Baseboard dowel

Fixing the skirting board is the last stage of repair. The floor is ready, the walls are pasted over. It remains to close the ugly joints so that the interior takes on a finished look. Flaws in the baseboard will not be hidden by anything, so all work must be done carefully. Quality largely depends on the hardware. Which is better to take the dowel for the plinth, what else are there ways to close the joints between the floor and walls or walls and the ceiling? All this will be discussed in our article.

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Why do you need a skirting board?

It would seem that the answer to this question is extremely simple. The main task of the baseboard is to complete the interior design. In fact, everything is not so straightforward, because this element has one more equally important task: wires are often hidden under it or in a specially hollowed channel - network, television. So the baseboard serves not only for beauty, but also for the safety of households.

Decorative flooring has another function. There is usually a concrete screed under the topcoat - the element is very necessary, but very dusty. Dust will inevitably end up in the room if you do not close the seams between the walls and the floor. The role of the barrier is performed by the plinth. Therefore, the dowel for the skirting board or other mounting element must be subtle, but at the same time, hold the rails firmly.

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Which skirting board to buy?

In construction stores, the choice of skirting boards is quite large. You will certainly be offered planks of different widths and thicknesses. You can choose one that does not have to be repainted, because the color palette is also extremely diverse. What to focus on? First of all, on the material of the frame itself and on how it will be combined with the floor covering.

Skirting board is:

• wooden;
• from MDF;
• plastic;
• metal models are sometimes found, but they are more often used to frame the ceiling.

Wood

Classic floor plinth - wooden. On sale you can find models from different breeds:

• pine trees;
• birch trees;
• maple;
• rosewood;
• oak;
• ash;
• beech wood.

And a dozen or two types of wood, up to the most exotic.

In standard apartments, pine skirting is most often used. This is the cheapest wood that is suitable for solving such problems. Everything else is much more expensive. Oak and beech give the impression of solidity and a stable financial position, and slats made of rosewood and other exotic species can be attributed more to luxury goods than to the necessary elements of interior decoration. But even pine or birch plinths are more expensive than plastic counterparts.

Wooden baseboards are of two main types;

• with standard triangular section;
• with channel for cable.

As for the surface that faces the room, it can be of the most bizarre shape. The simplest option is a smooth bevel, smooth along the entire length. A profiled wooden baseboard is also popular.

Important! To fit a wooden baseboard, you will need a corner cutter. When working, it is necessary to carefully check all the corners so that the rails after installation form a rectangle.

What is wood framing combined with?

In old houses, wooden slats always framed the floor - but only because there were no others. Now the owner of the apartment can choose the best option. A wooden skirting board is an expensive pleasure, but there are situations when it is he who is most suitable:

• for a wooden floor;
• for parquet;
• can be used for linoleum, especially if the apartment is decorated in the style of the 50-60s of the last century.

If you decide to opt for this type of rails, you will have to properly prepare the floor:

• it should be almost perfectly even;
• special attention should be paid to antifungal impregnations - unfortunately, the wood rots, this applies not only to the floor itself, but also to the baseboard;
• both the floor and the skirting board should be varnished - with the exception, again, of retro-style interiors, when both boards and slats are painted.

MDF

The slats from the MFD outwardly are almost no different from those made of solid wood, but at the same time they are much cheaper. The difference in price is due to the fact that such a skirting board is made using a completely different technology. MDF are wood fibers coated with wood veneer.

Despite the significant difference in price, novice craftsmen do not particularly favor this material. Unfortunately, MDF slats have one extremely unpleasant quality - they are quite fragile. If you do not fasten them with a firm hand, you can easily break off a piece. Appearance in this case, of course, worsens. Therefore, manufacturers offer customers not only the rails themselves, but also a fastener kit, which includes:

• stubs;
• corners;
• sometimes - special brackets (if they are not included in the package, you can buy separately in the same store where the rails are).

Plastic

The leader in the modern market for finishing materials is plastic. Plastic baseboard fits any surface. Even if you have parquet flooring, you can pick up plastic slats of the appropriate type - that only oak and ash are not separating the wall and floor, only you will know. For fasteners you will need a special dowel-nail for the baseboard, but you can find all the fasteners without difficulty in any hardware store, the assortment is quite diverse.

The popularity of plastic skirting boards is due to a number of remarkable qualities of this material:

• PVC, which is commonly used for such products, does not rot;
• not destroyed by exposure to ultraviolet radiation;
• resistant to temperature changes - does not deform;
• easy to install - special grooves are provided to connect the edges;
• fits the wall well, hiding bumps;
• the kit offers parts for fixing corners, which greatly simplifies the life of a repairman - corner posts are sold separately;
• quite often there is a socket in the set, and there are almost always stubs;
• a gasket is attached to the rails;
• cable channel provided;
• slats have a standard length of 250 cm.

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How to fix the baseboard?

The type of fastener depends not only on the material of the baseboard, but also on the type of wall. In modern houses, the walls are:

• brick;
• concrete;
• wooden;
• drywall.

In addition, with one edge the rail is laid on the floor, so it is useful to learn about all the possible methods of fastening.

Mounting Methods

There are several options for mounting the skirting board:

• it can be put on glue;
• nothing prevents the use of dowel nails for skirting;
• quite a simple way of fastening - trims and clips.

What to choose?

• It is best to fix the baseboard to concrete walls using “liquid nails”. The same method is, oddly enough, suitable for drywall, although generally attaching rails to surfaces made of this material is not a good idea. In the first case, it is difficult to hollow the wall, in the second - it is too easy, besides, the fasteners hold poorly.
• For brick surfaces, the best option is a dowel-nails, and for wooden ones - self-tapping screws and homemade corks.

Important! As glue, it is best to use “liquid nails”. The connection is very reliable, and in addition, this glue is convenient to use. True, this requires a special device - a construction gun, but it will come in handy in other cases.

What to mount?

The plastic skirting board is, of course, going to be simple, and even attaching it to the wall is not a particular problem.But still, you can’t do without tools and fasteners, so make sure in advance that everything you need is in your tool case:

• drill;
• hacksaw for metal;
• hammer;
• Super glue.

Choose a dowel-nails

Joining rails using dowels and nails is perhaps the most popular way. The connection is reliable, but if desired, the rails will be easy to remove. The question immediately arises: what dowels to fix the plastic baseboard with? For almost all plastic rails, fittings with a diameter of 6 mm are suitable.

An equally important parameter is the length. It depends on the thickness of the staff. But, if you look at different models of plastic skirting boards, then make sure that they are not so much different in thickness. Therefore, dowel nails 40-60 mm long are usually used.

We fix the baseboard

Regardless of which fastener method you have chosen, to start the rails you need to cut into size. Despite the fact that they are made of plastic, it’s very convenient to saw with a hacksaw. In order to argue the work and satisfy the result, take into account several subtleties:

• The cable channel is covered with a cover, but you do not need to remove it yet, this should be done already when you begin to mount the rail.
• Consider the thickness of the connecting elements, usually it is 2-3 mm.
• It’s better to start installation from the inside corner and lead it to the outside, but you can start from the door.

What why?

You need to cut off all the pieces at once. When they are ready, do the following:

1. Remove the cable channel cover.
2. Put the connecting elements.
3. If you start the installation from a far corner, mount the corner and connecting elements, and if from the door - then the connecting element and the plug.
4. Draw a horizontal line on the wall for the mount.
5. Mark up - the extreme holes are located at a distance of 50-70 mm from the edge, and the rest should be at a distance of about 500 mm from each other.
6. Drill holes - their diameter is equal to the cross section of the dowel, that is, most often it is 6 mm.
7. Insert the dowels.
8. Attach the baseboard to the wall.
9. Pierce it with a spike in the places where the dowels are.
10. Screw in the screws.
11. Paint the hats with wax pencil.
12. Make sure that the rail fits well against the wall and does not bend too much.
13. Lastly, fix the outer corner, paying particular attention to the quality of the connection, in this place the cut goes exactly along the corner.
14. After the rails are mounted, lay the cable.
15. Close the cable duct with a cover.

Important! The cable channel cover is first fixed at the edges by connecting elements, and then in the middle, where it just snaps into place.

Bent wall

If the room has the shape of a rectangle or square - usually there are no difficulties with installation. And if one of the walls bends? Then the process will have its own specifics:

1. The skirting board needs to be cut into short pieces - the steeper the arc bends, the shorter the pieces. The length of each is an average of 30-50 mm.
2. Fasten all the pieces together with connecting elements - they, of course, will need more than usual.
3. Mount the remaining sections in the same way as always.

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Fasten to liquid nails

A skirting board can be placed on “liquid nails” to any surface, but this is mainly done in cases where in the foreseeable future they are not going to change it:

1. Cut the slats along the length of the walls.
2. Lubricate the part adjacent to the floor with adhesive.
3. Put the baseboard in the place where you will stick it, but do not press.
4. Unfasten the rail and wait five minutes - the exact time is usually indicated in the instructions.
5. Reattach the rail to the space provided for it and press firmly.
6. Wipe off any excess glue with a brush or rag.

Important! Now there are self-adhesive racks on sale. In order to attach them, you just need to remove the protective film, that's all. But the surface of the wall or floor should be perfectly flat.

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Stock footage

In a word, the features of installation entirely depend on the type of walls and flooring. In principle, on the dowel-nails, glue or clips, you can attach rails of all types to any surfaces, but it is always better to choose the best option.