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I'm a 69 year old electronic design engineer about to retire, waiting for knee replacements hence refurbing my downstairs toilet ready for downstairs living in recovery. Greatly appreciated your structured approach and background experimentation - as an engineer by nature I love to get the inside story to fully understand the whys and wherefores. It's not often that I do skirting so this has been enormously helpful.
I've used foam for MDF skirting/architrave. Here's some more tips... * Use Instastick, avoid Soudal because Soudal continues to expand as it dries and will push the board away from the wall (not always possible to use clamps). Instastick is less prone to this. * If you've got floorboards, create some T-shape chocks from spare wood/offcuts (6-8 inches) and screw them to the floor in front of the skirting, they'll hold the skirting in place whilst the foam sets - I use one every about every 50-60 cm. Be sure ** NOT ** to screw all the way through the floorboard when attaching chocks to floor - cus pipes and blah blah. * Not all walls are like Charlies super-flat plasterboard walls, so If you've got a recently plastered wall to attach the skirting to, you'll probably have big recessed gap/lip at the bottom - if so I do 2 seperate trams lines of foam (rather than zig-zag lines). For the bottom foam line, I do a much thicker foam line to fill all the extra space - works like a charm. * If fitting skirting behind pipes and those pipes are close to wall, put the skirting in-place before foaming, then pivot the top of the skirting away from wall - then foam in the gap. I learned the hard way that trying to slip a foamed-up skirting board behind pipes is going to be a disaster if those pipes are close to the wall, because the foamed-skirting will simply drag down the wall as you try to slide it down into place. The clean-up is soul-destroying. * Upto you, but..... I've never glued, or screwed, or nailed any mitred corner on skirting or architrave when using foam. Never had any crack or move, the foam holds them absolutely solid * Wear rubber gloves, foam's a nightmare on your skin
Thank you for sharing this. Between Charlie’s great (as usual) video and your supplementary comment, the info here is worth its weight in gold and is everything I would love to have known before I first used this foam.
I prefer Soudal because it is less error prone, just sticks really well, the 3 times he had to redo I've never had something like that, and I don't bother with water or waiting 5 mins, but sure I always clamp and leave it clamped for a few hours.
@@frankief7111 - I would say Soudal is more sticky/stronger (but not by much), but if you don't have clamps (or chocks) it's a real pain in the arse because of the expansion. Each to their own, I would stil buy Soudal if there was no Instastick
@@youtoob1811 thanks for the reply, for chocks I use cheap metal shelf brackets on the floor, one small screw in the floor is enough to push the bracket against the skirting board.
It's the best stuff ever. I used it throughout my house. Combine it with the instant glue for architrave mitres and it makes life so much better. It pads out the inconsistences in plaster at floor level and great for keeping spiders from the crevices as well as draft proofing. Let it start going off first and then just keep it pressed in place with a toolbox or similar.
Think you might have misunderstood the mitre glue? You put the typical glue side on first, then put the spray on the other side; you've got to be quick or it'll evaporate. It's not about sealing one side of it. It's about using the spray to activate the glue. It's great stuff. Did a whole property's skirting and architraves with it. Also allows you to make architraves as fully completed 'goal posts', that have tight corners and can be fixed to walls as one piece.
Thanks for this. You're right it's an activator not a sealant. Not sure why I said that. The instructions however on this Geocel say you have to allow it to evaporate before applying the adhesive to the other surface. That said there are probably better products out there than this Geocel.
@@CharlieDIYte Using masking tape applied the outer edge before applying the glue and activator will ensure the joint is tight and won't move during the curing process. Simply sit the lengths of wood/MDF face up with the mitre tips touching, apply the tape along the joint (on top surface only - don't wrap around the sides). Then you can carefully flip over, apply the glue and activator and then fold to bring the joint surfaces together. Peel the masking off once the bond is achieved. Note - this will only be practical for shorter lengths! Fab video Charlie - I didn't even know this stuff existed!
Nice presentation. I like the suction cup idea... Couple of points.. After the plastering and before anything else, go around with a straight edge and check for high spots and deal with them at that stage before the site is clean, kitchen fitted etc.. I know this is boring but look for some knee pads. They can be a pain and I haven't found any that do not have drawbacks but Arthritic knees are not much fun. Take care
I've been using decorator's caulk for years to stick skirting boards to walls, and it works great! As the caulk dries, it actually pulls the boards in tight to the wall. Plus, it's super easy to remove them later if needed, without damaging the wall or boards. Highly recommend this method!
Thanks Charlie, not something I particularly need to worry about currently, but as always worth watching and you manage to make it entertaining too, a great practical relatable channel, keeep it up ! PS. glad to see you looking and sounding not quite so knackered, hope it's easing up a bit finally !
Thanks Andy, appreciate your continued support 👊 Yes not too knackered right now. Just the constant anxiety of creating good content to keep the algorithms happy! But if I can do that whilst progressing the house, that's the sweet spot for me. 👊
Sometimes the area of the wall to which the skirting needs fixing is uneven, and I find a carefully placed brad nail or two helps in the skirting "hugging" the wall tightly.
Its great for small bits for plasterers, but its specifically used for boarding plasterboard on a wall that used to be wet, ie. a conservatory house side wall. For skirting I find the best is the old fashioned "wall screws" they dont call them that anymore since people started complaining, but really they aim to eliminate the need for a rawl plug - the nearest I could find was Gold Turbo PZs and even though they call them multipurpose they also call them wood screws. Anyway I have a whole house and kitchen put up with them, no rawl plugs at all and every time I mention it to anyone they seem to think its all going to come down one day - funny, only did the whole thing on my tod but people think I dont know what rawl plugs are.
Before people go barmy, II found a bag of "wall screws" in an old house from the early 60s, and in the loft there was an old wickes brochure. The only other thing I saw thats sold as "wall screws" are big wide hex bit types that struggle at going through wood, and even with an impact its difficult. Going through an ashenlite wall works but its too strong of a clamp and so you have to pre drill the timber and get it right first time. With the PZs, I find it just works. I havnt done any stress testing; and with something heavy I just use more, but its really easy, bang bang, more time to focus on whats important; if its not a load bearing timber I will use it, if its something else I might go for a rawl plug, but I find with the PZs that even a large rawl plug will just tear up as its going through. Its a ribbed, barbed design so it doesnt come out without a lot of force.
I've used Soudal adhesive foam on skirting in 4 rooms without a single failure. Excellent stuff. I chose the foam precisely because the walls behind the old skirting were very uneven. I just applied a bigger blob of foam there and it's not moved years later. Useful for fixing plasterboard too.
I did the same thing, started with instastik which i found too expensive and fussy needing the gun but did have better low expansion than most foam adhesives... but the soudal plasterboard adhesive is infinitely better... no need for a gun just buy the normal soudal plasterboard can as its not a fiddly job, cheaper and control isnt imperative. My method is to paint the skirting prior, spray water on the skirting back, apply 2 beads of no nonsense adhesive for about £1 a tube, to the borders of the skirting (nice to have a backup adhesive on the skirting and acts like a kerb to stop the foam poking out the top and bottom!) then a good wide bead of foam down the middle, offer it to the wall and it'll hold itself in about 60 seconds... i'd say grab a mate or the missus and then both apply even pressure with your feet holding it in place (or grab some bricks or similar) for a few minutes, once the initial expansion has gone off about 5 minutes your pretty safe from it moving away from the wall further. After a few hours, cauk it, tape it and paint the joint to the wall. Did the same with the architrave but used clamps to hold for 30 minutes during curing. Nothing has moved yet and the whole house has been done this way and it's been around 4 years now.
Beautiful work! I used only industrial adhesive glue (Loctite Power grab) to do the baseboards in my master and just caulked any gaps over top. I was worried about doing it this way since I don't have a nail gun, but realized the only time they would need to be removed is if there was a catastrophic house problem like a flood. Then the baseboards are the least of your worries as the drywall would be ruined and demolished on refurb. Was over a year ago all held great no separation still.
Thanks. Yes you're right of course but I guess the holy grail in life is design that's effective without being engineered, so I'm trying to achieve that here 👌
Great video, when I saw the title I was wondering did I do it wrong. Used it all over my apartment after renovation 4 years ago. (the same ones you showed in the video) Of course with a mitre saw. But... since the apartment is from the 50's no corner was exactly 90 degrees so it took ages to get a clean corner hehehe. I glued them and shot a tiny nail (pneumatic) here and there (not many) through and into the wall and put a little putty in, so it is hidden from sight Also had to put some putty on top and the wall. Looking at you working, I still would do it my way again hehehehe But yours looks fine too. Job well done. Thanks for sharing
Thanks and good to hear from you. Yes nothings perfect and in my rush to get this out before the weekend close I didn't include the final section where I had to fill the corner with 2 part wood filler. 👊
For the painting of skirting on tile, i get some over head projector acetate and slide that under the skirting. Saves having to mask off the entire room. For the kitchen definitely zinzer it, as it will be mopped and it will seal it feom water. I find with mdf zinzer first then fill. As on your precious mdf video's it prevents furing from sanding.
When needing to have easy to remove base boards, i literally use a few dots of super glue. Just just JUST enough to keep it to the walls and able to wothstand the odd bump. On removal a saw behind or a good tug removes it easily with no damage. Sand the glue dots down and redo properly afterwards.
Great video Charile, learned some stuff about using paper for scribing and the use of the suction cup is genius. It would be interesting to do a price comparison between this and more traditional methods. I have about 25m of Skirting to fix in the next few weeks but I think I will stick with grab adhesive and use my plasterboard props to act as clamps.
Hi Charlie, thanks for the post. I've been using some of the (Soudal I think) genius foam for plasterboards recently and have had good results. Captive foam dispenser tube comes with it. A little more expensive but no separate gun or cleaner needed. Love the suction cup idea; that's awesome, top marks. For skirting and architrave I've settled on Everbuild multistick. Very similar to Stixall with the only difference I can see being that multistick stipulates mechanical fix whereas Stixall does not. I used 16g nails for this which work really well moren or less everywhere. There is a 23g DeWalt nailer in the world but I think only US. A friend acquired one and honestly hasn't stopped singing it's praises since - almost invisible nail heads, pin-like, and don't even require filling prior to decoration. For your external mitres I'm sure you know that mitre adhesive accompanied by blue tape on the fold works a treat. Also the Collins mitre clamps are excellent👌...so many options!!!
When I did mine , I fixed the architraves first but before that I cut biscuit joiner slots to match up with slots cut into skirting board. The biscuit join keeps the 2 things in the same plane so you don't get a wonky join. I don't get why your mitre glue isn't working, maybe it was too wet or bad glue, screws just don't work well in MDF as it can split. I love the foam on other jobs but prefer a polymer adhesive like Multi Stick for that job.
I was surprised that screws were used to hold skirting, baseboards, and architraves. In Canada it's been common just to use finish nails. Now that cordless nail guns are more common 18 gauge brad nails have become the new standard. One thing against the adhesive foam is that they release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for some period of time after after their use. My personal preference would be to use nails, especially the brad nails, as the work to hide them is minimal and reduces the total VOCs from the project (where at least the paint contributes VOCs). The nails don't require one to find the wall studs. I do appreciate all of your videos and seeing the options that you highlight through your projects. Thanks.
I actually gave finish nails only a try the only day in my house in the UK. The wall consisted of about 14mm of soft bonding plaster, then a fairly soft breezeblock. I found that I needed to use quite a lot of nails to get a firm fix (lots of filling require), and that the board was worked loose when I tried to trim one the ends with an oscillating tool (because of another error). I think it if was just plasterboard behind the skirting board it would have been fine, especially if I had "stitched" the nails. My new technique which has worked well so far for this kind of wall is to add a big bead of silicone to the back of the board, then use enough nails as needed to hold it in place while the glue goes off. I did notice that somebody in the 80s had just used regular 16 gauge nails to nail the old skirting board to the walls, and that also worked well.
@@jamesdcuk Perhaps the difference is that in Canada the walls are usually covered with drywall (a flat panel consisting of gypsum plaster sandwiched in between two sheets of thick paper) which are screwed to the studs. The popularity of drywall is that after screwing it to the studs, the holes are fixed with joint compound or drywall putty and and joints are taped and covered with joint compound. Corners have a metal edge on them for protection and the edging is covered with joint compound. Once dried the joint compound and drywall putty is smoothed. Then it's ready for painting. It does take more nails than screws. Also if one uses long enough nails and position them right they will go through the wall covering and into the wall footer or the frame of the window or door to provide stronger hold.
@@jamesdcuk Usual procedure for me as a UK carpenter is to use brad nails fired with a paslode gun and solvent-free gripfil/ pinkgrip. The gripfil sticks initially, gets held in place under pressure by the nails and then glues it properly after it's gone off. Also, if you have to remove a bit of skirting or architrave the gripfil will not usually tear the plaster with it like foam can. Years ago we used standard gripfil, but the solvent-free is much better with dusty surfaces.
Yes we have a similar construction here too, depending on how old the house is or if it is an internal wall or not. My parents house is much newer and has steel studs for the plasterboard. Upstairs in this house we actually have a corrugated cardboard fill (think ikea desk) between the two sheets of plasterboard! It did not catch on thankfully!
12:54 adding water is counter intuitive it will dilute the chemical properties which have already been formulated to work (out of the box) to aide adhesion: i spray a thick bead around the perimeter in addition to thiner zig zag beads internally this bead effectively acts like a suction cup, as you create a sealed edge it also airlocks the internal zig zag beads whilst the chemical works its magic expanding foam is about contact surface area, so i always make sure i have a decent percentage of the board covered which is more effective than a singular zig zag bead
We are just about to start a loft conversion and im doing 99% of the decorating and final finish i might give this a go as the new walls "should" be dead straight
I've been foaming skirtings for a decade, I have never thought to wet the surfaces but can see it would be advantageous, I let the foam go off between 5 and 7 minutes dependant on the make, age etc, you want it to have skinned off and not stick to your finger like on the video, that will expand on contact and create a gap, I never ever use clamps as I get the foam to the right state where it acts as a grab adhesive, that state is where it has skinned off but will "burst" when pressed in place releasing the now tacky foam. I have used laminate flooring as kitchen and bathroom splashbacks foamed in place, also for bed headboards foamed to the wall. Stick on vinyl plank flooring is very good for wall use and also kitchen unit plinths but the glue can drip out with gravity during the summer and the pieces can slump if not brad nailed, using the foam adhesive on top of the sticky adhesive solves all these problems. Good video!
Thanks for sharing your experience. That all makes perfect sense. . I found if I left it too long it just didn't adhere at all but can't argue with your experience here 😉👍
Too long and it wont stick, I pencil the time on the back that I must fit it then have a cuppa. I used to use caulk, it works, is quicker any excess can be wiped away filling any gaps but some detached in the following years, these were my own short term rental apartments that I cleaned between clients so could see anything like that. Guys working for customers rarely get called back for minor stuff, for them caulk is cheap, effective and fast
Has anyone used foam to build internal block walls? Looking to block up an archway. Seems to be pretty common in mainland europe but i cant find any good guides(in english) regarding tieing into walls and how how much gap at the ends to be able to get the block in with foam on it.
Still pine and screws for me. I've taken off several Ogee and Torus skirting in my house which the previous owners have put up but which had become dust magnets with all the little intricate profiling with previous owners having just painted over the dust!!. Chamfered and round for me. Also when i've taken skirting off the grab adhesive has sometimes taken some of the plaster with it causing additional repairs to the wall before replaced it.
I use D4 flooring adhesive to fix skirting boards etc just let it foam up a bit., also use offcut blocks of timber stuck to the floor with mitre bond to temp clamp the skirting to the wall (obviously not on tile!)
Definitely prefer MDF skirting boards, far better than pine, plus you don’t get wood knots that need need sealing, priming, painting and even then still bleed through. Use of expanding foam adhesive is interesting thanks, I’ve not had a lot of success with grab adhesive, all to often it doesn’t grab sufficiently well and you end up having to use mechanical fixings
Always used the cleaner spray in the same way...until I discovered the big wipes are cheaper and easier. Gun in one hand, wipe in the other and clean as you go.
What do you think the best adhesive to stick mdf 4 inch kitchen upstand that has a laminate front thanks still enjoy watching your progress I watched when you put your kitchen upstanding and splash back
Thanks, really appreciate your watching my vids 🙏 I'd say some sort of grab adhesive - CT1 or similar? Pretty sure that's what they used on mine. There's still one section that I need to trim and they used colorsil silicone between the quartz surface and upstand.
Can I add; undercoat your mdf skirting before installation. I always go for two coats - two hours between coats. It makes the sanding between coats a breeze and limits the amount of time and mess while kneeling.
Charlie, you might find it easier to make the architrave set first, then pin to the frame. Walls and frame are not always straight and plumb and will give problems on the mitre cut. By making the set first, you will have perfect mitres regardless of anything being out of true. I find small spots of a grab adhesive and a headless pin to hold is all that is required. Someone might want to remove it at some point!
It's a fair point Jim, thanks. Yes in the past I've just adjusted the angle on the mitre cut to suit the frame but mitre bonding / screwing the corner and then offering up the complete architrave makes a lot of sense 👌👊
As a time served professional I glue skirtings and nail architraves. It's pointless dicking around trying to glue them on when you've got a timber door frame to nail into. Glue the mitres only and fill behind with caulk when set. When you've got a wavy wall then you ignore it and put the skirting straight, fill any gaps in between. If you try to pull the skirt back into the hollows it'll look like a dogs nob when you stand back and look at it. That depends on how bad it is of course. You'll forever see a snaking skirting, but never notice the gap in between it and the wall if it's been filled well.
That's brilliant advice and you're right. In the bedroom I showed in the video I had some massive gaps behind the skirting and you can't see them at all now.
@@CharlieDIYte if you'd pulled it back to suit the wall it would have looked terrible forever more. I forgot to mention, door frames are straight which is why you use nails, walls are not so use adhesive. One of the best things to happen to skirtings, arch and dados was MDF, it's lovely stuff to work with. You mentioned the markings on the back, this is possibly because they've been painted using a paint curtain (might be called something else). It's a continuous curtain or waterfall of primer and the MDF trims get pulled through it at high speed by a conveyor belt, when they get to the other side they slide to a halt on a bench and someone lifts them off.
When showing cutting with the mitre saw, it would be beneficial to show supporting the workpiece on both sides of the cut so that one side doesn’t flop around like a fish when the cut is done.
Yes I should have shown this. I had two blocks on the kitchen table, which I had filmed but I was under time pressures to get this video out and that's one of the segments I forgot to put in.
Great video Charlie thank you as I have a full house to do all this work on over the next few months. I am not sure foam adhesive is good for me but may give it a try. I quite like mitre bond but the joint needs to be good and clean. Why don't you use a pin nailer on the corners rather than screws? and I bet you wish you had fitted that 4 way switch panel an inch further over so it was not bang up against the architrave ;-). Too many switches, should have gone smarter! But still a great project thank you.
Ha, yes the 4 way switch is annoying 🤣 Yes I'd give it a try and see how you get on. 👊 I could have used my pin nailer but a) not everyone has one and b) on some corners I wanted the strength of screws in case the mitre got pulled apart by the skirting being clamped (that uneven wall I showed you) but I guess the PVA would stop that happening.
If I may suggest a good method for this: apply a bead of adhesive to the part being fixed and rather than waiting for it to dry slightly, apply it straight away such that the adhesive presses flat and pull the part away. Wait 5 or 10 minutes and apply the adhesive again and wait for it to dry as per instructions and fit. You will find that it sticks a lot better.
If you don't get enough foam on one part the board, and you don't want to remove it and start again, put on a bit of masking tape, drill a 3mm hole and squirt the foam through the board into the space behind.
Thanks. Yes I did that on the kitchen walls. Only problem is when you don't know how much you're spraying in and suddenly the whole wall starts bulging out 😉
This is the same technique I used to fix areas of creaking/bouncing in my floating engineered-wood floor, as well as to stabilise some wobbly plasterboard around my window reveals. Foam adhesive seems to be like an oscillating multitool - there may be technically better tools for each of the jobs it can do, but there are some scenarios where nothing else can manage what it can do and it’s an absolute life-saver.
@@CharlieDIYte Haha yes that’s the trouble I had when I used it to fix some creaking in my floating floor caused by low spots in the concrete subfloor. The creaking is cured but now those low-spots are high-spots 😅
Top stuff as usual Charlie. Do your MDF cuts outside if possible buddy. Its ok you wearing a mask, but if theres other people or animals around, not good stuff that dust.
Fair point. I was being a bit lazy but with this weather I didn't really have the opportunity and traipsing up to the garage, I'd never have got it done.
Thanks Darren. I put a 1mm glazing packer under so I can slide a piece of paper under as I paint. I've seen trades so what you suggest and then just trim it off but I'm not sure I'd want to leave Any tape under the skirting.
I talk about it in this one. Basically if the corner isn't 90 degrees you can end up with a gap whereas with the scribe technique it's much more forgiving ruclips.net/video/-ZJLzHCezzU/видео.htmlsi=r__X-83AlY4F2-IB 😉
Found big box stores the skirting is always thicker than the arcatrave leading to a terrible transition at the doorways. Why do they even sell it different thicknesses?
@@CharlieDIYtehad to go and see how much was user error. And nearly all skirting is 18mm but half of MDF arcatrave is 14.5 or 15mm and half 18mm. So DIY error on my part to a point .however why such a choice of 15mm arcatrave is beyond me as will never work with majort of skirting. great content btw. Always enjoy the vids.
not a bad idea, if with expanding foam glue you can glue aerate blocks why not expanding foam. In some youtube video guy used exp. foam to stick vinyl plank flooring to wall,worked well- he used 646 solvent, not water. worked impressive. Other case -test was laminate flooring to wall stick. In results foam was not so good as sanitary silicone.
Good point. I'm going to do a video on the kitchen once I've pinned the guy who made it down to a date. I think it'll make for an interesting video - the pressures bespoke kitchen makers face and the distance between mass produced/ bespoke etc kitchens. 👊
Very informative as always I prefer soudal fix all high tack. Especially for MDF or UPVC skirting. Never had issues even on uneven walls with few if any mechanical fixings.
They sell a specific one for your tile backer as thermalites will suck all the moisture away. Also some.backers + tiles will be over the weigh capacity.
Back in 1986 when we moved to our current house I had UPVC windows installed. I watched them do the trim, much to my surprise they used foam. So I did what we all do and thoroughly interrogated them as to the how, what and why, I’ve used it ever since. Only due to my not being a tradesman I’ve managed to size up several guns. Problem now fixed, I thoroughly clean the gun after each session and have managed to keep the same one since I became a clean freak.
Thanks - that's really interesting to hear. Yes you do have to clean most guns but not the non stick ones. That said if I took a can off and didn't replace it I'd probably clean it out. 👊
Hi Charlie Bit of a hornet’s nest this one , but my take on this is if you can fix to the studs with screws then that does obviously give a good fixing . If in the future you need to remove a peace skirting etc it’s surprising how easily it is to locate the fixings and remove the filler from the screw heads and proceed as necessary . But if we are going to be realistic about this , if we are in need of removing something we would probably destroy the item and replace . And again how often in reality is this the case . Kind regards and best wishes as always 👍
Yes fair point and in fact that's what I've done in the past. I think the Lost Tite screws are an elegant solution though as you get the mechanical fixing, filling takes so much less time and if you had to lever the skirting away from the wall they'd just pull out.
What's the point in using this product if you are going to use screws? A simple nail guns and pins would do, but my favourite means of fixing with no holes to fill on my mdf projects, is sticklike shit type of product it works a treat both holding and sticking
Problem is your only sticking to the Paint not the face of the plaster bd or plaster. Never paint to the floor. If your skirting is 125mm, finish paint 100mm from floor.
Hi I'm a 43 year old father of 4 and am pretty useless at everything and have a strong aversion to tackle basically any project how can someone who is bad at decorating become more motivated please reply so I can give my family a better life
Hi there.. You just need to start on small jobs. At the moment it sounds like you've got the inertia of looking after 4 kids and the fear factor preventing you from having a go. Do a small job. Lots of research first so you know what you're doing and have a go. If you make mistakes it doesn't matter as you're learning. And when you do complete it you'll feel epic which is great for your mental health and will fire you up for the next one and so it continues as you increase confidence and tackle every large jobs allowing yourself a mini first pump every time you look at something you've done. After all that's how I got started. Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Agreed. I've just done a room and used grab adhesive. I didn't use any screws either, just held the boards in place with heavy weights while the adhesive went off. It worked fine for me.
After doing one room with white pinkgrip I looked for other solutions and gave foam a go. I used soudal low expansion and was so impressed the rest of my house is done that way. I’ve only ever had one board come loose - and that was in the pinkgrip room. Architraves were all pinned with gun but otherwise no mechanical fixings anywhere.
Recently converted a dwelling. Skirting all round. Have since removed about 3m in different areas to get furniture to fit snugly. As I'd used foam, it was easy to cut sections off wall with bread knife, and then clean off residue to refit. Foam also keeps airtightness / reduces draughts if beaded top and bottom.
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I'm a 69 year old electronic design engineer about to retire, waiting for knee replacements hence refurbing my downstairs toilet ready for downstairs living in recovery. Greatly appreciated your structured approach and background experimentation - as an engineer by nature I love to get the inside story to fully understand the whys and wherefores. It's not often that I do skirting so this has been enormously helpful.
I've used foam for MDF skirting/architrave. Here's some more tips...
* Use Instastick, avoid Soudal because Soudal continues to expand as it dries and will push the board away from the wall (not always possible to use clamps). Instastick is less prone to this.
* If you've got floorboards, create some T-shape chocks from spare wood/offcuts (6-8 inches) and screw them to the floor in front of the skirting, they'll hold the skirting in place whilst the foam sets - I use one every about every 50-60 cm. Be sure ** NOT ** to screw all the way through the floorboard when attaching chocks to floor - cus pipes and blah blah.
* Not all walls are like Charlies super-flat plasterboard walls, so If you've got a recently plastered wall to attach the skirting to, you'll probably have big recessed gap/lip at the bottom - if so I do 2 seperate trams lines of foam (rather than zig-zag lines). For the bottom foam line, I do a much thicker foam line to fill all the extra space - works like a charm.
* If fitting skirting behind pipes and those pipes are close to wall, put the skirting in-place before foaming, then pivot the top of the skirting away from wall - then foam in the gap. I learned the hard way that trying to slip a foamed-up skirting board behind pipes is going to be a disaster if those pipes are close to the wall, because the foamed-skirting will simply drag down the wall as you try to slide it down into place. The clean-up is soul-destroying.
* Upto you, but..... I've never glued, or screwed, or nailed any mitred corner on skirting or architrave when using foam. Never had any crack or move, the foam holds them absolutely solid
* Wear rubber gloves, foam's a nightmare on your skin
Thank you for sharing this. Between Charlie’s great (as usual) video and your supplementary comment, the info here is worth its weight in gold and is everything I would love to have known before I first used this foam.
I prefer Soudal because it is less error prone, just sticks really well, the 3 times he had to redo I've never had something like that, and I don't bother with water or waiting 5 mins, but sure I always clamp and leave it clamped for a few hours.
@@frankief7111 - I would say Soudal is more sticky/stronger (but not by much), but if you don't have clamps (or chocks) it's a real pain in the arse because of the expansion. Each to their own, I would stil buy Soudal if there was no Instastick
@@youtoob1811 thanks for the reply, for chocks I use cheap metal shelf brackets on the floor, one small screw in the floor is enough to push the bracket against the skirting board.
It's the best stuff ever. I used it throughout my house. Combine it with the instant glue for architrave mitres and it makes life so much better. It pads out the inconsistences in plaster at floor level and great for keeping spiders from the crevices as well as draft proofing. Let it start going off first and then just keep it pressed in place with a toolbox or similar.
Think you might have misunderstood the mitre glue? You put the typical glue side on first, then put the spray on the other side; you've got to be quick or it'll evaporate. It's not about sealing one side of it. It's about using the spray to activate the glue.
It's great stuff. Did a whole property's skirting and architraves with it.
Also allows you to make architraves as fully completed 'goal posts', that have tight corners and can be fixed to walls as one piece.
Thanks for this. You're right it's an activator not a sealant. Not sure why I said that. The instructions however on this Geocel say you have to allow it to evaporate before applying the adhesive to the other surface. That said there are probably better products out there than this Geocel.
@@CharlieDIYte Using masking tape applied the outer edge before applying the glue and activator will ensure the joint is tight and won't move during the curing process. Simply sit the lengths of wood/MDF face up with the mitre tips touching, apply the tape along the joint (on top surface only - don't wrap around the sides). Then you can carefully flip over, apply the glue and activator and then fold to bring the joint surfaces together. Peel the masking off once the bond is achieved. Note - this will only be practical for shorter lengths! Fab video Charlie - I didn't even know this stuff existed!
just use grab adhesive ffs!
Nice presentation. I like the suction cup idea... Couple of points..
After the plastering and before anything else, go around with a straight edge and check for high spots and deal with them at that stage before the site is clean, kitchen fitted etc..
I know this is boring but look for some knee pads. They can be a pain and I haven't found any that do not have drawbacks but Arthritic knees are not much fun.
Take care
Good point and yes I have knee pads. I had house maids knee once. One of THE MOST PAINFUL injuries I've ever had to endure 🤦
Great timing for this one, thanks for another good video!
You're very welcome. Thanks for the comment 🙏👊
I've been using decorator's caulk for years to stick skirting boards to walls, and it works great! As the caulk dries, it actually pulls the boards in tight to the wall. Plus, it's super easy to remove them later if needed, without damaging the wall or boards. Highly recommend this method!
Same here - I’ve never had any issues with skirting coming loose and they’re far easier to remove when you need too
It's a fair point. I've always thought it's adhesion was limited but it's occurring to hear that - thanks. 👍
@@charles3727 nice knowing I’m not the only one!
You can’t use caulk as an adhesive
@@user-tu1bi9wl3eI went to a customers who had stuck skirting with it and it was stuck like shit to a blanket
Can use plasterboard props off opposite walls. Can also extend them with 4x2 etc
Love the foam glue on the new quartz work surface technique.
Thanks Charlie, not something I particularly need to worry about currently, but as always worth watching and you manage to make it entertaining too, a great practical relatable channel, keeep it up !
PS. glad to see you looking and sounding not quite so knackered, hope it's easing up a bit finally !
Thanks Andy, appreciate your continued support 👊 Yes not too knackered right now. Just the constant anxiety of creating good content to keep the algorithms happy! But if I can do that whilst progressing the house, that's the sweet spot for me. 👊
Sometimes the area of the wall to which the skirting needs fixing is uneven, and I find a carefully placed brad nail or two helps in the skirting "hugging" the wall tightly.
Its great for small bits for plasterers, but its specifically used for boarding plasterboard on a wall that used to be wet, ie. a conservatory house side wall. For skirting I find the best is the old fashioned "wall screws" they dont call them that anymore since people started complaining, but really they aim to eliminate the need for a rawl plug - the nearest I could find was Gold Turbo PZs and even though they call them multipurpose they also call them wood screws. Anyway I have a whole house and kitchen put up with them, no rawl plugs at all and every time I mention it to anyone they seem to think its all going to come down one day - funny, only did the whole thing on my tod but people think I dont know what rawl plugs are.
Before people go barmy, II found a bag of "wall screws" in an old house from the early 60s, and in the loft there was an old wickes brochure. The only other thing I saw thats sold as "wall screws" are big wide hex bit types that struggle at going through wood, and even with an impact its difficult. Going through an ashenlite wall works but its too strong of a clamp and so you have to pre drill the timber and get it right first time.
With the PZs, I find it just works. I havnt done any stress testing; and with something heavy I just use more, but its really easy, bang bang, more time to focus on whats important; if its not a load bearing timber I will use it, if its something else I might go for a rawl plug, but I find with the PZs that even a large rawl plug will just tear up as its going through.
Its a ribbed, barbed design so it doesnt come out without a lot of force.
Thank you sir. Just about to do my first skirtings and your video could not have been better timed!
I've used Soudal adhesive foam on skirting in 4 rooms without a single failure. Excellent stuff. I chose the foam precisely because the walls behind the old skirting were very uneven. I just applied a bigger blob of foam there and it's not moved years later. Useful for fixing plasterboard too.
I did the same thing, started with instastik which i found too expensive and fussy needing the gun but did have better low expansion than most foam adhesives... but the soudal plasterboard adhesive is infinitely better... no need for a gun just buy the normal soudal plasterboard can as its not a fiddly job, cheaper and control isnt imperative. My method is to paint the skirting prior, spray water on the skirting back, apply 2 beads of no nonsense adhesive for about £1 a tube, to the borders of the skirting (nice to have a backup adhesive on the skirting and acts like a kerb to stop the foam poking out the top and bottom!) then a good wide bead of foam down the middle, offer it to the wall and it'll hold itself in about 60 seconds... i'd say grab a mate or the missus and then both apply even pressure with your feet holding it in place (or grab some bricks or similar) for a few minutes, once the initial expansion has gone off about 5 minutes your pretty safe from it moving away from the wall further. After a few hours, cauk it, tape it and paint the joint to the wall. Did the same with the architrave but used clamps to hold for 30 minutes during curing. Nothing has moved yet and the whole house has been done this way and it's been around 4 years now.
Beautiful work! I used only industrial adhesive glue (Loctite Power grab) to do the baseboards in my master and just caulked any gaps over top. I was worried about doing it this way since I don't have a nail gun, but realized the only time they would need to be removed is if there was a catastrophic house problem like a flood. Then the baseboards are the least of your worries as the drywall would be ruined and demolished on refurb. Was over a year ago all held great no separation still.
Thanks. Yes you're right of course but I guess the holy grail in life is design that's effective without being engineered, so I'm trying to achieve that here 👌
A lot of pros use painters mate to stick them. Do it myself. Also easy to remove in the future for changing floors etc.
Great video, when I saw the title I was wondering did I do it wrong.
Used it all over my apartment after renovation 4 years ago. (the same ones you showed in the video)
Of course with a mitre saw.
But... since the apartment is from the 50's no corner was exactly 90 degrees so it took ages to get a clean corner hehehe.
I glued them and shot a tiny nail (pneumatic) here and there (not many) through and into the wall and put a little putty in, so it is hidden from sight
Also had to put some putty on top and the wall.
Looking at you working, I still would do it my way again hehehehe
But yours looks fine too.
Job well done.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks and good to hear from you. Yes nothings perfect and in my rush to get this out before the weekend close I didn't include the final section where I had to fill the corner with 2 part wood filler. 👊
For the painting of skirting on tile, i get some over head projector acetate and slide that under the skirting. Saves having to mask off the entire room. For the kitchen definitely zinzer it, as it will be mopped and it will seal it feom water. I find with mdf zinzer first then fill. As on your precious mdf video's it prevents furing from sanding.
That's pretty much what I do Richard - except I tend to use a piece of paper. Acetate's a better option though 👌
When needing to have easy to remove base boards, i literally use a few dots of super glue. Just just JUST enough to keep it to the walls and able to wothstand the odd bump.
On removal a saw behind or a good tug removes it easily with no damage. Sand the glue dots down and redo properly afterwards.
In my old house I've used something similar to stick to crumbling brick which was recessed back compared to the years of skim on the walls.
Cheers for this. Very interesting and thanks for showing the pro's and con's
You're welcome. Thanks for the comment 👊
Great video Charile, learned some stuff about using paper for scribing and the use of the suction cup is genius. It would be interesting to do a price comparison between this and more traditional methods. I have about 25m of Skirting to fix in the next few weeks but I think I will stick with grab adhesive and use my plasterboard props to act as clamps.
Thanks. Yes I should have got my props out. Quite a few things I forgot to mention unfortunately 🤔
Hi Charlie, thanks for the post. I've been using some of the (Soudal I think) genius foam for plasterboards recently and have had good results. Captive foam dispenser tube comes with it. A little more expensive but no separate gun or cleaner needed. Love the suction cup idea; that's awesome, top marks. For skirting and architrave I've settled on Everbuild multistick. Very similar to Stixall with the only difference I can see being that multistick stipulates mechanical fix whereas Stixall does not. I used 16g nails for this which work really well moren or less everywhere. There is a 23g DeWalt nailer in the world but I think only US. A friend acquired one and honestly hasn't stopped singing it's praises since - almost invisible nail heads, pin-like, and don't even require filling prior to decoration. For your external mitres I'm sure you know that mitre adhesive accompanied by blue tape on the fold works a treat. Also the Collins mitre clamps are excellent👌...so many options!!!
When I did mine , I fixed the architraves first but before that I cut biscuit joiner slots to match up with slots cut into skirting board. The biscuit join keeps the 2 things in the same plane so you don't get a wonky join. I don't get why your mitre glue isn't working, maybe it was too wet or bad glue, screws just don't work well in MDF as it can split. I love the foam on other jobs but prefer a polymer adhesive like Multi Stick for that job.
Thanks for this. I like that biscuit idea 👌👊 Yes I don't know why it didn't work. Perhaps it's past it's sell by
When using mitre glue I find it best to spray both sides, then apply glue to one side before sticking and it works much better.
I used grab adhesive on my skirting boards and it worked just fine, three years and counting.
I was surprised that screws were used to hold skirting, baseboards, and architraves. In Canada it's been common just to use finish nails. Now that cordless nail guns are more common 18 gauge brad nails have become the new standard.
One thing against the adhesive foam is that they release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for some period of time after after their use. My personal preference would be to use nails, especially the brad nails, as the work to hide them is minimal and reduces the total VOCs from the project (where at least the paint contributes VOCs). The nails don't require one to find the wall studs.
I do appreciate all of your videos and seeing the options that you highlight through your projects. Thanks.
I actually gave finish nails only a try the only day in my house in the UK. The wall consisted of about 14mm of soft bonding plaster, then a fairly soft breezeblock. I found that I needed to use quite a lot of nails to get a firm fix (lots of filling require), and that the board was worked loose when I tried to trim one the ends with an oscillating tool (because of another error). I think it if was just plasterboard behind the skirting board it would have been fine, especially if I had "stitched" the nails. My new technique which has worked well so far for this kind of wall is to add a big bead of silicone to the back of the board, then use enough nails as needed to hold it in place while the glue goes off. I did notice that somebody in the 80s had just used regular 16 gauge nails to nail the old skirting board to the walls, and that also worked well.
@@jamesdcuk
Perhaps the difference is that in Canada the walls are usually covered with drywall (a flat panel consisting of gypsum plaster sandwiched in between two sheets of thick paper) which are screwed to the studs. The popularity of drywall is that after screwing it to the studs, the holes are fixed with joint compound or drywall putty and and joints are taped and covered with joint compound. Corners have a metal edge on them for protection and the edging is covered with joint compound. Once dried the joint compound and drywall putty is smoothed. Then it's ready for painting. It does take more nails than screws. Also if one uses long enough nails and position them right they will go through the wall covering and into the wall footer or the frame of the window or door to provide stronger hold.
@@jamesdcuk Usual procedure for me as a UK carpenter is to use brad nails fired with a paslode gun and solvent-free gripfil/ pinkgrip. The gripfil sticks initially, gets held in place under pressure by the nails and then glues it properly after it's gone off. Also, if you have to remove a bit of skirting or architrave the gripfil will not usually tear the plaster with it like foam can. Years ago we used standard gripfil, but the solvent-free is much better with dusty surfaces.
Thanks, sounds like I’m on the right track. I actually did try a grab adhesive once but found it was useless on my dusty walls.
Yes we have a similar construction here too, depending on how old the house is or if it is an internal wall or not. My parents house is much newer and has steel studs for the plasterboard. Upstairs in this house we actually have a corrugated cardboard fill (think ikea desk) between the two sheets of plasterboard! It did not catch on thankfully!
Also man please think about using a flap disk on a small angle grinder for coping cuts. It makes them perfect.
12:54
adding water is counter intuitive
it will dilute the chemical properties which have already been formulated to work (out of the box)
to aide adhesion:
i spray a thick bead around the perimeter in addition to thiner zig zag beads internally
this bead effectively acts like a suction cup, as you create a sealed edge
it also airlocks the internal zig zag beads whilst the chemical works its magic
expanding foam is about contact surface area, so i always make sure i have a decent percentage of the board covered which is more effective than a singular zig zag bead
Thanks for this. Yes I did think about a continuous bead.
The Soudal expanding foam I've been using specifically says to use water to aid adhesion, so dilution or not it's what the manufacturer recommends.
We are just about to start a loft conversion and im doing 99% of the decorating and final finish i might give this a go as the new walls "should" be dead straight
Go for it mate. It's my first choice now for fixing skirting. 👊
I've been foaming skirtings for a decade, I have never thought to wet the surfaces but can see it would be advantageous, I let the foam go off between 5 and 7 minutes dependant on the make, age etc, you want it to have skinned off and not stick to your finger like on the video, that will expand on contact and create a gap, I never ever use clamps as I get the foam to the right state where it acts as a grab adhesive, that state is where it has skinned off but will "burst" when pressed in place releasing the now tacky foam.
I have used laminate flooring as kitchen and bathroom splashbacks foamed in place, also for bed headboards foamed to the wall.
Stick on vinyl plank flooring is very good for wall use and also kitchen unit plinths but the glue can drip out with gravity during the summer and the pieces can slump if not brad nailed, using the foam adhesive on top of the sticky adhesive solves all these problems.
Good video!
Thanks for sharing your experience. That all makes perfect sense. . I found if I left it too long it just didn't adhere at all but can't argue with your experience here 😉👍
Too long and it wont stick, I pencil the time on the back that I must fit it then have a cuppa. I used to use caulk, it works, is quicker any excess can be wiped away filling any gaps but some detached in the following years, these were my own short term rental apartments that I cleaned between clients so could see anything like that. Guys working for customers rarely get called back for minor stuff, for them caulk is cheap, effective and fast
I've yet to do a house renovation where they've plastered down to the floorboards, it's usually affixed with chocks of wood wedged in the brickwork :)
Yes that's the traditional way of doing it.. I've got insulated walls though so that wouldn't work.
👍👍👍 Great tips. Thank you Charlie
Thanks Pete 🙏👊
Has anyone used foam to build internal block walls? Looking to block up an archway. Seems to be pretty common in mainland europe but i cant find any good guides(in english) regarding tieing into walls and how how much gap at the ends to be able to get the block in with foam on it.
No More Nail is particularly suited to fitting boards to plaster - no expansion and instant tack
Still pine and screws for me. I've taken off several Ogee and Torus skirting in my house which the previous owners have put up but which had become dust magnets with all the little intricate profiling with previous owners having just painted over the dust!!. Chamfered and round for me. Also when i've taken skirting off the grab adhesive has sometimes taken some of the plaster with it causing additional repairs to the wall before replaced it.
Each to their own 😉 Yes I've got rounded over pine in most of the bedrooms upstairs.
Based on you experiments/tests,should the wall and or plasterboard need to be moistened when using foam to dry line?
i always just use my brad nailer to pin it to the wall whilst the adhesive sets and it makes for easy filling
Just done about 90m of skirting in my place and used stixall and brad nails I’m not planing on removing it anytime soon 😂
I use D4 flooring adhesive to fix skirting boards etc just let it foam up a bit., also use offcut blocks of timber stuck to the floor with mitre bond to temp clamp the skirting to the wall (obviously not on tile!)
That's resourceful..I guess the D4 can drip a little so you've got to get the quantities right 👌
That's also PU 😂
Iv used stixall b4 but interested on foam addisive. Would you use it again?
Definitely prefer MDF skirting boards, far better than pine, plus you don’t get wood knots that need need sealing, priming, painting and even then still bleed through. Use of expanding foam adhesive is interesting thanks, I’ve not had a lot of success with grab adhesive, all to often it doesn’t grab sufficiently well and you end up having to use mechanical fixings
Always used the cleaner spray in the same way...until I discovered the big wipes are cheaper and easier. Gun in one hand, wipe in the other and clean as you go.
What do you think the best adhesive to stick mdf 4 inch kitchen upstand that has a laminate front thanks still enjoy watching your progress I watched when you put your kitchen upstanding and splash back
Thanks, really appreciate your watching my vids 🙏 I'd say some sort of grab adhesive - CT1 or similar? Pretty sure that's what they used on mine. There's still one section that I need to trim and they used colorsil silicone between the quartz surface and upstand.
Great video, thank you
Thanks Derek 👊
Did you need any decorators chaulk to seal the minor gaps?
Yes I'll be using caulk along the top. 👍
Great video as always Charlie. What would be your advice be to insulate 9inch walls internally?
impressed mate
Thanks 👊
Can I add; undercoat your mdf skirting before installation. I always go for two coats - two hours between coats. It makes the sanding between coats a breeze and limits the amount of time and mess while kneeling.
I'm hoping the primer will remove the need for undercoat. Am using Johnstone's Aquaguard top coat
Great video. Which suction cups do you use
Rubi - this one www.protilertools.co.uk/product/rubi-gsc-200-vacuum-suction-cup-21951
Can you add the magnets to your Amazon shop? (no link to magnets in your description above). Thanks!!
I'll add the links this morning. Here's the magnet - such a strong magnet, you'll love it! amzn.to/4ds5wnF
Charlie, you might find it easier to make the architrave set first, then pin to the frame. Walls and frame are not always straight and plumb and will give problems on the mitre cut. By making the set first, you will have perfect mitres regardless of anything being out of true. I find small spots of a grab adhesive and a headless pin to hold is all that is required. Someone might want to remove it at some point!
It's a fair point Jim, thanks. Yes in the past I've just adjusted the angle on the mitre cut to suit the frame but mitre bonding / screwing the corner and then offering up the complete architrave makes a lot of sense 👌👊
As a time served professional I glue skirtings and nail architraves. It's pointless dicking around trying to glue them on when you've got a timber door frame to nail into. Glue the mitres only and fill behind with caulk when set.
When you've got a wavy wall then you ignore it and put the skirting straight, fill any gaps in between. If you try to pull the skirt back into the hollows it'll look like a dogs nob when you stand back and look at it. That depends on how bad it is of course. You'll forever see a snaking skirting, but never notice the gap in between it and the wall if it's been filled well.
That's brilliant advice and you're right. In the bedroom I showed in the video I had some massive gaps behind the skirting and you can't see them at all now.
@@CharlieDIYte if you'd pulled it back to suit the wall it would have looked terrible forever more. I forgot to mention, door frames are straight which is why you use nails, walls are not so use adhesive. One of the best things to happen to skirtings, arch and dados was MDF, it's lovely stuff to work with.
You mentioned the markings on the back, this is possibly because they've been painted using a paint curtain (might be called something else). It's a continuous curtain or waterfall of primer and the MDF trims get pulled through it at high speed by a conveyor belt, when they get to the other side they slide to a halt on a bench and someone lifts them off.
When showing cutting with the mitre saw, it would be beneficial to show supporting the workpiece on both sides of the cut so that one side doesn’t flop around like a fish when the cut is done.
Yes I should have shown this. I had two blocks on the kitchen table, which I had filmed but I was under time pressures to get this video out and that's one of the segments I forgot to put in.
Try to use Soudal T-Rex (as it is called in Portugal). Great stuff
Thanks. I'll take a look at that.
Great video Charlie thank you as I have a full house to do all this work on over the next few months. I am not sure foam adhesive is good for me but may give it a try. I quite like mitre bond but the joint needs to be good and clean. Why don't you use a pin nailer on the corners rather than screws? and I bet you wish you had fitted that 4 way switch panel an inch further over so it was not bang up against the architrave ;-). Too many switches, should have gone smarter! But still a great project thank you.
Ha, yes the 4 way switch is annoying 🤣 Yes I'd give it a try and see how you get on. 👊 I could have used my pin nailer but a) not everyone has one and b) on some corners I wanted the strength of screws in case the mitre got pulled apart by the skirting being clamped (that uneven wall I showed you) but I guess the PVA would stop that happening.
@@CharlieDIYte Thanks for taking the time to reply. Will update you on what we do.
What was the suction cup you were using?
If I may suggest a good method for this: apply a bead of adhesive to the part being fixed and rather than waiting for it to dry slightly, apply it straight away such that the adhesive presses flat and pull the part away. Wait 5 or 10 minutes and apply the adhesive again and wait for it to dry as per instructions and fit. You will find that it sticks a lot better.
The first layer of adhesive acts like a primer and is completely flat and doesn't add any significant thickness to the joint.
It's a good point that - you can see the priming effect in that test I did near the end.👌
I’ve just used all purpose decorating adhesive I used for my shower panels
Easy peasy
Good work 👌
3:53 Respect
Thanks 🙏👊
The expanding foam rabbit hole😂. Try some on your cornflakes guys👍
If you don't get enough foam on one part the board, and you don't want to remove it and start again, put on a bit of masking tape, drill a 3mm hole and squirt the foam through the board into the space behind.
Thanks. Yes I did that on the kitchen walls. Only problem is when you don't know how much you're spraying in and suddenly the whole wall starts bulging out 😉
This is the same technique I used to fix areas of creaking/bouncing in my floating engineered-wood floor, as well as to stabilise some wobbly plasterboard around my window reveals.
Foam adhesive seems to be like an oscillating multitool - there may be technically better tools for each of the jobs it can do, but there are some scenarios where nothing else can manage what it can do and it’s an absolute life-saver.
@@CharlieDIYte Haha yes that’s the trouble I had when I used it to fix some creaking in my floating floor caused by low spots in the concrete subfloor. The creaking is cured but now those low-spots are high-spots 😅
Good video, What screws did you use.
Lost-tite from Tite Fix 3.5x45mm from memory but I think Tongue Tite are slightly longer and spax also do them
All dining room fixed with this its brill
It's great isn't it Terry 👊
Hi Charlie - after a little time, is the mdf still well bonded?
Yes once it's bonded it's bonded, the only exception being when I unclamped that piece that was under pressure.
Which Skil mitre saw is it you use?
It's this one toolsandhardware.eu/product/skil-cordless-216mm-single-bevel-sliding-miter-saw-bt1e3590ca/ but not widely available on the UK annoyingly
Top stuff as usual Charlie.
Do your MDF cuts outside if possible buddy. Its ok you wearing a mask, but if theres other people or animals around, not good stuff that dust.
Fair point. I was being a bit lazy but with this weather I didn't really have the opportunity and traipsing up to the garage, I'd never have got it done.
thanks for expanding on this subject🤣
🤣👍
A little tip. You should of placed some masking tape on the floor before fitting the skirting boards makes life easier when painting .
Thanks Darren. I put a 1mm glazing packer under so I can slide a piece of paper under as I paint. I've seen trades so what you suggest and then just trim it off but I'm not sure I'd want to leave Any tape under the skirting.
Right I'm off to watch another video about why you can't just 45 bevel internal skirting corners!
I talk about it in this one. Basically if the corner isn't 90 degrees you can end up with a gap whereas with the scribe technique it's much more forgiving ruclips.net/video/-ZJLzHCezzU/видео.htmlsi=r__X-83AlY4F2-IB 😉
Found big box stores the skirting is always thicker than the arcatrave leading to a terrible transition at the doorways. Why do they even sell it different thicknesses?
Not sure why unless someone's mixing and matching 2 products that affect designed to go together. Mine are the same thickness.
@@CharlieDIYtehad to go and see how much was user error. And nearly all skirting is 18mm but half of MDF arcatrave is 14.5 or 15mm and half 18mm. So DIY error on my part to a point .however why such a choice of 15mm arcatrave is beyond me as will never work with majort
of skirting.
great content btw. Always enjoy the vids.
not a bad idea, if with expanding foam glue you can glue aerate blocks why not expanding foam. In some youtube video guy used exp. foam to stick vinyl plank flooring to wall,worked well- he used 646 solvent, not water. worked impressive.
Other case -test was laminate flooring to wall stick. In results foam was not so good as sanitary silicone.
Thanks - some good points there 👌👊
it's not a advert for Channel, but link what I mentioned upper, regarding expanding foam
ruclips.net/video/ScgZfgAKTQw/видео.htmlsi=APwD4PeteybJw_HC
Can we see your finished kitchen tour?
Good point. I'm going to do a video on the kitchen once I've pinned the guy who made it down to a date. I think it'll make for an interesting video - the pressures bespoke kitchen makers face and the distance between mass produced/ bespoke etc kitchens. 👊
I'm confused, where are the affiliate links? I see the list of 'Today's Toolkit' but no actual links?
Putting them in now. Sorry about that. It was such a rush to get it done I couldn't face sorting all the links 🤦
Never use pine it’s awful nowerdays pin and glue job done
Very informative as always
I prefer soudal fix all high tack.
Especially for MDF or UPVC skirting.
Never had issues even on uneven walls with few if any mechanical fixings.
Thanks Paul 👊
Hi Charlie. How about using this stuff for tile backers to thermalite bricks?...with some mechanical fixings after it's dried.
They sell a specific one for your tile backer as thermalites will suck all the moisture away. Also some.backers + tiles will be over the weigh capacity.
@@Swwils thanks. Do you thinks sealing the wall with some PVA will help? I will also use plenty of mechanical fixings
@@TrickyTree84No. You will need mechanical fixings anyway.
Nooice!
Thanks mate 👊
Back in 1986 when we moved to our current house I had UPVC windows installed. I watched them do the trim, much to my surprise they used foam. So I did what we all do and thoroughly interrogated them as to the how, what and why, I’ve used it ever since. Only due to my not being a tradesman I’ve managed to size up several guns. Problem now fixed, I thoroughly clean the gun after each session and have managed to keep the same one since I became a clean freak.
Thanks - that's really interesting to hear. Yes you do have to clean most guns but not the non stick ones. That said if I took a can off and didn't replace it I'd probably clean it out. 👊
👏👏👏👏
Hi Charlie Bit of a hornet’s nest this one , but my take on this is if you can fix to the studs with screws then that does obviously give a good fixing . If in the future you need to remove a peace skirting etc it’s surprising how easily it is to locate the fixings and remove the filler from the screw heads and proceed as necessary . But if we are going to be realistic about this , if we are in need of removing something we would probably destroy the item and replace . And again how often in reality is this the case . Kind regards and best wishes as always 👍
Yes fair point and in fact that's what I've done in the past. I think the Lost Tite screws are an elegant solution though as you get the mechanical fixing, filling takes so much less time and if you had to lever the skirting away from the wall they'd just pull out.
What's the point in using this product if you are going to use screws? A simple nail guns and pins would do, but my favourite means of fixing with no holes to fill on my mdf projects, is sticklike shit type of product it works a treat both holding and sticking
Difficult (!) to remove though.
No spray foam Sds on 6 speed hammer. 5.5 mm bit red plugs every 600mm. No glue either. Works for me
Any adhesive, brads and mitre glue. Why are you making it so difficult? Never gule archs to wall but always glue the mitres together.
I bet you made better joints in your college / uni days? 😁
Surprised you did not use nails I have 18g nail gun using foam and nails if uneven but in most old houses work in is the case.
i use tile adhesive
Problem is your only sticking to the Paint not the face of the plaster bd or plaster.
Never paint to the floor. If your skirting is 125mm, finish paint 100mm from floor.
Architrave first skirting boards after golden rule 😂
I know Ian, but rules are there to be broken 😉 like the nonsensical rule that you shouldn't silicone the inside of a shower screen.
What are the screws?
Tongue tights
@@aaronbell8527 lost tights
Yep. Tongue Tite and Lost Tite are pretty similar and both produced by Titefix. Tongue Tite are 3.5x49mm whereas the Lost Tite are 3.5 x 45mm
Hi I'm a 43 year old father of 4 and am pretty useless at everything and have a strong aversion to tackle basically any project how can someone who is bad at decorating become more motivated please reply so I can give my family a better life
Hi there.. You just need to start on small jobs. At the moment it sounds like you've got the inertia of looking after 4 kids and the fear factor preventing you from having a go. Do a small job. Lots of research first so you know what you're doing and have a go. If you make mistakes it doesn't matter as you're learning. And when you do complete it you'll feel epic which is great for your mental health and will fire you up for the next one and so it continues as you increase confidence and tackle every large jobs allowing yourself a mini first pump every time you look at something you've done. After all that's how I got started. Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Gripfill all day
Not for me, I’ll stick with grab adhesive
Fair enough Brian. 👌
Agreed. I've just done a room and used grab adhesive. I didn't use any screws either, just held the boards in place with heavy weights while the adhesive went off. It worked fine for me.
After doing one room with white pinkgrip I looked for other solutions and gave foam a go. I used soudal low expansion and was so impressed the rest of my house is done that way. I’ve only ever had one board come loose - and that was in the pinkgrip room. Architraves were all pinned with gun but otherwise no mechanical fixings anywhere.
FOAM
if you take the attitude that you might want to remove your work at a later date, id just give up charlie🤣
and when you corner butt the scribe joint, just put a line of caulk on it and wipe off the excess. duh
Recently converted a dwelling. Skirting all round. Have since removed about 3m in different areas to get furniture to fit snugly. As I'd used foam, it was easy to cut sections off wall with bread knife, and then clean off residue to refit. Foam also keeps airtightness / reduces draughts if beaded top and bottom.
Short answer no you wally!
Boo 🤣
Spray MDF with water ... 😳
It's fine because it's primed. It might also be MR MDF but I can't say that for certain
16gauge pin gun and sticks like s***
Yep, fair point 👌
Jeez. Just use grab adhesive then dovetail nail it job done.
I'd probably agree except where you've got a big gap behind.