Skirting the problem of flooring

Baseboards fill the untidy gaps between the wall and floor and provide a measure of draught exclusion. Kya deLongchamps provides some tips on what are the best options available

Skirting the problem of flooring

SKIRTINGS or baseboard is a quiet ingredient in a room. A decorative moulding and protective bumper, it neatly hides that untidy gap between the floor and the wall. It’s so much part of our architectural vernacular that we only notice it if it’s not there at all.

With wood flooring the baseboard veils any gaps between the wall and floor as it naturally contracts. It also provides a measure of draught exclusion through cunning gaps in the floor. Until recent years when hardwood flooring became such a rage, skirting was generally a 100mm (4”) apologetic, skinny bit of trim, tacked up with the door architraves during the second-fix carpentry. Painted in the wall colour to lessen its impact or left a pure gloss white, modest Ogee (curving in) and Torus (curving out) were the sum total of moulding choices.

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