Skirting boards
Skirting boards, also known as baseboards, are boards that run around the lowest part of an interior wall. Typically, they cover the joint between the floor and the wall surface.
They can be used for purely decorative purposes and can feature mouldings and intricate chip carpentry. However, they are more commonly to be a simple plank of timber that has been fixed (with nails, screws, glue, and so on), to the wall.
A more functional purpose of skirting boards is to act as protection for the wall from abrasion, accidental knocks from furniture, wear and tear, and so on. They can also be used to hide unsightly wall or floor edges which may be uneven and untidy.
The most common material that is used for skirting boards is timber, which can be left untreated or lacquered, painted, etc. Plastics such as uPVC can also be used and is often glued in place to the wall. Vinyl can also be used and can be a particularly durable option.
Skirting boards can often have wires running along the top of them with clips attaching them at spaced intervals.
For more information, see How to fit skirting boards.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Protecting employees from hearing damage.
One of the largest office buildings in the world.
Who holds the risk for COVID-19?
Enabling better infrastructure
Insights from New York.
A quick introduction to a very complicated subject.
CIOB suggests the economic reach of construction is double the official figures.
Center for Sustainable Landscapes
The first US building to achieve BREEAM Outstanding In-Use.
70 buildings from 70 years of Concrete Quarterly. Book review.
An early stressed-skin structure
Conserving the iron roof at the Albert Dock.
People, principles and performance
Delivering an infrastructure revolution.
The admissibility of evidence.