Skirting - cutting bay window angles?

[LeadFarmer]

Im about to fit new MDF skirting which is almost identical to the original I've removed, and I'm happy with cutting the external 90 deg miter cuts, and with scribing the internal 90 deg cuts, but...

I have a bay window made up of approx 160 deg angles, I could just do mitre cuts and fill any gaps with caulk, but is there a better way of doing this?

Ive inspected the old skirting that I removed (perhaps original 1930's) and see they have overlapped each piece at the correct angle. The room has since been re-plastered so the angles might not be the same so I can't just copy them.

Any tips please on the best way to cut these joints?

 

[Notch7]

I cant see the plastering changing the angle, only the length.

The originals were scribed -skilled work to do neatly.

I would imagine most chippies would cut the internal angle on a chop saw.

Based on 160 deg, the cut would be 10 deg.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Thanks, could you explain why the cut would be 10 deg please? Im trying to get my head around the maths of the cutting angles.

 

[Notch7]

Thanks, could you explain why the cut would be 10 deg please? Im trying to get my head around the maths of the cutting angles.

Internal angle of the walls =160deg /2 =80deg ( half the total angle, as there are 2 bits of skirting)

90 deg -80 deg = 10 degrees. (The angle to cut is 80deg from the rear face of the skirting, or since the angles marked on a chop saw are perpendicular to the rear face, deduct from 90deg).

 

[Gerrydelasel]

FYI if your efforts are imperfect, fill with wood filler, not caulk. You can sculpt the filler to match the profile of the skirting. After a light sand and paint you will never know. I've fixed some atrocious mitres this way!

 

[LeadFarmer]

Internal angle of the walls =160deg /2 =80deg ( half the total angle, as there are 2 bits of skirting)

90 deg -80 deg = 10 degrees. (The angle to cut is 80deg from the rear face of the skirting, or since the angles marked on a chop saw are perpendicular to the rear face, deduct from 90deg).

Thanks, I understand that now. If say the angle in the bay window is 160 deg, then I need to half that figure (80 degs) to get the angle to cut of each piece of skirting (taken from the rear of the skirting board).

 

[WabbitPoo]

take a look on youtube - there's loads of videos on there showing how to do it. You can measure those angles, if you have a gauge, or you can use two bits of wood to mark the angle directly, then divide the result by two as you have described. Just get some of that wood filler to hand.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Skirting is now fitted. I used an angle/bevel guide and a set square to measure the internal angles under the bay window...





I then cut them on the mitre saw..





Where joints where each piece of plaster board met under the bay window had been refunded off by the plasterer so there wasn't a sharp angle to measure, so some guestimation skills were needed. I'm pleased with the result, I just need to caulk it all and then paint. Oh, and MDF dust gets everywhere!!!









I used Evo-Stick Gripfill to bond them to the walls, and wedged a piece of timber up against them until the Gripfill dried, held in place by a screw into the floor boards..





In the four corners of the room I scribed the internal joints....

 

[Gerrydelasel]

Remember, caulk is only suitable for very small gaps (<3mm) because it sags and does not take paint. Filler is a better (use premixed- it doesn't shrink like the self-mix stuff). TBH I don't see the point of caulk at all.

 

[endecotp]

Remember, caulk is only suitable for very small gaps (<3mm) because it sags and does not take paint.

Errr, caulk not paintable? I thought that was the difference between "caulk" (paintable) and "sealant" (not paintable).

 

[LeadFarmer]

I shall be trying No Nonsense caulk from Screwfix/B&Q as it has good reviews and is paintable.

 

[crank39]

I shall be trying No Nonsense caulk from Screwfix/B&Q as it has good reviews and is paintable.

Good luck with that, last time i tried some of it it came out like sloppy emulsion, all water

 

[Gerrydelasel]

I shall be trying No Nonsense caulk from Screwfix/B&Q as it has good reviews and is paintable.

It's paintable in the same way that flushable wet wipes are flushable. i.e. not really.

 

[LeadFarmer]

So, anyone able to recommend a good paintable caulk?

 

[crank39]

So, anyone able to recommend a good paintable caulk?

Any, just not any of the own brands.

Oh and I've never had any issues painting caulk, it's silicone that won't accept paint