Repair is never easy. Especially if it is done by hand. There are always some nuances or processes that are performed by a person for the first time. So, working for the first time with a plinth, you can ruin many meters of expensive material. Everyone is especially concerned about the question of how to cut the baseboard in the corners. We will talk about this and much more today.
Introduction
At any final stage of repairing a floor, ceiling or walls, the final stage is the trimming and installation of skirting boards. At the onset of this stage, especially for beginners, many questions arise. For example, about:
- how to choose a skirting board;
- which plinth is better;
- how to cut corners of skirting boards;
- how to fix the baseboard, etc.
So let's get it right from the beginning. What is a skirting board, what is it for, what kind to choose and how to properly cut the corners of the skirting board for each of its types?
What is a plinth and its types
A plinth is a kind of one of the decorative elements of the finish, which hides the joint between the wall and the floor or the wall and the ceiling. This interior detail is very important forat home and therefore, when installing it, you need to be attentive to all the nuances of installation. Especially how to cut off the corner of the baseboard and fix it properly.
There are many different types of skirting boards that have their own trimming features. These types include skirting boards made of various materials:
- wooden;
- polyurethane;
- PVC;
- ceramic;
- metal.
Each of these types, depending on the purpose and material, has its own rules for cutting and further installation. The corner of the plinth should be as even and beautiful as possible. A bad looking skirting board can ruin the whole picture of your renovation. So, let's figure out how to properly cut the corners of the plinth for each of its types.
Wooden skirting boards: cutting corners
Working with a tree is not particularly difficult. Like any plinth, a wooden one should have the most correct joint angle, since most often the joints between its parts cannot be covered. Crooked trim or gaps between them immediately catch the eye. How to cut a corner on the baseboard so that the joints are practically invisible? For proper cutting, we need two tools: a miter box and a saw. In order to use the miter box, you need to remember two rules:
- Apply the left plinth on the left, the right plinth on the right.
- Floor plinths are applied to the far wall, ceiling plinth - to the near wall.
If you work on thesetwo rules, the angle will always turn out to be even and almost imperceptible during the final installation. Before cutting corners, it is very important to measure the length of the plinth: floor - along the top line, ceiling - along the bottom. And only after that you can start cutting. Thus, we answered the question of how to cut the corners of wooden skirting boards.
Corner trim: polyurethane skirting
Like wood skirting, polyurethane is very easy to trim. This type is used most often in a house with uneven walls. Such a plinth perfectly bends around all the bumps and fits snugly against the wall. In the same way as when trimming the corners of a wooden baseboard, we need two tools: a special saw (for metal or a string for polyurethane) and a miter box. The rules for working with a miter box do not change in any way. The correct determination of the length of the plinth, and then its correct trimming, will serve as a guarantee of a perfectly even and most precise fastening between each other in the corners. Do not forget that the plinth must be cut immediately from both sides - this will save you time and nerves.
PVC baseboards: how to cut corners?
So, how to cut the corners of PVC skirting boards? This is an excellent material that can be perfectly processed. Its distinctive feature is that if there is no miter box at hand, it does not matter. This material can be cut by eye. This is due to the fact that the joints in this material, as well as the corners, are covered with special plugs that hide all the irregularities of the joints,making the skirting board perfect. Of course, if you are not sure, you can use a miter box - with it the edges will turn out to be more even. When working with this material, there is only one caveat - there should be free space between the edges of the skirting boards - about 5 millimeters. It is necessary for installing corners, both internal and external, as well as plugs, if you decide to connect the skirting board somewhere in the middle of the wall. The end points facing, for example, a doorway, must be even. Special plugs are put on these places.
Metal skirting boards: methods of working with it
We already know how to properly cut the corners of wood, polyurethane and PVC skirting boards, now it's time to talk about metal ones. This species is best cut with a grinder. Metal is a very hard material, so it's best to use it to make the job easier. She will not bend the metal, will not leave dents on it. A miter box will not help to trim a corner on such material. We need to manually measure the angle of 45 degrees and cut the plinth ourselves. It is worth noting that the angle of 45 degrees should be opposite for the right and left sides of the baseboard. You also need to clearly understand whether you are cutting the inner corner or the outer one. After determining with these points, there should be no problems installing a metal baseboard. In the end, even if the joint is not quite even, a special corner will cover it.
Working with ceramic plinth: features
Ceramic skirting is a great solution for bathrooms and formal establishments. Fixing a ceramic skirting board is significantly different from fixing other types, since the material used instead of the finished skirting board is ordinary floor or wall tiles. Cutting corners for this type of plinth is not difficult. We just need to cut off the width of the tile that is needed for joining. Such a tile is attached to a special glue. Between the individual parts of this material, it is necessary to leave a certain, but always even distance - for this, special crosses for tiles are used. When the glue dries, we pull out the crosses, make sure that all the gaps between the tiles are equal and put a special putty seam in the remaining gaps. In the same way, we process the outer and inner corners of the ceramic plinth.
Choosing a skirting board: tips for buyers
When choosing a plinth, you need to pay attention to many things. For example, if the walls of the house are perfectly even, you can use hard types, but if they have irregularities, soft ones, such as PVC skirting boards or polyurethane, which will lie on all irregularities and will be tightly attached to the wall. Knowing how to cut the corners of skirting boards will help you determine if you can do it yourself, for example, to make perfect joints using wooden skirting boards, or if you are better off choosing materials such as tile, metal, PVC, etc. Do not forget about the design of your room and the shades that are used in it. After choosing the material, decide oncolor range. Having found out all these points for yourself, you can choose exactly the material that is suitable for work and with which you can easily handle it yourself.
