How to choose a skirting board for the floor: what are the options + recommendations for selection

The final stage of laying any flooring is the installation of the skirting board. It not only gives the floor a finished look, but also serves to close the joints between the walls and the floor. In addition, the baseboard for the floor will help to hide the edges of the wallpaper, carpet and linoleum. Modern products have grooves for wiring. There are many options, on which to focus your attention? First, we will figure out what skirtings are, and then we will determine how to choose a suitable product.

Varieties of floor skirting boards

According to the material of the plinth manufacturing there are: wooden; plastic (including very flexible modifications) and from MDF.

Skirting board

Despite the fact that modern materials are increasingly gaining the attention of consumers, a wooden skirting board for a floor has not lost its attractiveness. It is unlikely that a person who has spent on expensive flooring will use artificial decoration. Usually, skirting boards from the same wood species are chosen for wooden floors. It is best to order it with the floor covering. This will help to choose products that are identical in color.

Wooden skirting board for the floor can be of different sections

Advantages: environmental friendliness; strength; durability. Disadvantages: high price; exposure to differences in the wet-temperature balance.

Installation of a wooden skirting board is usually carried out on self-tapping screws with flat heads or screws with dowels. In this case, the wall should be perfectly flat. Otherwise, the product may warp and crack. Also, it is not advisable to glue wooden skirting boards to the wall with liquid nails - then you can’t remove them and, due to changes in temperature and humidity in the room, the internal stress of the wood can tear the skirting board off the wall along with wallpaper or plaster.

MDF skirting board

MDF board is made on the basis of wood fibers by hot pressing. On the front side of the baseboard, paper dyed is applied. This allows the product to simulate a wood structure and have a different color scheme. A melamine protective coating is applied on top of the paper.

MDF skirting board is quite practical and economical!

Advantages: low price; ease of installation; moisture resistance; antistatic; UV resistance. Disadvantages: fragility; amenable to mechanical stress.

For fastening, kleimers are first screwed onto the wall, and a skirting board is put on them. Such fastening makes it easy to dismantle the product if necessary. MDF skirting boards do not crumble and are environmentally friendly material. The flexibility of the product allows you to mount it to the walls with a slight bend.

Plastic baseboard

The most popular products at the moment are plastic skirting boards. This is due to the fact that he is not afraid of external influences, is not subjected to deformation and is inexpensive. The shape of the plastic baseboard can be straight and embossed. It can also have a flexible edge that fits snugly against the wall. Almost all plastic baseboards are disassembled. They consist of mounting and front parts.

The hollow structure of the plastic baseboard allows you to hide several different wires inside the product at once

Advantages: moisture resistance; resistance to temperature changes; have cavities for electrical wiring; do not fade in the sun; tight fixing to the floor and walls. Disadvantages: low strength; fragility.

The fastener is mounted to the wall using self-tapping screws or glue. The front plate is put on top and is attached with clip-on grips. The hollow structure of the plastic baseboard allows you to hide several different wires inside the product at once.

There is a variety of plastic skirting under the carpet. It is an L-shaped bar. A tape cut off from the carpet is inserted into it. It turns out a plinth of the same material as the floor covering.

Flexible baseboard

Flexible skirting board appeared on sale relatively recently. It is used for curved walls and floor boundaries. It can take the necessary shape, edging smooth curves and decorative elements of the interior. A flexible baseboard is made of plastic, the structure of which is changed at the molecular level. To preserve the properties of the material, after manufacturing, it is stored in special packaging.

Flexible baseboard mounted around the pillar

Advantages: resistant to moisture; takes the necessary form. Disadvantages: expensive; Requires installation skills.

To install the skirting board to the wall, with the help of screws, a supporting profile is attached. A flexible facial profile is heated in warm water or hot air to a plastic state and is fixed in fastener segments. The installed skirting board hardens under the influence of air, maintaining the given shape.

What to look for when choosing?

What products are we sorted out. Now we will decide how to choose a skirting board for the floor so that it does not get out of the general interior of the room. Naturally, for solid parquet or wooden floors, the best option would be a wooden option. It is unlikely that plastic products will look harmoniously with a natural coating. But with linoleum or laminate, they are quite compatible. For such flooring and MDF skirting board is suitable.

And now about choosing a product with a focus on color. The classic option is to stay on skirting boards in harmony with the shade of the floor covering. Shades of one tone are allowed. In modern interiors, the choice of colors is more democratic.

Skirting board matches the color of the wall

In this room, the baseboard is combined in color with the wall.

There is an option: the baseboard is a continuation of the wall. It looks pretty elegant and fresh. In some interiors, a combination of the color of the plinth with the shade of the door is possible. It looks pretty interesting in combination with a light floor skirting board and doors of dark colors. If you have a ceiling plinth, you can choose the color of the product to match his.

Installation of skirting boards is usually the final part of not only laying the flooring, but also the entire repair. And it is this final “point” that can spoil the look of the entire room, if you make the wrong choice. Approach this issue with a great deal of responsibility.

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Kseniya
4 years ago

When repairing in a new house, we also chose a plastic baseboard. I initially didn’t like the wooden ones, and, living in a private house, I heard that mice gnaw them, and with linoleum on the floor, plastic looks better. A big role in the choice was played by the fact that you can hide the wires in them, and you do not need to paint them - since there is a large selection of colors in stores, you can always find the right color.
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Ivan
4 years ago

Plastic baseboard burns out in the sun!
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1. Micah
  4 years ago
  
  Because the baseboard is made of plastic amno!
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Andrew
6 years ago

There are also skirting boards made of LDF - good material.
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Lida
6 years ago

Before our repair, the baseboards in our baseboard were old, wooden. They survived, I must say, very well.Only the problem is that he was repeatedly painted with varnish for wood and completely lost its appearance. We decided to change the old wooden baseboard to a new plastic one. By the way, it’s very comfortable and looks beautiful. We knew about the fact that we could hide wires in it and took advantage of this function. Of course, wood may be better as a material, but plastic looks pretty decent and much more convenient. An important plus is the price. In our city, plastic skirting boards are much cheaper than wooden ones.
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Eugene
7 years ago

We moved to another apartment, and the baseboard has been around since Soviet times: very rude, uncouth, of a terrible aesthetic appearance. After reading the article, we still decided to dwell on a plastic baseboard, since there are many wires, including the cable for the Internet, which must be hidden. This solution is well suited here.
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