Skirting board options

longwalks1

Am decorating 3 x bedrooms, all of which have been or will need plastering so basically starting from scratch, and will be laying engineered wood flooring in all of them. What options do I have for skirting, was looking at primed mdf then painting it gloss, but guy who painted my rooms said use eggshell or satin instead?

What about the plastic ones, they got good reviews on Amazon, but surely they'd look a bit, well, er... rubbish?

TheCyclingProgrammer

Pre-primed MDF skirting is fine, it's what we have used (I got mine from skirting4u.co.uk and the primed finish is sprayed and of good quality). Depending on how it is fixed to the wall, you may need to fill any nail holes and spot prime.

Top coat is entirely down to you and a matter of taste and aesthetic. IMO gloss is a bit old hat and too shiny for me but it will be hard-wearing. We have painted all the woodwork in our house (including skirting, architrave, stair sides and balustrade, some bespoke shelving and cabinets, and the upstairs doors) in eggshell as I prefer the flatter, less shiny look. I used Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell in Loft White and it's easy to work with.

vansboy

I used a mini roller and painted all the architrave and skirting from scratch, when I had everything skimmed. Leyland paints, satin white and their primer as well. Both water based, easy on and fast drying.

I thought the pre painted timbers were dear and you still end up repainting, so not very mse wise.

VB

CathA

My parents had plastic skirting boards. They were horrible. That's all!

phil24_7

I redid my bedrooms a couple of years ago and replaced all skirting with pine. It was all primed, then glossed, and still looks fantastic...IMHO!

Grenage

Use satinwood or gloss; the latter is harder-wearing, but shinier. If you really like a more matte look then you can get away with eggshell as long as you don't expect it to be anywhere near as hardy.

DigForVictory

Go for unpainted oiled or waxed skirting boards, which you can take off for repolishing as needed?
Downside is they need to be nice wood to start with but they can look glorious.

Waterlily24

Our doors, skirting and architraves are all painted in eggshell, we prefer it to gloss.

longwalks1

Thanks everyone, did you all buy from local DIY stores? (apart from CyclingProgrammer)

DRP

Pre-primed mdf & eggshell is my favoured combination of ease, cost & looks.

I got mine from wickes, but the skirting4u website mentioned above looks pretty comprehensive and decent value.

phil24_7

If you get wood then go to a local timber yard or timber specialist. The quality of wood will be far and away better than the sheds and is usually cheaper.

Regards
Phil