Measuring skirting lengths

[Jupiter01]

I was doing some skirting boards over the weekend and had a question please.

If you take a wall such as this:

I measure it and cut a piece accordingly but it's then usually slightly short. I think it's because the wall bulges in and out and that increases the length? I then tried leaving it slightly longer but was invariably into the throws of cutting a shave off and a bit more and a bit more...

Also, when I have a scribed end (not in the above example), I want it really tight so that the scribe pushes in tight. That makes the measurement even more important. And one more practical challenge, my chop saw s downstairs and every cut means I take it downstairs and then upstairs again to fit.

There must be a more organised way of doing this and that's what I am hoping to hear. Thanks in advance.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I think it just comes with experience. I'm still firmly in the cutting a shave off and a bit more and a bit more park!

 

[Jupiter01]

I think it just comes with experience. I'm still firmly in the cutting a shave off and a bit more and a bit more park!

Perhaps it would help to have a circular saw upstairs for the shaving slightly off part? Currently I need to trek down to the chop saw for everyone of these adjustments.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Yes well that would help, can't you haul your chop saw upstairs?

 

[Jupiter01]

Yes well that would help, can't you haul your chop saw upstairs?

I could but I have painted upstairs and wanted the dust to be confined to downstairs. I also have more space in the lounge downstairs.

 

[chirpychippy]

I cut a piece of skirt at 100mm and put it in the corner and measure off of the 100 then add it back on to make the length correct.

 

[foxhole]

Buy a big tube of decorator caulk .

 

[Jupiter01]

I cut a piece of skirt at 100mm and put it in the corner and measure off of the 100 then add it back on to make the length correct.

Excuse my ignorance but how does this help when the walls are wonky across the entire length?

 

[chirpychippy]

Excuse my ignorance but how does this help when the walls are wonky across the entire length?

You can't measure skirting board for every deviation in the wall and even if you found a way you would struggle to bend the skirting in and out of all the deviations and make it sit flat.

If your walls are as bad as I think you are implying you can either remove the plaster on the high spots to sit the skirting back and be less reliant on caulk, or you can fit to the high spots and caulk the gaps, additional you will have to screw the skirting boards to the wall.

The 100mm skirting off cut will sit into the corner mirroring how the eventual section of skirting will butt to the wall thus giving you and accurate starting point for measuring.

Equally when you come to the scribe for the internal corner you can use the 100mm off cut to work out the square "or not" of the scribe.