Wood floor gap at skirting HELP!

Comments (19)

Tani H-S
6 years ago
I wonder why the floor fitter left such large gaps in the first place in those areas - did they explain why it needed them?

Personally I think whoever fitted the skirting should have discussed this issue with you. I'm not a pro and we have fitted our own skirting and worked out when it needed to be not so tight to the wall so that it covered the flooring (in places that had wider gaps). The fact they left the floor exposed is just a bit lazy to be honest.
In certain cases we have had to run matching beading alongside the skirting but that's usually when you retrofit a floor and can't hide it under the skirt edge.

What a pain for you. Have you asked the person who fitted the skirting about it?
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for your comment. I’ve asked the guys who fitted the floor. They said that it’s not there fault and that the person fitting the skirting should have padded the skirting in these areas. He has said he’ll come back to fill gaps with caulk but that’s it. He’s basically washed his hands of it. We have no leverage because we had to pay before the skirtings went on. I’ve asked the joiner that fitted the skirting if he can remove them and pack them but I’m waiting to hear. I expect this will cost me a lot of money.
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sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes I agree but getting the floor fitter to concede that point is proving impossible. In fact he’s refusing to come back. My only option now is to get the person who fitted the skirting to redo it at my cost I reckon. Sob.
Tani H-S
6 years ago
That's not very professional of him, quite shocking. Not even being prepared to come back and look and see if he can even infill it won't get him any recommendations in the future.

It's not that bad though if that is the only bit. The other photo looked like there was a slither of flooring showing under the skirting but that perhaps the floor has pulled away from the joint?

If it's in a noticeable area then get the skirting re-fit. Hopefully he won't have nailed it in with super long nails and so it can just then be prised off.

It's honest not a huge gap - bit of infill will cover it. I know it's frustrating when you paid to have a professional job and it's left to you to sort it.
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
That’s not the only bit, it’s on nearly every section of the wall.
Can you tell me what a bit of infill entails? I’ve tried caulk, the decorator taped up and painted skirtings and caulked the gaps. I’ve taken the tape off today and it looks terrible so uneven.
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
I really wanted to know if people thought re-doing skirtings was a reasonable thing to do or if I’m over reacting and just need to ignore the gaps.
PRO
MBH Carpentry and Joinery Ltd.
6 years ago
My personal opinion is that the floor layer is in the wrong as they should leave an expansion gap, 1 following the manufactures advice ( normally within the packaging) and 2 knowing it will be covered by the skirting.
The guy who fitted the skirting can only follow the wall it is being fitted to!
However to get the floor layer back to sort the floor will mean removing the skirting to do it properly so may as well ask the skirting guy if he can come back, remove the affected areas and replace having bulked out where the gaps are showing and just pay for that and redecorating. This should have been mentioned by the skirting guy as he was fitting though as why would you wanted to see a gap!
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
There was no packaging. The wood came from the saw mill. He said if he’d fit the skirting himself there would be no gap! There’s no arguing with some people. Looks like I’ll need to pay to start again with skirting then. People have suggested beading. WhT are your thoughts?
PRO
MBH Carpentry and Joinery Ltd.
6 years ago
A small scotia would work as a cheaper alternative especially if can fit yourself but personally it would niggle me knowing that it wasn’t quite right, personal choice would be to pay to change the skirting to cover the gaps and make it look like there was never an issue, you get the desired finish you wanted to start with. I also understand that not everyone has and endless pot of money!
Tani H-S
6 years ago
Re infills - I meant if they remove the skirting and you had some spare flooring, you can put small pieces in to cover the larger gaps. However they would have to be glued in place as they might not stay put being so thin. Also need to leave the expansion gap still so it might not be worth it.

I think get some ideas on weighing up the cost of buying thin profile beading to match the floor to put around all the skirt or, look to replace the skirting with a thicker one. Beading looks fine and no one will know that you didn't just put the floor down after the skirting was already there. At least it will be uniform. Beading isn't cheap though so get a price for both
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
Does anyone have any experience of removing skirting boards? Am I going to ruin the new plaster and paint work?
PRO
MBH Carpentry and Joinery Ltd.
6 years ago
Run a Stanley knife around the top of the skirting this will get you through the decorators caulk and a little plaster and should reduce any damage to the wall when prized of with a little crow bar.
Sonia
6 years ago
I don't think it looks so bad, maybe caulking in white will make the gap almost disappear? You should see my flooring! My brother laid it as a favour (we were broke) and we didn't remove the original skirting as it was so old and we were worried it would break. To be honest once the furniture was back in place you don't notice it anyway!
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
It looks pretty terrible and considering we paid top dollar I’m pretty upset.
Tani H-S
6 years ago
Removal - did you see how he fixed them in place? Any nails or did he glue them on?
Emily
6 years ago
The guy fitting the skirting should have warned you the skirting wouldn’t cover the gaps in my opinion. Did he?
I had wood laid in my first ever flat and came home after the first hot day of the year and couldn’t open the front door because the expansion gaps weren’t big enough and it looked like a mini earthquake. And that was in the hall where the ratio of floor to gap wasn’t even big so big enough expansion gaps are necessary.
sophiepumpkin
Original Author
6 years ago
These expansion gaps are over 20mm. I’ll find out tomorrow but I believe they were nailed on.
PRO
Woodflooring Engineered Ltd
6 years ago
Not ideal at all ... the whole point of fitting skirting boards after the floor has been installed is to cover the expansion gap.

An easy 'repair' option worth trying & without removing skirting boards / damaging plaster etc would be to fill the gaps using a wood floor repair kit such as this one - basically wood coloured crayons that you melt into the gaps and can easily be mixed to the shade of your floor.

You may have to use a flexible gap sealer firstly, as the wax may disappear into the gap behind the skirting / floor i.e. to provide a surface to apply the wax onto....

Charlotte - Woodflooring Engineered Ltd

United Kingdom

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Wood floor gap at skirting HELP!

Tani H-S

Comments (19)

Tani H-S

sophiepumpkin
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