It's not just easier to put the boards on with foam, it's a god send if you ever need to get them off. Had a landlord I do periodic work for phone a couple of months ago, needing access to a pipe that was behind a skirting board. I'd done the skirts in that house, and to get them off I told him to slide a breadknife or a thin steel rule down the back and slide it along. No broken plaster, no mess, and boards went back on as cleanly as they were fitted in the first place.
sounds all good news with foam and nice work ( as usual ) GB Got to skirt a room soon for the good .lady , In this situation I have a gap of 2-4 " bare brick, skirt is 8" pine ( prefer MDF ) Would have no nails the top and board adhesive to brick with screws in the back of skirt , clearly future removal is awkward , but any other comments ?
Couple of beads of foam where it contacts plaster and go heavier at the bottom to go into the gap. Make sure you must it well with water just before you stick them in place. Just done a whole house similar to what you describe.
If I am fitting solid skirtings I generally tend to groove them on the back to minimise cupping. Lots of skirting comes ready grooved now anyway.
How many linear meters approx will 1 no. can cover using this as suggested with 2 no. 25mm beads? i have approx 86lm skirting and 65lm architrave to do this week and i'm going to try this application. Skirting is 150mm high and Arch is 75mm wide. Also what is the best value foam to use. And i'm likely not to need to use the gun after this so a suggestion for a reasonably priced gun would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Because it clogs up the forum with the same question from the same person. As for the amount needed. Just buy a couple of cans. You cant really use it to solely fix architraves as you will need to nail it too.
goldenboy that paneling looks great, lovely job. Never used foam for skirting, but it seems so obvious now! Why wouldn't i use foam? I also use an 18 gauge brad gun to hold things in place while the adhesive (or foam!) goes off. Just FYI, i bought a couple of foam guns on ebay from china, £6 each, which at the rate i get through them is about the right price. Also from ebay i got 12 cans of Everbuild foam for £40, which makes it a sensible price and means you can make a couple of quid on each can while still giving your client a cheaper price than they could get elsewhere.
I got myself the gun already, but wasn't sure whether there were different grades of foam adhesion and therefore a specific one to aim for. I have a couple of cans of Dow Insta Stik MP foam so hope that works well. Ta
It will - top stuff. Don't overdo it, and beware although it is low expansion compared to say air-gap fill foam, it DOES still expand - keep the boards pushed in tight for a while until it goes off.
Bit late to the party, but superb info in this thread! @goldenboy, just a few 25mm beads and not along the entire length? Thanks!