draughts from skirting

hotcookie101

We had wooden floors fitted last year (engineered wood floor, fitted as floating floor with acoustic gold underlay)

The skirting was lifted and replaced. In the living room, in the bay window (where the radiator is) there are little wood circles around the pipe (one of which came loose today, and I can't get it back again, so spent ages on the floor, hence my discovery!)

There is a rotten draught from the skirting in this area (and from around the pipes now the ring thing isn't there) There is a small gap between the floor and skirting (millimetres, not much) Would it be OK to run caulk along the edge to try and seal this gap? I have to admit to having done this at the front door when it was first fitted as there was a big gap where the upvc had been trimmed, so was making the hall really draughty

mart.vader

"Would it be OK to run caulk along the edge to try and seal this gap?"

Yes

cox377

Not sure if caulk is your best option, it can look very dirty and isnt so great at being cleaned. I have the same problem as you and I'm considering runing a silicon strip around the edgh and using a very small profile to shape it off nicely.

someone may have better ideas

tony6403

You could buy pipe collars - wood or pvc - which clip on.

Bettie

I poked newspaper into the gap and then put bath sealant in and levelled it off flush. I wasn't worried about the draughts but wanted to keep spiders from hiding there. It's still ok 5 years on.

hotcookie101

tony6403 wrote: »

You could buy pipe collars - wood or pvc - which clip on.

We have those, but one came off and I cant get it back around(need the heating to be off i think, as there isn't enough space at the back between it and the skirting) but there is draughts coming from behind them and under the skirting...

hotcookie101

Looks like sealant might be the best thing-would you use white or clear?

ic

I'd go with clear, it'll draw less attention to itself. You can get brown too, though that's more matched to brick than wood.

Jonesya

You can get sealants specifically coloured for use with timber floors (note I haven't tried these myself yet):

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Adhesives+Sealants/Sealants/Timber+Laminate+Sealant+310ml+Mahogany/d180/sd2350/p17098

redlee

hotcookie101 wrote: »

Looks like sealant might be the best thing-would you use white or clear?

It depends if your walls/skirting boards are painted, if you use silicone sealant you wont be able to paint it when it comes to redecorating time so it can stand out. Decorators caulk is paintable so will be less noticeable.

tony6403

hotcookie101 wrote: »

We have those, but one came off and I cant get it back around(need the heating to be off i think, as there isn't enough space at the back between it and the skirting) but there is draughts coming from behind them and under the skirting...

Hacksaw or sand a bit off to make it fit and then use this type of sealant
Unibond super all purpose paintable sealant brown ivory a superior water based paintable sealant that is suitable for most sealing tasks around ...