Attaching skirting

[samaudio]

Hello,

I'm trying to fit skirting in a room of my victorian house. My problem is that when I try to attach the boards with screws and rawl plugs, they don't stay in. There is about 30mm of plaster, which is very crumbly, before you hit brick. So the rawl plugs just damage the plaster as they expand. I've tried drilling deeper to get them in brick, but then it's very difficult to get all the screws to go centrally into the plugs.
I've also tried masonry nails but they can be pulled out easily. Would it be worth trying frame fixings or any other special fixings?

Any ideas? These walls are a real pain!
Many thanks,
Sam

 

[wkdhd]

Can you glue them on? Building adhesives are really good providing you can keep the boards pressed to the wall while it sets

 

[Lower]

You've answered your own question. You need to drill into the brick work.

When i fit skirting i drill an initial hole in the skirting (big enough that a rawl plug will go through), put the skirting in place and then drill all the way through the skirting into the brickwork. Put the rawl plug on the end of the screw, tap it through the skirting and into the brickwork, back off the screw a couple of turns and then screw in.

Only time that ever fails is if you hit crumbly mortar.

 

[samaudio]

No I can't glue them because some of the walks are a bit curved. Also the plaster is quite crumbly so not a good surface to glue to.

 

[loply]

As above, you've got to get the plugs in to the brick somehow.

If you drill a few holes in the skirting board first, then hold it in place and drill a little peck mark through each hole into the wall, you'll then remove the skirt and see where to drill the proper halls in the wall.

Drill these nice and deep and remove plaster as necessary to get the plug all the way through into the brick.

Then you just need some good long screws to reach the plug.

 

[richardrich79]

what I've done in ours is to attach a timber batten along the bottom of the 'plaster' using plugs into the good bricks then attached the skirting to the battens. In a few places I had to remove a bit of the old plaster but it's all hidden once the skirting is in place.

 

[mfarrow]

In my house I just go 6mm SDS through board and into brick as far as it can then hammer in a plug and 3" No. 8 as far as necessary (usually 1" shy of board surface), and screw the rest in.

 

[samaudio]

That sounds like a good idea. Did you just use 1X2?

 

[mfarrow]

The skirting is standard 18mm (?) MDF with about 120mm high. Is that what you're asking?

Our walls are of 1950s concrete block which isn't the best substrate in the world and hence having to go to 3". You might get away with shorter into brick but don't forget once you add 3/4" skirting to 3/4" dodgy plaster you've already lost half the screw so you might as well go for 3". A pack of 100 and a few red branded plugs is only a few quid from the catalogue shops.

 

[samaudio]

Sorry, was asking richardrich79 about the batten. Thanks for your advice though, very helpful.

 

[richardrich79]

I used 1 batten in one room but elsewhere I've used 2, horses for courses really.

 

[Norcon]

Get your self a box of these...
https://www.multifixings.com/concrete-screws-15-subcat.html

And a plug cutter set. Easiest way ever to fit skirting.