remove skirting to put down floors?

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pinkie123

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hello, i got a quote for engineered wood floors & got the shop to measure up my house. Shop told me removing skirting boards could damage the walls and pushed me into choosing beading rather than remove skirting. Its a walnut floor that is costing in excess of €4500 so I think the beading will really cheapen the look. so I spoke to the foreman on-site and he said no-one had problems with walls when skirting was removed - ie he forsaw no problems.
rang shop & they are very reluctant to remove skirting and say they will charge more for doing so. I've already put down a €1500 deposit. are they just being lazy? or has anyone had problems with skirting. btw they are glued on not tacked on.
 
that are glued on?? they definietely wont have a problem so. its possible to take off skirting but it has to be done slowly and carefully. little bits of plaster mite come off but so what cos d new skirting will cover it again anyway . insist of getting them taken off, itll look crap otherwise
 
jimbob1234 said:
that are glued on?? they definietely wont have a problem so. its possible to take off skirting but it has to be done slowly and carefully. little bits of plaster mite come off but so what cos d new skirting will cover it again anyway . insist of getting them taken off, itll look crap otherwise
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I agree, the skirting must be removed. We did it, we had to repair some minor cosmetic damage on the plaster but it was worth it, the floor looks great.
 
Agree that removing the skirting is the only option when the flooring is so expensive. Beading will indeed cheapen the look. Worth the hassle and cost for the proper finish
 
For the best looking finish you must remove the skirting.
My experience is that the skirting boards may have to be totally replaced.
In all likelihood you will crack a few boards or it will be impossible to remove the glue therefore making refitting a non runner.
There is no need to worry too much about the plasterboard as the new skirting will cover the marks as it is now on top of the flooring and therefore higher on the wall.
 
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great -tx for all replies. foreman said he would replace skirting if they broke. so pretty sound! I am not paying shop any more to remove skirting - so getting ready for the argument :)
 
The shop is under no obligation to remove and replace skirting with an order for flooring, whatever the price.

Best get the foreman to remove the skirting otherwise some young lad will arrive from the shop and rip the be jaysus out of it and just say "sorry missus" !
 
Use a stanley knife to score the edge of the wall between the top of the skirting and the wall to stop old paint from peeling off with the skirting when you go to take them off this will save you having to fill or sand down paint tears.
Be careful when working with sharp tools such as utility knives wear safety gloves to protect your hands a cut from one of these can be very nasty.

Good Luck ;)
 
It may also be possible, following on from @DOBBER22's suggestion to slide a hacksaw blade between the skirting and the wall to cut the adhesive. PITA, but may help minimize damage.
 
You definitely should remove skirting - I know of one house where the guy laying the flooring convinced the householder to go with beading and leave the skirting alone and it looks terrible. Completely ruins the look of a very expensive timber floor
 
I agree that beading is an absolute no-no, expecially for such expensive wood.

I agree that they are absolutely entitled to charge you for the extra work of (carefully) removing the skirting (although this arguably could be offset against the work of fitting the beading), and definitely if you expect them to re-fit the skirting. But up to you to negotiate as best you can.

However if by some chance it came off easily and without damage / breakages or big blobs of glue and plaster on the back (unlikely though), it should be pretty easy to glue back on the same pieces in the same places (of course they will have the added task of keeping track of the pieces etc).

You may have to repaint / revarnish / recaulk the skirting once it goes back on.

Definitely keep that foreman sweet, sounds like you will need him.
 
Yes as Eamonn123456 says you should get away with using the same skirting again. I always find a bolster chissel handy for removing the skirting and then remove the excess wood glue from the back of the skirting with an ordinary chizzle.
 
Yes take off the skirting, the reason is that the wood can expand after a while and this give it somewhere to expand into and it's out of sight, if it breaks you could buy new skirting that goes with the wooden flooring.
 
I've just bought a new apartment and want to get wooden floors laid. Semi-solid probably. I gather from what I'm reading here that I should get the floors put down before I get the place painted. I was going to do it the other way around.

What exactly is this beading that is being talked about?
 
europhile said:
What exactly is this beading that is being talked about?
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Beading is using a thin piece of wood to join the floor to the skirting. IMO it doesn't look very nice but its a matter of personal taste.

We have just had oak floors fitted and had to have the skirtings replaced. For that reason we were advised not to paint until the floors were fitted. Hope this helps.
 
I'd take the skirting off myself if I were you - it isn't that big a job and at least you will be more careful than any floor company

but there is no doubt about it - the skirting has to come off !!!!!


And forget about beading, it looks cheap and after a while when the floor moves/shrinks (and they will/can do either) and it'll all look crap
 
Definitely remove the skirting boards. We didn't (on the advice of the workman who was working onsite at the time doing tiling etc.) and rue the day. We bought solid oak, the installers didn't remove the skirting, with the result that we ended up in two rooms with hills of wood, literally and had to pay a handyman to get rid of the worst damage. We are now left with lovely wood floors which creak, move when you stand on them and while they look fine, they are actually ruined by the installation. SO, don't worry about damage to plaster work - it's so easy to fix that, less easy to put up with the damage to the floors which you walk on all the time. Also had beading installed by the workmen - looks appalling. Neither of us are DIY'ers so we hadn't a clue when the work was being done. Another important factor to remember is that the wood should be stored in the enviroment in which it is going to be installed for at least two weeks so that it acclimatises to the local conditions.
Good luck!
 
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