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How to Scribe Skirting Boards: A DIY Guide to Fitting Internal Corners
If you've been planning to fit your new skirting boards yourself, then it's essential to get the full scope of what's involved in this process, so you can get the job done seamlessly! In this DIY quick guide, we'll share with you how to scribe skirting boards to fit interior corners, and also how to scribe them to match your floors!
Beyond removing your old skirting boards, measuring, and choosing your brand new mouldings, when the time comes to get the actual fitting, the method of scribing will get you the best results. Working internal corners and floor junctures to fit tight and snug will avoid many future headaches -and unwanted gaps!
Fitting Skirting Boards to Wall Corners 101: To Mitre or to Scribe
As we explain in this full guide to fitting skirting boards, there are basically 2 different ways of cutting and working the skirting boards' edges to fit the corners of your walls. You can either create a mitre joint or a scribe joint.
Why we Don't Recommend Mitre Joints
In a nutshell, a mitre joint is formed when you have 2 separate pieces of -in this case- skirting board and create a 45º angle on the side surfaces of each. The result is that when you put both pieces together, a nice 90º angle is formed.
We won't focus on the mitre method here because if it's not done on perfectly 90º-angled walls it can create weak, inflexible joints. Also, as materials like timber tend to shrink unevenly or vary slightly over the years, a mitre joint may lead to gaps -even if the change is just of 1mm.
The Advantages of Scribing Skirting Boards
The technique of scribing consists of sketching and transferring the profile of a moulding into another one. Then, the 2nd piece ends up having the traced surface removed, following the same shape. The result? Both parts fit like pieces of a puzzle.
The main advantage of this method is that it 'covers up' the fact that most walls' corners are actually not on a 90º angle! It also allows for more flexible joints that can resist changes in the materials. As most experts recommend, it's best practice to use this method for internal corners and the mitre method for external edges -eg: let's say you have a chimney.
How To Scribe Skirting Boards: Tools Required
- Carpenter's Pencil
- Wing Divider or Compass
- Bevel
- Hand Saw
- Coping Saw
- Sand Paper
- Mitre Saw (optional)
How To Scribe Skirting Boards: Step-by-Step
- Keep the 2 skirting board cuts you are going to use handy. One you'll leave as it is. On the 2nd one, you'll cut a 45º angle along the side edge that will eventually fit on the other piece. You can use a mitre saw to do this if you have it. Otherwise, mark the angle using your bevel and cut it with your hand saw.
- Once you have a nice 45º angle on your skirting board, use your carpenter pencil and highlight the board's profile. That angled surface is the section you'll cut to follow the other piece's shape.
- Now grab your hand saw and cut the angled surface creating a slight back cut -this will compensate any off gradient on your walls. Attention! You don't need to cut the whole height yet, stop where the curves on the profile begin.
The level of detail of the next step will depend on how intricate the design of your skirting boards' profile is. If you just have a chamfered board, it's gonna be easier to create the scribe joint than if you have an art decó one. In most cases though, you'll need to use a coping saw, which is the tool created specifically to create scribe joints!
- As explained above, switch to your coping saw as you'll cut the top edge of the board, following the marked profile. You'll also have to back cut it a bit as that combination of angles is going to give the skirting board its final shape. If you prefer, turn the blade of your coping saw so the teeth are facing up and backwards.
- Once you've finished cutting, use a bit of sandpaper if you wish to give the edge a smooth finish, check out how it fits the opposite piece of skirting board, and voilá! You've got yourself a scribed joint.
How to Scribe Skirting Boards with a Jigsaw
If you are already quite handy in using tools, you could try and replace the hand saw and the coping saw with a jigsaw. Make sure to utilise a downward cutting blade that has between 10 to 20-TPI (tooth per inch) for re-creating the curves of the skirting board's profile.
How to Scribe Skirting Boards to the Floor
At this stage, you are quite familiar with the steps needed to scribe skirting boards! Why not finish this DIY guide with a quick look at how to follow a similar process, but to let your boards lie evenly on the floor. This may seem quite obvious, but surprisingly, many floors are uneven and unleveled creating, once again...unwanted gaps!
How to Scribe Skirting Boards to the Floor: Step-by-Step
You won't need many tools to get the job done. Just grab a carpenter pencil, a ruler, your preferred cutting tool -it can be a hand saw or a jigsaw-, and sandpaper.
- Lie the skirting board on the floor vertically against the wall -just as if you were about to install it.
- Grab a pencil and a ruler and run both together across the length of your skirting board. The line you are tracing will let you measure any blank spaces and fluctuations on the floor's surface.
- Remove the section underneath the line you just draw. To do this you can either use your hand saw, jigsaw, or whichever tool you feel more comfortable handling.
- If you want a smoother finish, sand the surface with sandpaper.
Always keep in mind that practice makes perfect! Don't feel discouraged if you don't get it right the first few times. Try to keep a few leftover cuts handy, so you can use them to improve your scribing skills beforehand!
For more resources and handy how-to guides, check out our Resources page!
If you've been planning to fit your new skirting boards yourself, then it's essential to get the full scope of what's involved in this process, so you can get the job done seamlessly! In this DIY quick guide, we'll share with you how to scribe skirting boards to fit interior corners, and also how to scribe them to match your floors!
Beyond removing your old skirting boards, measuring, and choosing your brand new mouldings, when the time comes to get the actual fitting, the method of scribing will get you the best results. Working internal corners and floor junctures to fit tight and snug will avoid many future headaches -and unwanted gaps!
Fitting Skirting Boards to Wall Corners 101: To Mitre or to Scribe
As we explain in this full guide to fitting skirting boards, there are basically 2 different ways of cutting and working the skirting boards' edges to fit the corners of your walls. You can either create a mitre joint or a scribe joint.
Why we Don't Recommend Mitre Joints
In a nutshell, a mitre joint is formed when you have 2 separate pieces of -in this case- skirting board and create a 45º angle on the side surfaces of each. The result is that when you put both pieces together, a nice 90º angle is formed.
We won't focus on the mitre method here because if it's not done on perfectly 90º-angled walls it can create weak, inflexible joints. Also, as materials like timber tend to shrink unevenly or vary slightly over the years, a mitre joint may lead to gaps -even if the change is just of 1mm.
The Advantages of Scribing Skirting Boards
The technique of scribing consists of sketching and transferring the profile of a moulding into another one. Then, the 2nd piece ends up having the traced surface removed, following the same shape. The result? Both parts fit like pieces of a puzzle.
The main advantage of this method is that it 'covers up' the fact that most walls' corners are actually not on a 90º angle! It also allows for more flexible joints that can resist changes in the materials. As most experts recommend, it's best practice to use this method for internal corners and the mitre method for external edges -eg: let's say you have a chimney.
How To Scribe Skirting Boards: Tools Required
- Carpenter's Pencil
- Wing Divider or Compass
- Bevel
- Hand Saw
- Coping Saw
- Sand Paper
- Mitre Saw (optional)
How To Scribe Skirting Boards: Step-by-Step
- Keep the 2 skirting board cuts you are going to use handy. One you'll leave as it is. On the 2nd one, you'll cut a 45º angle along the side edge that will eventually fit on the other piece. You can use a mitre saw to do this if you have it. Otherwise, mark the angle using your bevel and cut it with your hand saw.
- Once you have a nice 45º angle on your skirting board, use your carpenter pencil and highlight the board's profile. That angled surface is the section you'll cut to follow the other piece's shape.
- Now grab your hand saw and cut the angled surface creating a slight back cut -this will compensate any off gradient on your walls. Attention! You don't need to cut the whole height yet, stop where the curves on the profile begin.
The level of detail of the next step will depend on how intricate the design of your skirting boards' profile is. If you just have a chamfered board, it's gonna be easier to create the scribe joint than if you have an art decó one. In most cases though, you'll need to use a coping saw, which is the tool created specifically to create scribe joints!
- As explained above, switch to your coping saw as you'll cut the top edge of the board, following the marked profile. You'll also have to back cut it a bit as that combination of angles is going to give the skirting board its final shape. If you prefer, turn the blade of your coping saw so the teeth are facing up and backwards.
- Once you've finished cutting, use a bit of sandpaper if you wish to give the edge a smooth finish, check out how it fits the opposite piece of skirting board, and voilá! You've got yourself a scribed joint.
How to Scribe Skirting Boards with a Jigsaw
If you are already quite handy in using tools, you could try and replace the hand saw and the coping saw with a jigsaw. Make sure to utilise a downward cutting blade that has between 10 to 20-TPI (tooth per inch) for re-creating the curves of the skirting board's profile.
How to Scribe Skirting Boards to the Floor
At this stage, you are quite familiar with the steps needed to scribe skirting boards! Why not finish this DIY guide with a quick look at how to follow a similar process, but to let your boards lie evenly on the floor. This may seem quite obvious, but surprisingly, many floors are uneven and unleveled creating, once again...unwanted gaps!
How to Scribe Skirting Boards to the Floor: Step-by-Step
You won't need many tools to get the job done. Just grab a carpenter pencil, a ruler, your preferred cutting tool -it can be a hand saw or a jigsaw-, and sandpaper.
- Lie the skirting board on the floor vertically against the wall -just as if you were about to install it.
- Grab a pencil and a ruler and run both together across the length of your skirting board. The line you are tracing will let you measure any blank spaces and fluctuations on the floor's surface.
- Remove the section underneath the line you just draw. To do this you can either use your hand saw, jigsaw, or whichever tool you feel more comfortable handling.
- If you want a smoother finish, sand the surface with sandpaper.
Always keep in mind that practice makes perfect! Don't feel discouraged if you don't get it right the first few times. Try to keep a few leftover cuts handy, so you can use them to improve your scribing skills beforehand!
For more resources and handy how-to guides, check out our Resources page!