Can wooden skirting be fitted in a round room?

[JoceAndChris]

Just wondering whether it could be fitted in the porch I've nearly finished decorating as the unskirted curved wall looks odd.

Is it easy to get wood to curve?

Or I could just paint fictive skirting on that bit. If I were to do that, how would you draw the line on the wall? It's about 2metres long and a sharp curve.

 

[Nigel Watts]

It depends a little on the tightness of the curve and the thickness of the board, but it can certainly be done. The boards can be made easier to bend by making a series of shallow vertical saw cuts on the back.

 

[Penners]

You could fit a skirting board if you want to, but it won't be a straightforward job (no pun intended).

If you want to use normal softwood skirting, preparing it to fit a curved wall involves a large number of saw cuts, so it's not something that you (or, ahem, dad) should really consider undertaking without access to a crosscut saw (or a man who has one).

The principle is to make a large number of crosscuts (ie: cuts across the grain) on the back of the board(s), a fairly short distance apart. The cuts should go about 2/3rds of the way through the wood. The number and closeness of the cuts that you'll need can only be ascertained by knowing the radius of the curvature, plus a fair bit of trial and error. But generally you end up cutting about every 20 - 30 mm.

Once you've made this very large number of cuts, you should find that your board is sufficiently flexible to bend around a cuved wall (provided the curvature is not too tight). Spring it gently and slowly into position, and secure with screws. You'll then need a large economy size of Polyfilla to fill all the cuts that will be visible on the top edge.

This suggestion comes with a few warnings! Firstly, be prepared to practice a fair bit with scrap bits of wood, to get the right technique. Every piece of wood and every curve is different, so it's difficult to be too prescriptive about the closeness and depth of the cuts. Secondly, try to ensure that your boards are as clear (ie: free from knots) as possible. A knot in the wrong place can produce a nasty cracking sound, and a welter of bad language. Thirdly, the technique actually works a lot better if the cuts are on the front of the board, but that leaves you with so much filling that it's probably out of the question. So do make your bend gently and slowly.

Alternatively, if you're prepared to abandon your principles and use MDF, you can buy flexible MDF boards (with the cuts pre-cut) from many timber merchants - I think Wickes sell it. But of course it won't have any moulding on it.

Or (whisper it very quietly) there are flexible skirting board mouldings made in various forms of plastic: http://www.realoakfloors.co.uk/flexi_mouldings_oak_finish_skirting.php

I bet your painted skirting is starting to sound attractive! :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Gosh, what a wonderfully detailed reply from Mr P! Thank you, and thanks Nigel also for saying it can be done.

The technique is really interesting, but you've rumbled me, I wouldn't be doing it myself. Poor Dad has already been charged with the task of rebuilding a plate rack I got off EBay that was too small for my plates, so I think this will have to go to the bottom of his list, and I'll paint fictive skirting whilst I wait.

The breakfast room really deserves the method you describe though- at the moment there's very unattractive trunking in place of skirting.

I've used the plastic stuff elsewhere, but it dents and makes a terrible scratchy noise when you brush up against it!

 

[MdB]

The alternative to lots of cuts (a cross slide mitre saw is a must) is to steam it. If you have a long pipe, insulation and a method to generate the steam then you could do this yourself but I can see this being rather a lot of a phaff.

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/WOODWORKINGBENDING_WOOD.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dg7mWlRHJw

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

Joce,

Another alternative would be to laminate the skirting in-stu, though as mentioned the tightness of the curve will be a factor. For example, to produce an 18mm thick skirting you could build up three layer of 6mm mdf or plywood, glued together. These can either be built up one at a time, or the whole sandwich glued up and then bent into place and wedged, pinned or screwed to hold it in place whilst the glue dries. Decorative profile on the top edge might be built up in the same way with beadings, or machined out of the glued-up solid with a router before final fitting.

Another alternative, if it's a fairly shallow curve, is simply to jack or wedge a straight piece of wood into place by force. This method works ok for large radius bends, but does rely on having defect-free timber and reliable fastenings to hold the bent wood in place i.e. good fixings into the wall. After a period of days / weeks the timber will creep to take up its new shape - the problem is holding it in place until it stops trying to spring back to its original shape.

So perhaps just painting on a false skirting would be easier!

 

[Flyfisher]

I've always fancied having a go at steaming wood to bend it but have never had a particularly good excuse.

The only time I tried was after reading about using a hot-air gun (paint stripper) to straighten walking sticks and was amazed at how well it worked. The wood (only one-inch hazel sticks in this case) becomes really plastic when suitably heated right through and becomes very pliable. When allowed to cool while being held in its new position it will stay put when released from the clamps/jigs. It seems a bit odd at first but is very satisfying.

Not particularly helpful for long lengths of skirting board though.

What's the radius of the room in question Joce? It might help to determine the best method to try.

 

[MdB]

Or I could just paint fictive skirting on that bit. If I were to do that, how would you draw the line on the wall? It's about 2metres long and a sharp curve.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/41974/Hand-Tools/Lasers-Levelling/Lasers/1st-2nd-Fix/Rotary-Laser-Level

 

[Flyfisher]

Wow - they've come down in price!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, you're all so clever. I'm still struggling on without a laptop so can't quote you as o nomally would as the iPhone is very diffy.

But so many wAys to get wood to curve! Amazing.

FF - you say a scary word, radius, is that like measuring around your waist? Or through the middle of a circle?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks for the suggestion of the rotary laser too, bit scared of that but my cat would be very pleased.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Small sections at a time with the cross cuts works fine, did it in Norfolk where we had the crinkle crankle walls in one room.

 

[MdB]

FF - you say a scary word, radius, is that like measuring around your waist? Or through the middle of a circle?

Any measurement would do as long as you tell us what you have measured.


For your info:

Circumference: length all the way around the porch (or your waist).

Diameter: distance from one side of the porch to the other.

Radius: distance from the centre of the porch to the edge.

Diameter will be twice the radius.

Circumference will be three times the diameter (if you are a bible reader - if you are a scientist then it is a bit more and involves pi but three will do for your porch. (If you are a cook then don't get confused with pie. I like pie...))

 

[FamilyWiggs]

FF - you say a scary word, radius, is that like measuring around your waist? Or through the middle of a circle?

Any measurement would do as long as you tell us what you have measured.


For your info:

Circumference: length all the way around the porch (or your waist).

Diameter: distance from one side of the porch to the other.

Radius: distance from the centre of the porch to the edge.

Diameter will be twice the radius.

Circumference will be three times the diameter (if you are a bible reader - if you are a scientist then it is a bit more and involves pi but three will do for your porch. (If you are a cook then don't get confused with pie. I like pie...))

Good grief, MdB, that's such a cavalier attitude to accuracy! :roll: Next you'll be telling her an inch is 25mm ! I sometimes wonder if I am the only one on here who cares about measurements! :lol:

Joce you've told us that your room is round, but not whether it is circular. And before anyone points it out, there is a difference, and it is probably related to the origin of the words - Anglo-Saxon (rough) vs Norman French (refined)?

 

[MdB]

Good grief, MdB, that's such a cavalier attitude to accuracy! :roll: Next you'll be telling her an inch is 25mm ! I sometimes wonder if I am the only one on here who cares about measurements! :lol:

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Pi_equals_exactly_three

You can use 22/7, 355/113 or 4 - 4/3 + 4/5 - 4/7 + 4/9 - ... if you wish.

 

[Flyfisher]

I sometimes wonder if I am the only one on here who cares about measurements! :lol:

. . . in which case you've probably already got a copy of this: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vcbPYQ85FoYC&dq.

. . . just for everyday use you understand - there are more accurate versions for precision jobs (anyway, I'm sure there's an error on p276) :wink:

 

[Flyfisher]

FF - you say a scary word, radius, is that like measuring around your waist? Or through the middle of a circle?

Sorry about that.

Imagine a length of string with a pencil at one end. Hold the other end in one place and draw an arc with the pencil (or a full circle if you wish). The length of string is the radius.

Now imagine drawing the arc of your skirting board in the same way. How long a piece of string would you need to match the curve of your wall? That's the radius of curvature of the wall, and thus the skirting board. The longer the radius, the gentler the curve. No need to be precise though, it's just to give us an idea about which bending method might be most appropriate.

 

[MdB]

. . . in which case you've probably already got a copy of this: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vcbPYQ85FoYC&dq.

I can't believe that there was a follow up to that book...
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yHBcQwAACAAJ&source=gbs_slider_thumb

The next volume is going to have to be a bit larger though...
http://www.geekosystem.com/pi-five-trillion-digits-alexander-yee-shigeru-kondo/

 

[Nigel Watts]

Circumference: length all the way around .... your waist

This is something I have been working out how to do properly. I think I have now got it:

the model in the picture is not me, in case you were wondering

 

[Schoolmarm]

:lol: