Which skirting boards are better for laminate flooring?

If you have a laminate as a floor covering, then to make the surface look more advantageous, you need to install skirting boards at the joints of the walls. They will perform not only a decorative function, but also a protective one, closing all the cracks from getting debris. The presence of a plinth helps to hide minor defects and flaws that often occur when laying a laminate. Let's look at which skirting boards are better for a laminate, what you need to pay special attention to when choosing.

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Key selection criteria

When choosing a skirting, you need to consider several key points.

The size

Now on sale there are a variety of options - from the smallest to the largest and most massive. The choice of size must be done in accordance with the height of the ceilings in the house:

• If you use a small thin plinth in a room with a high ceiling, then it will visually distort the geometry of the room. In this case, it is better to choose a wide baseboard, which is attached only to the wall.
• In a small room with low ceilings, thin skirting boards will successfully look like they will continue the walls, visually stretching the room to a height.

Joint Width

A gap of at least 10 mm must remain between the wall and the laminate. But as practice shows, this indicator is much larger. Therefore, before buying, carefully measure all the indents, so as not to be mistaken.

Texture

As a rule, all skirting boards have their own texture, and it should be combined with the floor covering. The baseboard should not look foreign in the room, so as not to spoil the whole impression of the room.

Important! Whatever option you choose, first of all check the quality, there should be no flaws, chips or other damage on the front surface.

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What are skirting boards?

Three types of finishing accessories are suitable for this type of coating. Let's figure out which skirting boards are better for a laminate.

Wooden baseboards

The tree is always there and will remain the most environmentally friendly material. Planks of this material have a presentable appearance, do not require special care, but have a rather high cost.

Important! They are made of pine, oak, linden, walnut, etc. They are sold without varnishing, so determining their final color (after varnishing) is a little difficult. They are made from solid wood or veneer.

When buying such skirting boards, two points must be considered:

• The wooden plank does not bend at all. If the room has round bends, there will be many inconveniences. Because of this, cracks can form between the baseboard and the wall.
• The material is sensitive to moisture drops. Do not install such skirting boards in rooms with high humidity. Although with the help of varnish and other protective agents, the moisture resistance of the material improves slightly.

Important! When choosing a wooden plinth, carefully inspect it - there should be no protruding fibers on it, the surface should be smooth.

Plastic skirting boards

This is the most popular type of skirting boards, which is characterized by:

• beautiful appearance;
• low price;
• a variety of colors and textures, which allows you to choose the most suitable option for the floor surface and the interior as a whole;
• Does not need staining or varnishing;
• it is easy to look after him;
• possesses water-repellent properties;
• not afraid of temperature changes;
• suitable for any room, whether it is a kitchen or a bathroom;
• polyurethane skirting boards appeared, which are characterized by increased flexibility.

Important! The only drawback is the fragility of the material, it can not tolerate large mechanical loads.

Laminated skirting boards

It is based on MDF, and on top of the baseboard is covered with a special film that simulates the surface of a tree:

• They differ in low price, but are afraid of moisture.
• If water gets on them, they can swell.

Important! Their service life is not very long, they quickly fail, so they are not particularly popular.

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Choose color

If you are wondering how to choose the color of the plinth to the laminate, then use the advice of professionals:

• The easiest option is to choose elements that either completely coincide in shade, or differ from it by one tone. In this case, you need to purchase them from the same manufacturer, then all the elements will have the same texture and color.
• The second way to choose the baseboard for the laminate in color is the exact opposite: use a contrasting shade. It will look original, the main thing is to choose the right color. It is better to use the advice of a designer or act to your taste.
• You can choose the baseboard for the color of the doors, so that together they look like one composition.
• Recently, a fashion for white skirting boards has appeared. It looks especially beautiful in classic interiors and gives solemnity.

Important! When buying white skirting boards, keep in mind that they need special care, because dust and dirt on their surface will be clearly visible.

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Plinth Installation

Since the laminate is not attached to the base of the floor, but simply laid on top, during operation it can change its characteristics. Therefore, the bar is attached to the wall, not to the floor.

Installation of plastic skirting boards is not difficult even for an inexperienced home master. The main thing is to have some tools and follow the sequence of actions.

Instruments

Of the tools you will need:

• roulette;
• hacksaw;
• drill;
• screwdriver;
• screwdriver;
• hammer.

Instruction manual

You need to proceed as follows:

1. We begin laying the skirting board from the corner of the room and go clockwise.
2. First you need to make a marking of the mounting points of the skirting board to the wall. Lean against the wall, mark the height and place of attachment. The points should be evenly spaced 50-65 cm apart.
3. Now you can proceed with the installation. Fastening can be done with screws, dowels, clips or glue. If the wall is flat, then you can use liquid nails.

Important! During installation, do not tighten the screws much - this can lead to deformation of the bar. Better - in the end, after installing all the screws, make a final tightening.

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Stock footage

Fastening of wooden skirting boards is carried out using self-tapping screws, with a perfectly flat surface of the wall, you can use liquid nails.

In this article, we examined the various options for laminate flooring, and we hope that thanks to this information you can decide which material is best for your home. And if so, then you managed to make a complete interior, and now you are pleasantly and comfortably in your home. And this is the most important thing. Enjoy the comfort!