Dave W
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- Evesham, Worcestershire
Is it worth using stainless steel screws to alleviate rust concerns ?
- Thread starter Mark Barrett
- Start date
88v8
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Dave W said:
Good point.
Can't believe how cheap they are. Mind you, we have an excellent supplier just five miles away.
The other recent thing now I started using an electric driver because of my 'tennis elbow', how easy Pozi screws are compared to slot head. Only one drill size needed, quick to fix or remove.
Mind you, would never use Pozis where they're visible, but stainless Pozis for concealed fixings, yes.
Not all 'progress' is regressive.
Ivor
Penners
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What do you mean: "Trouble is..."? Buying tools is what the male was put on earth to do.88v8 said:
Andrew Bodenham
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Mark Barett,
Welcome to the forum.
A couple of thoughts on fixing skirtings:
Firstly, a 9" skirting is very deep, and if formed from one piece of timber will always be subject to a tendancy to 'curl up' as it dries out, or possibly to curl the otherway if it gets damper due to contact with masonry wall (assuming it's an external wall). Anyway, it helps to keep the skirting flat if you can put in a pair of fixings at each location, one near the top and the other near the bottom. If fixing to a damp(ish) external wall I'd put a layer of polythene behind the skirting to stop it from cupping / eventually rotting. The suggestion of stainless screws is very sensible, as these days they are very cheap and offer far greater durability.
If your skirtings are already cupped then making a number of relieving cuts along the length to perhaps half the thickness of the board, using a circular saw, can help them to flatten out again in conjunction with some good fixings.
I always screw skirtings in place, and always counterbore and plug the holes (10mm plug for 4mm screws or 5mm screws, 12mm plug for 6mm screws). Tapered plugs are best - often available on ebay though better if you make your own.
I find that even after painting the location of plugs is usually detectable - with careful looking - and if necessary the plugs can be removed by pilot drilling in the middle of it and inserting another screw which acts as a 'corkscrew'. This only works if the plugs are friction fitted rather than glued in. Over the years I have been very pleased to be able to remove skirtings easily in this way to carry out various other jobs such as wiring alterations. Where skirtings are nailed on you usually have to lever against the plaster to start removing them, and I have found that this invariably causes damage.
What is the substrate you are fixing to? Brick is generally staightforward, but I have very hard limestone bedded in mortar which in places is little more than earth - this makes for some very frustrating fixing attempts!
Welcome to the forum.
A couple of thoughts on fixing skirtings:
Firstly, a 9" skirting is very deep, and if formed from one piece of timber will always be subject to a tendancy to 'curl up' as it dries out, or possibly to curl the otherway if it gets damper due to contact with masonry wall (assuming it's an external wall). Anyway, it helps to keep the skirting flat if you can put in a pair of fixings at each location, one near the top and the other near the bottom. If fixing to a damp(ish) external wall I'd put a layer of polythene behind the skirting to stop it from cupping / eventually rotting. The suggestion of stainless screws is very sensible, as these days they are very cheap and offer far greater durability.
If your skirtings are already cupped then making a number of relieving cuts along the length to perhaps half the thickness of the board, using a circular saw, can help them to flatten out again in conjunction with some good fixings.
I always screw skirtings in place, and always counterbore and plug the holes (10mm plug for 4mm screws or 5mm screws, 12mm plug for 6mm screws). Tapered plugs are best - often available on ebay though better if you make your own.
I find that even after painting the location of plugs is usually detectable - with careful looking - and if necessary the plugs can be removed by pilot drilling in the middle of it and inserting another screw which acts as a 'corkscrew'. This only works if the plugs are friction fitted rather than glued in. Over the years I have been very pleased to be able to remove skirtings easily in this way to carry out various other jobs such as wiring alterations. Where skirtings are nailed on you usually have to lever against the plaster to start removing them, and I have found that this invariably causes damage.
What is the substrate you are fixing to? Brick is generally staightforward, but I have very hard limestone bedded in mortar which in places is little more than earth - this makes for some very frustrating fixing attempts!
Penners
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It's also advisable to paint the back of the board as well as the front, to give a balancing effect.Andrew Bodenham said:
TheRoost
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plasticpigeon said:
It's interesting to learn how they did it traditionally, my experience with a modern house where they whack in brads right through the plaster and directly into the aircrete block...i'd always wondered how they did it in old solid brick built houses, glad to know it was a bit more precise!
Penners
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In the Georgian house we once had in north Oxfordshire, the wall fixings for the skirtings were built-in during the construction of the house. They were timber "grounds" running the full length of the wall, flush with the face of the bricks.