Is ventilated skirting board a thing?

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by M-G, Dec 4, 2020.

  1. M-G

    M-G New Member

    Hi all I hope this is on-topic for carpenters' talk. Does anyone know if it is possible to fit skirting in a way which allows any moisture from the floor /wall join area to vent out into the room?

    My partner and I have laid and varnished wooden parquet over 1950s asphalt/bitumen-topped concrete; it's dry over nearly all the surface of the black asphalt-concrete (v low readings on a hygrometer), but there is about a 3 cm wide border around the entire room where there is no asphalt layer, just bare concrete. The hygrometer readings were a little raised, but of course that's with no floor covering present so any rising moisture would just evaporate freely. I wish we had somehow tied the floor damproofing to the wall's DPC (assuming that's even possible), but we didn't. I'm worried that attaching and caulking/sealing the skirting is going to trap moisture and force it into the wooden parquet blocks - potentially disasterous considering the parquet surface has polyurethane varnish on it now. Or would the parquet blocks have to be physically touching the bare concrete floor edges (they don't) for there to be a problem with moisture trtransfer?

    Is ventilated skirting a thing? My partner seems unconcerned and I'm worried for our (currently) beautiful parquet. Thanks for reading.
     
  2. Kevin Adams

    Kevin Adams New Member

    This isn't my area of expertise by any means, but can only suggest what I would do . . .

    You say there is a 3cm wide border of unfinished concrete, you also say the parquet isn't touching the bare concrete. So I presume you have a 3 or 4 cm expansion gap?

    If so how about applying a liquid damp proof membrane to the exposed bare concrete, and continue it up behind the skirting, obviously before fixing the skirting.

    The only other way is to leave a gap between skirting and floor for ventilation - this however might prove unsightly.

    Good luck.
     
  3. M-G

    M-G New Member

    Thanks for replying. That could work - even if I can't join the liquid dpm to the wall dpc it, at least it might direct any moisture away from the parquet. I might as well varnish the side edges of the parquet as well for extra ptrotection. Thanks!
     

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