Alternatives to Skirting boards for a DIY Doofus

As above really. New plaster on walls, so need skirting board replacing. But as a DIY doofus are there any simple alternatives?

no skirting boards in this house, get them to plaster down the the floor. skirting boards just hide shit plastering.

You don’t get much easier than skirting boards tbh (apart from none as above). You can even buy them pre finished and if your walls are nice and straight you can just stick them on. I use Pink Grip which sticks like shit to a blanket. Think you can get composite skirting that clicks together nowadays as well, although I’ve never used it.

I dont tend to use pre finished my self as I think they always need something doing to them. Get a mitre saw for the corners.

In bathrooms I’ve used tiles for the upstand that match the floor, or have used some plastic trim, which I was unsure about about at first but actually gives a really clean look. Can’t remeber exactly what it was though…

Just use square section skirting board?
Pre-primed mdf stuff maybe.
No scribing or any fancy stuff.
Bit of construction adhesive and a saw. Caulk for your gaps.
Lemon squeezy.

If you don’t mind square-section, then UPVC window sill cover works well. Attach a batten or blocks to the wall and then attach to the wood. If you use screws (pref. brass for aesthetics) then you can ease the skirting away from the wall and hide wires inside at a later date. Handy for semi-permanent extension leads, TV aerial cable, speaker wires, etc. I’ve also used it to cover exposed pipework in the downstairs cloakroom.

Bring the outdoors in with those little lawn edging stakes on a roll. No?

Just get these and stick them on:

https://www.eurocell.co.uk/interior-products/skirting-boards

Plastic is the new wood.

Shadow gap.

You stop the new plaster/gyroc 1″-1 1/2″ from the floor so it has a recess. As long as its perfectly straight, it creates a shadow gap which accentuates the wall.

You could draw a line, then chip away the plasterwork to give the effect. Plus its great for hiding cables.

That shadow gap looks horrible. Like a temporary art gallery.

I can see a shadow gap being filled with a combination of spiders, dust, small toys, and discarded foodstuffs inside of about 6 months in our house :-O

skirting boards just hide shit plastering.

and the expansion gap for floating floors.
and stop the bottom of the plaster getting damaged by toys / hoovers / shoes etc

As above the simplest is square profile and as long as you can cut things +-5mm or so it will look ok once filled and finished. If drywalls can be nailed / screwed to the studwork or just glue the lot with grip fill.

The challenge is matching it to any woodwork that isn’t being replaced. E.g. if your new skirting is 12mm thick but the door has 9mm around it. or if you neeed to scribe to a profile at the door.

Thread hijack:

Is there a way of buying a small amount of skirting? I have a four-foot gap in the bedroom after ripping out a godawful fake fireplace. B&Q seem to sell the stuff in packs of about a kilometre.

Just remove a section from behind your sofa. Best of all it’s free!

Just remove a section from behind your sofa. Best of all it’s free!

Even simpler, just move the sofa in front of the gap. Free, and quicker.

(Local builder’s merchants will sell various lengths of skirting, and maybe even have a bit of offcut. None of the types will match your current skirting, obviously.)

Is there a way of buying a small amount of skirting? I have a four-foot gap in the bedroom after ripping out a godawful fake fireplace. B&Q seem to sell the stuff in packs of about a kilometre.

Is there much renovation going on near you? There’s often a length of skirting in a skip

Is there a way of buying a small amount of skirting? I have a four-foot gap in the bedroom after ripping out a godawful fake fireplace. B&Q seem to sell the stuff in packs of about a kilometre.

Open the pack and take one legth to the till and pay for it. Theres usually a price per pack and a price for the individual length.