Skirting board: how to choose it

Skirting board: how to choose it according to your specific needs and requirements? Correctly matching the skirting board to your floor is by no means a simple operation, especially if the floor remains the same after renovation work and only the skirting board or skirting board is to be replaced.

In this article we will give you some practical tips for choosing the perfect skirting board to match your floor. Here are some news about skirting boards.

Skirting board, what is it

Skirting board or skirting board means the protective band that has the function of preserving and protecting the lower part of the wall. The skirting board also has a decorative function, since this element covers the connection between wall and floor, which is not always perfect.

Materials and shapes of a skirting board

Among the most commonly used materials for skirting boards is certainly wood. Also very common are ceramic, stone, marble and PVC skirting boards.

As far as the shapes that characterise the skirting board are concerned, this element can be with a sharp bevelled angle (defined in this case as an owl's beak) or with a foot: the shape is slightly curved along the lower part.

How to match a skirting board to the floor

A skirting board will tend to be made with the same material and colour as the floor: in this way the room will maintain a perfect stylistic uniformity.

However, it should be noted that it is not always possible to install a skirting board made of the same material and colour as the floor, sometimes because the floor is particularly old. However, in a contemporary environment it is sometimes preferable to break up the two colours of the floor (e.g. light wood) and wall (grey), by inserting a light coloured skirting board (white).

If you decide to install a skirting board in a different colour from the floor, in this case our advice is to always keep the light colour of the skirting board.

What if the doors are different? The most important rule is to try to keep as much coherence between the doors and the skirting board as possible, because it will create a sort of frame effect, really suggestive from a visual point of view.

The standard measurements of a skirting board

Let's see what are the classic and standard measurements of a skirting board. As far as the height of the standard skirting boards of a modern house is concerned, these elements are available at a height between 6 and 8 centimetres: however, it should be noted that there are also skirting boards with a height of only 4 centimetres on the market. For those who need a more important protective function, skirting boards with a height of 10 and 15 centimetres are available on the market. If you opt for a skirting board in contrasting colour with the wall, the higher the skirting board the lower the wall will appear.

As far as the thickness of a skirting board is concerned, it will depend on the material from which the element is made. Marble and stone skirting boards are generally characterised by a greater thickness than skirting boards made of wood or aluminium. In any case, on the market it is possible to buy skirting boards with thickness from 1 centimetre up to 2.2 centimetres. In order to choose the thickness of the skirting board that best suits your needs, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the distance between wall and floor: it is always important to carefully evaluate the visual impact, considering that a greater thickness will correspond to as much visibility and greater protrusion on the wall.

Finally, as far as the length of a skirting board is concerned, on the market it is possible to find strips that reach a maximum size of 3 metres. With reference to the minimum length, on the other hand, it is difficult to find strips measuring less than 240 centimetres. Consider carefully the length of the skirting board you intend to purchase is first of all important for transport home. If you proceed with the DIY installation, the length of the skirting boards is certainly a factor to be considered with the utmost care.

How to install a skirting board

Below are the main methods for installing a skirting board in your room. In this regard we can say that there are two main techniques for installing a skirting board: it is possible to proceed with the use of nails and dowels or alternatively with the aid of a special adhesive, depending on the different types of materials that make up the skirting board and the type of profile that characterises it. In any case, the manufacturer of the skirting board you have purchased or the shop staff will advise you on the most suitable installation method.

For the first installation method you can use a nailer or a hammer and screwdriver. Use the tools recommended on the skirting board packaging.

Many skirting boards are installed with the aid of nylon dowels, equipped with a steel nail screw, to be inserted with a simple hammer.

If, alternatively, you need to proceed with the use of a special adhesive, in which case you will need to use a mounting adhesive that is applied on a single surface. The adhesive must be evenly distributed using a squeegee.

Further tips for skirting board installation

When laying the skirting board it is good to consider that at the corners and edges of the room, the ends of the skirting board that must be joined must be cut at 45 degrees, with the inclination facing outwards for the former and inwards for the latter, so that the respective heads match perfectly.

It is also important to specify that the skirting must be installed only after the floor covering has been laid on the ground and after the doors and windows have been installed. The colour must also have already been applied. The laying of the skirting board is in fact the last work to be carried out in your room.

How best to match a skirting board

When combining a skirting board with the floor and walls of your room, you must first of all have a clear idea of the visual effect you want to achieve. If you want to create a kind of aesthetic continuity with the floor and walls, then you have to choose a combination of material and colour.

For a perfect match it is good to consider that nowadays there are many varieties of wooden skirting boards, which are able to adapt perfectly to any type of flooring chosen.

Also for ceramic skirting boards there are a great variety of colours available on the market, able to perfectly adapt to the tiles you have chosen for the floor of your rooms.

In the combination of floor and skirting boards it is still possible to obtain a pleasant effect even if there is not a perfect match between colour and material. In this case, although the colour or material of the skirting board is different from that of the floor, you can still perfect a combination with the walls or even with the window profiles.

Finally, it should be pointed out that some people prefer the solution of the invisible skirting board, or walls without skirting board or even the presence of paint instead of the skirting board. Eliminating the presence of the skirting board is a very common solution today.