filling 25mm gap between skirting and wall

[Robin66]

Hi, are there any recommendations to filling a gap between the stair's skirting and the wall. The gap varies from a few mm to 25mm. Photo below. I've considered:

1. easifill 60
2. mortar then plaster
3. squirting some expanding foam down there and plastering the top

I think any of these would work but maybe there's a better product available. Without any other guidance I'd have gone for (2). It was filled with a soft filler previously (probably similar to easifill) but it was poorly finished and was cracking and falling out.

Grateful for any suggestions. Rob

 

[sparkwright]

I would be inclined to fit some wooden beading over the gap.

Some bits of wood jammed in the gap first may give you something to fix the beading to.

If you try and just fill that big gap;-
a) it will crack and shrink
b) it will look like it's been filled
c) it will take ages
d) it will be a bodge.

 

[Robin66]

I have a table saw so I could cut some wood strips a few mm shy of the gap width, glue it against the inside of the skirting and caulk up to the wall. Seems a bit of a faff but it won’t shrink and fall out.

 

[sparkwright]

Once the gap is filled with bits of wood, ideally you need one strip of wood over the top of the whole lot. Beading (or quarter-round) may look the best for this.

 

[KenGMac]

That is a load of movement between stair string and plaster?

Is the wall "moving" meaning if you push it does it move? Do you know if the plaster is old Lath and Plaster [it looks as if it may be?]

I am with "sparkwright" about the timber beading.

As for the beading? consider fixing the beading to the plaster, why because on most occasions the staid moves away from the wall, hence my question above regards the plaster "moving"

Using glue and long pins it is possible to fix the bead to the wall?

But? if the old Lath and Plaster is indeed moving then that is a different matter?

Ken.

 

[Robin66]

Thanks for the replies. It is a brick wall so rendered and plastered. Previous owner has obviously had swathes of the wall reskimmed. There is no movement in the wall. The skirting is firm also (obviously the wood moves a few mm when pushed at the top bc it’s only secured at its base).

I’ll give the wood beading a go then. I had a look at it tonight and I think it might make the swerve less noticeable. I’ll report back what I’ve done.

Thanks a lot

 

[opps]

My staircase has dropped by about 5mm over the years. I had previously caulked it but the cracks re-appeared.

In the end I opted to drill some 8(?)mm holes in the strings and squirt expanding foam in to "lock" the timber (the hole size was the same size as the foam nozzle). I didn't want to drill and screw it given that the consumer unit is under the stairs and I have no idea where the cables run.

I then sanded back the slight curve where the plasterers plaster up from the top of the strings. The gaps were filled and sanded in two hits using 2 pack filler. The first fill was back to the wall, the second was down to the newly filled strings. A year down the line, the crack has not come back but I have no idea what will happen in the next 10 years.

If faced with a gap as large as you have, I would do as above and just make sure that I buy a 3-3.5 Kilo tub of Easy 7 (2 pack filler) which can be purchased via fleabay for about £20. You might need to hit it with more coats of filler but it cures so quickly that you can under fill, and then flush fill 25 mins later. It should be noted that you will need to sand the "flush" fills though.