Add skirtings to kitchen walls

When you decide to DIY any home improvement project, you want a project that is done well and looks good. There's no point in taking on a do-it-yourself project if it's going to end up looking like a shoddy job, especially when there are now products and tools available to make every DIY project as easy as possible.

 

To complete the tiling project recently done in the kitchen, and to finish off the project, skirtings were added around the base of the walls. Previously there weren't any skirtings whatsoever and it just looked unfinished.

Using MDF skirtings bought at my local Builders Warehouse, I cut these to length and painted them white with Plascon water-based Velvaglo. This will offer the skirtings the additional protection needed for a kitchen environment, where floors are washed regularly.

The skirtings were attached to the walls with Pattex No More Nails adhesive, but to finish off the top and bottom of the skirtings, a bead of Pattex Sanitary Sealer was applied. I used one of the new air pulse cans, since this is a breeze to apply when compared to using a caulking gun.

GOOD TO KNOW

The skirtings were not laid directly onto the tiled floor, but rather a gap of about 5mm was left underneath the skirtings. Since I'm fitting MDF skirtings, these absorb moisture so it is better to raise them off the floor to avoid this. Any type of spacer will do to raise the skirtings - I used a few leftover tiles spacers as you can see in the top image!

Set the open / close slider on the can to half way, so that sufficient silicone sealer is released as you run along the top of the skirting board.

Now you can buy a Pattex Sealant Profiler Kit at your local Builders Warehouse that makes applying silicone or acrylic sealer so much easier. The kit has four different profiles that are used to ensure a neat edge on all your silicone or acrylic sealer projects.

Simply run along the top of the edge where the sealer was applied and wipe any excess onto a piece of kitchen tissue or toilet paper as you work.

After applying a bead of Pattex Sanitary Sealer along the top of the skirting, this was repeated along the bottom, making sure that the sealer filled up the gap. Once applied, a Pattex Profiler was run along the edge to tidy up.