What to fit first, Skirting Boards or Carpet?

davetrousers

I am in the process of decorating my living room. I have ripped off the skirting boards and will be fitting new skirting but would it be best to fit a nice new carpet before the new skirting or vice versa? Thanks

aliasojo

Skirting first.

liitleblackcat

Skirting first, paint it and wait a week for the paint to dry thoroughly, then put down gripperods about 2cm from the edges, then insert underlay between the gripperods, then get someone to lay the carpet (or buy a kicker and a very sharp knife).

davetrousers

Thanks chaps. Would it be easier/better to paint skirting boards before sticking them to to the wall? And is it best to glue them to the wall rather than nailing?

aliasojo

Depends on how straight and even your walls are tbh. A nice flat even wall would be a doddle to stick skirting to whereas an uneven one might be better screwed to ensure it was pulled in tight enough at gappy areas of wall. You may still have to fill gaps along the top anyway.

Dont think there is any 'right' answer to this, it's just what best suits the job.

Personally I prefer to fix first (with nails or screws if needed) then paint/varnish but I know others who do it the other way round.

flang

I Usually glue the skirting to the wall and then bang nails in every metre or so.
Mitre glue is great for tricky corners

brownbake

liitleblackcat wrote: »

Skirting first, paint it and wait a week for the paint to dry thoroughly, then put down gripperods about 2cm from the edges, then insert underlay between the gripperods, then get someone to lay the carpet (or buy a kicker and a very sharp knife).

Don't bother with fitting a carpet yourself. Sounds like you are doing it properly and like plastering - may look easy - it isn't!!

By all means source these things yourself.

Fit skirting and then paint. You will possibly have to fill - walls are rarely square. Just fit, paint, carpet.