Plinth installation is the last trifle in the completion of any repair. But, as the English proverb says: the devil is in the details. And these little things can easily ruin everything. How to choose and install this last part correctly will be discussed in our review.

Content

1. Types of baseboards and their features  video  
2. Choose the baseboard
3. How not to make mistakes in calculations
4. Skirting Installation Technology  video

Types of baseboards and their features

First of all, floor skirting boards are divided according to the material from which they are made, namely:

• Tree;
• MDF;
• Polyurethane;
• PVC
• Ceramics;
• Metal.

Wooden skirting boards are divided into three subspecies: completely from expensive wood and veneered. Wooden baseboard from solid wood is made only from hardwood. Veneered skirting is made from timber of cheaper wood species. And to give the appearance of expensive and elite wood species, veneer of more valuable species is used. It has several features:

• poorly tolerates moisture;
• veneer pattern is not uniform along the entire length, this is due to the characteristics of production, and therefore absolutely normal.

MDF skirting boards are cheap, beautiful (many shades imitating different types of wood) and easy to install. Features of this type of skirting boards are:

• for mounting corners, it is necessary to file the edges at an angle of 450;
• low resistance to mechanical damage, with damage, the decorative film breaks, and it is practically impossible to eliminate this defect.

Skirting boards made of polyurethane and duropolymer. They look very solidly. Such a wide baseboard is not afraid of impacts (duropolymer has the strength of oak), is easy to install and easy to maintain. Optionally, it can be painted in any color (interior) with acrylic or dispersed paints. It has its own peculiarity. extremely sensitive to differences in humidity in the room, cracks appear over time.

PVC skirting boards are the most affordable and functional. They have excellent resistance to moisture, chemicals and a very wide range of colors. The presence of hollow channels in the design of PVC skirting boards allows you to hide almost all the wiring (Internet, wiring, telephone, etc.). Features of this skirting board are:

• mandatory presence of plugs, corners and connecting adapters, which will naturally affect the appearance;
• baseboard height is limited to 45 mm.

Plinth ceramic floor - a decorative ceramic tile of special sizes (narrower).

This type of skirting board is no different from ordinary tiles.

Metal skirting boards are available in three types: stainless steel, brass and aluminum. The color range of skirting boards has at least fifty shades. They are made in two versions: with or without a cable channel. They have no equal in strength and safety of operational characteristics.

Choose the baseboard

We sorted out the types of skirting boards. It's time to consider what criteria to make your choice. Immediately we make a reservation hard rules do not exist. Each has its own concept of style. Therefore, the choice of shape, height and type of skirting boards is up to the buyer.

In order to facilitate the selection, we mention only a few general rules:

• The width of the baseboard is selected based on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room, the larger it is, the wider the baseboard can be;

• The color is selected in three ways: by the color of the floor covering, by the color of the doors and the most difficult option is something between the floor, the wall and the doors. On which method the buyer will decide;

• When buying skirting boards, be sure to check the batch numbers, different shades in different batches. It’s good if you manage to hide the defect behind the furniture or have time to change it before buying up the entire batch in the store. Therefore, it is better to double-check;
• Buying skirting boards from solid wood or veneer is more appropriate at the time of purchase of flooring or flooring for two reasons. The first probability of choosing a similar shade increases to 100%. The second, as a rule, the parquet manufacturer makes and skirting boards under it, so there is a chance to buy a native skirting board;
• Under the laminate it is advisable to take a plinth floor plastic, MDF or metal;
• A plinth floor under a stone or ceramic is best suited to metal or ceramic.

How not to make mistakes in calculations

The calculation of the number of skirting strips is very simple. To do this, take a tape measure and measure the perimeter of the room, measure the doorways. From the total perimeter we subtract the sum of the doorways. Next, we divide the resulting perimeter amount by the length of one strip of the baseboard. The resulting number is rounded up and we add 5%; we have the quantity needed for the purchase.

Why add 5%? Imagine something going wrong. Not so stabbed, for example. If you take a close look - we have no right to make a mistake. And if we make a mistake, no one will give us a guarantee that we will be able to buy the exact same baseboard of one batch.

For metal and plastic skirting boards, we still need accessories. The calculation of the corner joints is simple, we consider the number of internal and external angles. We need stubs at the doorways, we consider how many of them are in the room and take the corresponding number. On the doorway there is one right and one left end cap.

Skirting Installation Technology

Plastic and metal skirting boards are attached in three ways:

• on the dowel;
• using special clips;
• on glue.

Installation of these skirting boards, as well as all the others, starts from the corner of the room. Having retreated 5 cm from the corner, we drill a hole for the dowel. The remaining holes are made in increments of no more than 60 cm. If we attach a clip mount, put a clip on and hammer the dowel. After that we snap the baseboard itself. If we put floor plinths + with a channel on the dowels, then at the same distance as the dowels we screw in the screws. They will be completely hidden in the channel. We join the next and so on around the perimeter of the room.

With glue, everything is much simpler, apply to the rear side of the baseboard and press it close to the wall. And do not forget to press with something heavy until the glue dries, it can move away from the wall.

Plinths of solid wood and veneer are mounted in the same way: glue, clip, self-tapping screws. True, there are several important differences:

• corners will have to be cut to the desired degree using a miter saw or miter box and a hacksaw on wood. We divide any angle by two, we get the value of the degrees of the angle at which you need to kill;
• if we mount on the screws to the wall, then it is necessary to make a pot with a drill with a diameter similar to the head of the screw. After tightening, it is necessary to putty the screw.

The main thing is said - the rest is a matter of technology. There is nothing overly complicated to install skirting boards. A little patience, accuracy and everything will work out.

Author: Sergey and Svetlana Khuentsov

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