Veneered baseboard: an overview of mounting methods and tricks of docking
The thoughtful choice of skirting is especially relevant due to the fact that a lot of beautiful and expensive collections of solid and parquet boards appeared on the market, which differ in the type of wood processing, color and texture. To emphasize the beauty of the flooring made of natural wood, either a skirting board from a solid massif, which, however, is notable for its high price and laboriousness of installation, or an equally popular option is veneered skirting. The latter is more accessible.
What to consider when choosing a skirting board?
The veneered baseboard is made of inexpensive wood, most often pine or spruce, then the top is finished with veneer from various valuable species of wood, which allows you to choose a decent "frame" for any parquet or wooden floor, even the most exotic, while significantly saving.
When buying, you should pay attention to many nuances: texture, height, color, quality, method of fixing the baseboard and the possibility of installing hidden wiring behind it. Now it’s fashionable to choose a skirting board not only to match the tone of the floor or platbands, any interior detail can be the starting point, the main thing is that the overall style is maintained.
In addition to a wide selection of shades and textures, modern manufacturers offer a fairly rich assortment of skirting boards of various shapes and designs, which have become more elegant than those that were on the market a decade ago. Now in shape they most often resemble a “boot”, the width of the lower part of which is 15-22 mm, or they represent a straight profile (European standard) with a smooth rounding in the upper part, the height can be up to 12 cm.
Features of the installation of this baseboard
The installation of the skirting board is started after the finish of the ceiling, walls and parquet is laid, or the plank floor. You must admit that a beautiful and expensive skirting board nailed with ordinary nails or hastily screwed with screws will look absurd. The decorative effect will disappear immediately, so you need to approach the installation responsibly.
Preparatory work
It all starts with measurements of the room, marking and cutting the profile into segments of the desired length. On straight sections of the wall, fitting in size is simple, but in other cases, problems may arise. It is necessary to measure the value of the angle and take into account its type (internal or external). In order to cut at the right angle, use a miter box and a hacksaw with a small tooth, which will avoid chips on the veneer. Minor defects can then be hidden with putty. After completing the fit, you can think about how to fix the baseboard in each case.
Mounting options
First you need to understand that a wooden veneered baseboard can be installed in one of two ways: either rigidly, or so that later it can be easily dismantled. Fastening the baseboard to the clips is the easiest. The following procedure should be followed:
- clips are applied to the wall and pressed tightly to the floor;
- on the wall mark the place of fasteners;
- drill a hole in the wall;
- The dowel is inserted into it and then the clips are attached, leaving a distance of 40 to 50 cm between them.
When all the clips are installed in this way, they proceed directly to attaching the baseboard to them.
If the floor is very uneven and there is a pit, you can install one more fastener point above it and try to install the baseboard by bending it slightly, but this “focus” does not always work. Sometimes the floor level differences are so significant that you have to use other methods of fastening.
Fixing the baseboard on self-tapping screws can not be called very aesthetic and simple, but you cannot refuse strength in it. In order for the fasteners to be not so noticeable, you need to choose the thinnest and longest screws. In this case, the hats will be almost invisible, and the connection will be reliable. On the skirting board, it is necessary to make markings, special attention is paid to maintaining the same distance from the edges of the skirting board and between the holes. By marking, screws are screwed to the wall. Then the skirting board is removed, according to the marks, the holes are drilled into which the dowels are inserted. The baseboard is again applied to the wall and finally screwed.
Installing the veneered baseboard on the finishing nails has much in common with the previous procedure, with the only difference being that they use special nails, not self-tapping screws, and dowels made of wood. The advantage of this method is the almost invisible attachment points, the disadvantage is the impossibility of using it for “loose” and drywall walls in which the wooden dowel is simply not held.
Gone are the days when the plinth served only to close the gap between the wall and the floor, now it also performs a decorative function, gives the room a finished look and allows emphasizing the advantages of the used floor coverings. A veneered baseboard is ideal for framing a wooden floor or parquet. In this article, we examined what you need to pay attention to when choosing a skirting board and possible ways to fix it.
Victor 
Oleg
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