraves: thicker skirting can project beyond them and require a deliberate transition detail.

At Skyline Concepts, we recommend looking at a sample beside your door trim before ordering the whole room. It is easier to change your choice at that stage than after the boards have been cut.

Tools And Materials You Will Need

Depending on your installation, you may need:

• Skirting boards, with an allowance for cuts and waste.
• A tape measure and pencil.
• A square and angle finder.
• A mitre saw or suitable hand saw and mitre box.
• A coping saw for scribed internal corners.
• A stud finder for framed walls.
• Suitable nails, screws, masonry fixings or proprietary clips.
• A hammer and nail punch, or a suitable nail gun.
• A drill and appropriate bits where needed.
• Construction adhesive compatible with both surfaces.
• A caulking gun and paintable flexible gap filler.
• Suitable filler for fixing holes.
• Sandpaper, primer and paint.
• Safety glasses, hearing protection and suitable dust extraction.

Support boards properly when cutting. Keep hands clear of blades, follow tool instructions and avoid loose gloves around rotating machinery.

Before You Start Installing

Prepare The Wall

Remove old trim carefully, take out redundant fixings and repair damaged wall areas. Scrape away loose adhesive only where the surface is safe to disturb.

The wall must provide a sound surface for the chosen fixing method. Adhesive attached to loose paint or crumbling plaster will not create a reliable installation.

Investigate dampness, staining or decay before covering it.

Check Older Materials And Hidden Services

In older homes, assess suspect wall linings and coatings before drilling, sanding or cutting. If asbestos or lead paint may be present, arrange appropriate professional assessment.

Check for hidden cables and pipes before placing fixings. A stud finder alone does not guarantee that an area is clear of services.

Coordinate With Your Flooring

For many hard-floor installations, skirting is fitted after the flooring so it covers the perimeter gap. Carpet installations may require a different sequence and clearance.

Confirm the details with your flooring installer. Do not choose a universal gap beneath the boards without considering the actual floor covering.

Store And Prepare The Boards

Follow the supplier’s storage and conditioning instructions. Keep boards dry, supported and protected from damage.

If painting, applying the appropriate primer and an initial coat before fitting can make finishing easier. Keep bonding surfaces compatible with your adhesive and finish exposed cut edges as required by the board manufacturer.

How To Install Skirting Boards Step By Step

Step 1: Measure The Room And Plan Your Cuts

Measure each wall section individually, including short sections beside doorways and around projecting walls.

Record where each board starts and ends. Mark whether the ends need square cuts, internal corner joints, external mitres or a join to another length.

Buy enough material for the layout and cutting waste. Complex profiles and rooms with many corners need more allowance than simple straight runs.

Our Skyline Concepts carpenters recommend planning the longest runs first. This helps use full lengths efficiently and reduces unnecessary visible joins.

Step 2: Identify Fixing Points

For timber-framed walls, locate suitable framing and mark positions where they will remain visible while fitting.

For masonry, choose fixings suitable for the actual substrate. Plaster over brick, solid concrete and hollow masonry do not all accept the same fixing.

If using clips, follow the skirting system’s specified spacing and attachment method.

Choose fixing length to suit board thickness, wall lining and the required embedment. Avoid assuming that longer fixings are always better, particularly near hidden services.

Step 3: Measure And Cut The First Board

Transfer the measurement to the board and clearly mark the waste side of the cut.

For mitred ends, identify whether your measurement refers to the long point or short point. Mixing these up can leave a board too short even when the tape measurement was correct.

Support the board and keep its orientation consistent with your cutting setup. Cut slightly long where practical, then trim to fit.

Test it against the wall before adding adhesive or permanent fixings.

Step 4: Fit Internal Corners

Internal corners are where two walls meet inside the room. Two mitred ends can work where the angle and surfaces allow, but scribed or coped joints are another option for profiled skirting.

For a scribed joint:

1. Fit the first board with a square end into the corner.
2. Make a mitre cut on the adjoining board to reveal the profile.
3. Use a coping saw to follow that profile, relieving the material behind the visible edge slightly.
4. Test the shaped end against the face of the first board.
5. Make small adjustments until the joint fits neatly.

The shaped board overlaps the face of the square-ended board. This can be more forgiving than two internal mitres when the corner is slightly out of square.

Practise on offcuts first, especially with detailed profiles.

Step 5: Cut External Corners

External corners wrap around projecting walls. These generally need matching mitres.

For a true 90-degree corner, the usual starting point is a 45-degree cut on each board. However, actual wall angles often vary.

Check the angle and test matching cuts on offcuts before cutting full lengths. Also check whether the walls are vertical, as that can affect how the joint closes.

Our carpenters have done this plenty of times, and one of the best habits is checking both sides of a corner together before fixing either board. A joint that looks right on the bench may need adjustment against the wall.

Step 6: Plan Any Joins Along The Wall

Where one board cannot cover the full run, position the join deliberately.

For traditional timber or MDF trim, a scarf joint using overlapping angled ends can be less conspicuous than a square butt joint. Other systems may specify connectors or a different joint.

Where possible, provide suitable backing at the join so both pieces remain secure.

Match the profile carefully. On natural timber, consider the grain and colour as well.

Step 7: Dry-Fit Each Section

Place the cut boards in position and inspect their lengths, corner joints and junctions with architraves.

Check the floor line and any gaps behind the boards. Label fitted pieces if you remove them before fixing.

At Skyline Concepts, we recommend resolving fit problems now. Adhesive and nails should hold an accurately fitted board in place, rather than force a poor cut to look right.

Step 8: Secure The Boards

Apply compatible adhesive in the pattern and quantity specified by its manufacturer, where adhesive forms part of the installation.

Position the board and secure it using the selected mechanical fixings or installation system. For framed walls, fix into suitable framing rather than relying on the plasterboard alone.

Keep fixing heads discreet and set them just below the surface where the finish requires filling. Avoid driving them so deeply that they crush MDF or split timber.

Some installations permit adhesive-only fixing, but this depends on the product, substrate and board. Long or bowed boards may need mechanical support while the adhesive cures.

Follow the adhesive’s working time and curing instructions.

Step 9: Fill Holes And Small Wall Gaps

Use suitable filler for nail or screw holes. Let it dry, then sand carefully without damaging the surrounding profile.

Use paintable flexible gap filler for small gaps where painted skirting meets the wall. Apply neatly and follow the product’s instructions before painting.

Large gaps need investigation. Thick beads of caulk are a poor substitute for correcting an uneven wall, unsuitable board or badly fitted joint.

For natural timber finishes, select compatible colour-matched products rather than ordinary white decorator’s caulk.

Step 10: Prime And Paint

Prime exposed material and repaired areas as required by your coating system. Remove sanding dust, protect adjacent surfaces and apply the finishing coats.

Follow drying and recoating instructions. Painting over wet filler or uncured sealant can spoil an otherwise tidy installation.

How To Fit Skirting Boards Against Uneven Walls And Floors

Existing rooms are rarely perfectly square.

A slight wall irregularity may be accommodated with careful fitting and suitable fixing. However, forcing a stiff board against a badly bowed wall can distort it or open the corner joints.

Pronounced wall defects may need repairing first.

For uneven floors, a carpenter may scribe the lower edge of the board to follow the floor’s shape. This involves transferring the floor contour and removing material carefully to suit it.

Preserve a consistent appearance at corners and doorways. If the floor variation is substantial, assessing the whole run is better than treating each gap separately.

Skirting Boards And Floating Floors

Floating flooring must retain the movement allowance required by its manufacturer.

Fix skirting to the wall, not through the floating floor. It should conceal the perimeter expansion gap without clamping the floor down.

Do not pack the movement gap with rigid filler or allow adhesive to bridge it. Any bottom-edge sealing must follow the flooring manufacturer’s specific detail, particularly for water-resistant systems.

Our carpenters recommend confirming these requirements before fitting the trim. A neat-looking installation still needs to allow the flooring to move correctly.

Common Skirting Installation Mistakes

• Assuming every corner is square: Check the actual angle before cutting.
• Cutting every board at once: Fit and verify sections as you go.
• Fixing before checking the joints: Dry-fit neighbouring pieces together.
• Using the wrong fixing method: Match it to the wall and board.
• Overdriving nails: This can damage the face and weaken the fixing.
• Filling large mistakes with caulk: Correct poor fits before finishing.
• Ignoring architrave thickness: Plan the doorway junction before buying boards.
• Restricting floating-floor movement: Keep the specified expansion detail intact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should You Glue Or Nail Skirting Boards?

It depends on the board and wall. Some installations use adhesive with mechanical fixings; others use screws, clips or an approved adhesive-only method. Follow the relevant product instructions.

Can You Install Skirting Boards Yourself?

Yes, if you have the tools and skills to measure, cut and fix them safely. Detailed profiles, uneven surfaces and natural timber finishes can make the job more demanding.

Do Skirting Boards Go On Before Or After Flooring?

Often after hard flooring, but the sequence depends on the flooring system. Carpet may require skirting to be fitted first with an agreed clearance. Confirm the arrangement with your flooring installer.

Do You Need A Nail Gun?

No. Suitable hand-driven nails or another approved fixing method can be used. A nail gun can speed up installation, but accurate fitting and correct fixing placement still matter.

Can You Fit Skirting Boards To Brick Walls?

Yes. Use masonry fixings or a suitable bonding system appropriate to the substrate. Check that the surface is sound and that drilling locations are clear of services.

Should You Caulk Under Skirting Boards?

There is no universal answer. It depends on the flooring and sealing requirements. With floating flooring, only use a detail approved by the flooring manufacturer so movement is preserved.

How Long Does Skirting Installation Take?

Room layout, profile, wall condition and finishing requirements all affect the timeframe. Measuring and fitting may be only part of the job; allow for repairs, adhesive curing, filling and painting.

Skirting Board Installation With Skyline Concepts

Well-fitted skirting helps bring a room together. Accurate corners, tidy doorway junctions and a consistent finish all make a difference.

At Skyline Concepts, our Perth carpenters can help with skirting board installation and replacement as part of your home improvements.

Whether you are updating one room or finishing a larger renovation, get in touch to discuss a profile and finish that suit your home.