Skirting board around fire place

stevoh

Hi All

We recently had a wood burning stove and nee hearth fitted. I was expecting them to provide a full finish, but apparently not.

The wall was replastered afterwards, however there’s an untidy bit at the bottom. 

I’m a complete DIY novice, but trying to develop my skills and do more of the basic jobs around my house.

Would fitting new skirting board be a straight forward task, or something that I need to bring in a carpenter to do? The issue is that it needs to be cut to fit around the hearth, and on the corner the wall is slightly proud of the cupboard beside, so it’ll need to be cut to fit that too. Any advice would be much appreciated. 

grumbler

IMO, the easiest way to do this is to

1. remove the odd wooden bits next to the hearth,
2. plaster the wall neatly to the very bottom and leave it without any skirting board* or add some sort of beading (possibly, quater-round to match the skirting board)
3. extend the skirting boards to the hearth (or replace them with longer ones). It will need cut-outs to accommodate the protrusion.

* in this case when plastering put a piece of paper on the hearth under the plaster (to prevent the latter sticking to the hearth) and make a perfect corner. After the plaster sets and dries, sand it and paint. Then cut the paper along the wall with a sharp blade.

FreeBear

grumbler said: plaster the wall neatly to the very bottom and leave it without any skirting board* or add some sort of beading (possibly, quater-round to match the skirting board)

Detail of my hearth & skirting (yes, I know. It needs a clean)...

Ectophile

They will have hacked back the skirting boards because you're not supposed to have anything combustible within 30cm of the wood burner, in case it overheats and catches fire.

stevoh

Ectophile said:

They will have hacked back the skirting boards because you're not supposed to have anything combustible within 30cm of the wood burner, in case it overheats and catches fire.

No I was actually told by the fitter that you can have skirting up to the opening 

Mutton_Geoff

The gadget you need to join the new bit to old at 45 degrees (and to finish the ends nearest to the log burner) is called a mitre box. You'll need to prep the wall a bit and sand the plaster edges back to flush.

grumbler

Mutton_Geoff said:

The gadget you need to join the new bit to old at 45 degrees (and to finish the ends nearest to the log burner) is called a mitre box.

IMO, connecting at 45 degrees is no better than at 90. Finishing the ends in this case is easier to do with a file or a sander.

mandy47

I have 2 burners. One with skirting right up to the opening and the other without. In my opinion the one without looks much nicer. Wish I'd had them both without.

Mutton_Geoff

grumbler said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

The gadget you need to join the new bit to old at 45 degrees (and to finish the ends nearest to the log burner) is called a mitre box.

IMO, connecting at 45 degrees is no better than at 90. Finishing the ends in this case is easier to do with a file or a sander.

I was thinking of the dead end nearest to the fireplace opening, a nice 45 degree chamfer across the end of the skirting profile finishes it off nicely. All the skirting I've installed was Ogee or Torus and a 90 degree join would be a real pain. A slice at 45 degrees with the mitre saw saved a lot of making good.

stevoh

Mutton_Geoff said:

grumbler said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

The gadget you need to join the new bit to old at 45 degrees (and to finish the ends nearest to the log burner) is called a mitre box.

IMO, connecting at 45 degrees is no better than at 90. Finishing the ends in this case is easier to do with a file or a sander.

I was thinking of the dead end nearest to the fireplace opening, a nice 45 degree chamfer across the end of the skirting profile finishes it off nicely. All the skirting I've installed was Ogee or Torus and a 90 degree join would be a real pain. A slice at 45 degrees with the mitre saw saved a lot of making good.

Thanks. Is this all a straight forward job for a newbie DIYer? 

Mutton_Geoff

Very easy, just buy a saw, mitre box and a length of skirting to practise on. I prefer primed mdf skirting as it doesn't have knots and doesn't warp.