bending a skirting (baseboard) around a curve

[Alan m]

hi there.
i have to fit some skirting in a new office being built . there is a curved section to the wall. it is a 90 degree corner that has been curved off. not sure of the radius but it starts about 24" back either side.
i have to do both sides of the wall.

i am not sure what skirting is being used. they have narrowed it down to 2 , one is a prefinished semisolid oak and the other is a prefinished oak mdf core.
.
i presume it is only a matter of kerfing the back enough to bend it around.it is all in one piece so the top cant be touched, will  having half the height kerfed stop it bending in one plane only or will it go 3d on me
. any advice

thanks alan

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

If it was me I would cut the mould off the top of the skirting if it's moulded skirting. Then I would slice up the flat section and laminate it and finally pin the moulded section to that. Thats how I would try it anyhow. I tried doing it the way your saying stoping the kerf so it doesn't go right through and it didn't work at all.

 

[Jason Kehl]

I think laminating it as already suggested is the way to go. The stopped kerf will likely be problematic. If you can match the finish later you could use unfinished stock, steam bend it and finish it after forming.

j

 

[jmbfestool]

Doesnt work very well Alan partly scoring the back like you suggested.  If you are going to score the back you have to go all the way which if its not being painted isnt a nice look.  I tried it my self and it doesnt bend very well

Galwaydudes Idea is a good idea  removing the mould.

I would suggest they go with MDF as its MUCH MUCH easier to bend round especially if your doing Galwaysdudes method the mould part should be pretty easy to bend round after using MDF.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Another thing you could do is mitre small pieces and stick them together with mitre bond to make up the radius but you will end up with sanding all the joints to make the hole thing look more rounded.

 

[jmbfestool]

Another thing you could do is mitre small pieces and stick them together with mitre bond to make up the radius but you will end up with sanding all the joints to make the hole thing look more rounded.

Its a pre finished skirting so sanding wouldnt be a good idea.  Plus not sure if he is on about internal or external corner it wouldn't be very easy to sand an internal round.

JMB

 

[jmbfestool]

I hate pre finished stuff when it comes to doing stuff like this.  

I would see if you could find out what the oak is on the semi solid oak and the finish and get some oak and make a template of the curves and laminate the entire piece and then router the mould on to match the rest.      Because the problem with trying to bend pieces which are naturally straight your going to have to use screws most likely to keep it in place  as if you have a laminate piece made to the curve glue and pins should do the job.    I hate screws on skirting with plugs I would like to avoid them if I can.
 

but then is it to much hassle for what it is?!!? Its only for a office so maybe a step to far?!  If it was for a personal clients house then no  I would definitely be looking at laminating the entire piece my self  a office.... properly not.

JMB

 

[Deansocial]

What sort of job is it? Im not sure how real the flexi upvc skirting looks.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Another thing you could do is mitre small pieces and stick them together with mitre bond to make up the radius but you will end up with sanding all the joints to make the hole thing look more rounded.

Its a pre finished skirting so sanding wouldnt be a good idea.  Plus not sure if he is on about internal or external corner it wouldn't be very easy to sand an internal round.

JMB

Ya thats a good point jmb. I forgot when I typed it that its pre finished skirting. Well in that case laminating is the only way to go then. Or maybe steam bending but on site that's not feasible.

 

[Alan m]

pre finished is a pain.
i will have to do both sides of the curve so 1 internal and 1 external.  amybe more if he stays knocking things down.
i will have a look at the sample on monday to see whats inside. .

i dont think the external one will be that difficult  as i can cut the skirting and bend it. the internal will be a pain.

i am thinking of some kind of jig to hold the skirting in the place overnight so it will hold its shape a bit

 

[jmbfestool]

I hate prefinished stuff for things like skirting etc  just makes fixing a hassle!

I would of thought external is worse because you have to fix it better than internal one as external tries to pop out.

  Internal cant because it gets trapped in between once you fixed it so glue and pins can hold the bend on internal.  Externall would be risky to hope on glue and pins to hold.

How sharp is the cruve that can dictate what you can do and get away with. 

Jmb

 

[neth27]

Give the plasterer  £20 to square the corner up..  [big grin]

John..

 

[Alan m]

the curve starts maybe 24-36 inchs back from the intersection of the 2 walls. its a 90 degree corner. i will measure it better on monday.
.  
lol i wish i could square it off. he just spent a fortune to put the curve there.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

What kind of floor is there at the min? Will a new flooring be laid after the skirting is down? Also is the hallway on the external radius wide? Have a few suggestions depending on them answers

 

[Alan m]

no floor yet. finished screed just pored last week.underfloor heating too.  probably tiled. there will be a reception on the external side and the boss s office on the other side.

fire away any idea. good or bad , there might be something in it anyway

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Right since the floor isn't finished yet how about making up L shaped pieces with a 45 degree brace that's screwed together. When you have enough of them made up temporarily fix them to the floor. Get your laminations ready. Use a pu glue for the laminations and wedge them into place with some wedges that go between the braces and skirting. The pu glues sets extremely fast as well and is ideal for this job.

For the internal corner make up some t pieces and fix something to the floor so you can effectively use them as props to wedge the skirting into place while it sets.

You will probably need to use some 50mm pins at the ends of the radius's to hold in place once set and wax the pin holes and bobs your uncle

 

[Alan m]

im not sure about attaching anything to the floor. i think he would have a heart attach if i drilled a hole anywhere near the underfloor heating.
i presume this wont be done until the floor is tiled .
i dont think i will be able to match the colour of the prefinished skirting.

i might ask him to ring the supplier to see if they have anything

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

How about gluing the L shaped pieces to the concrete floor with pu glue? It needs to be extremely dust free to do this. Use a piece of pre finished skirting on the front of it. Say 3mm thick laminations

 

[jmbfestool]

How about gluing the L shaped pieces to the concrete floor with pu glue? It needs to be extremely dust free to do this. Use a piece of pre finished skirting on the front of it. Say 3mm thick laminations

If its being tiled like Alan said the skirting will be done after so your method of screwing/glueing pieces to the floor wouldnt work.

Alan I have been thinking this was like a proper commercial kinda job sorry!  Sounds of it its more personal like kinda job  something more upmarket.  Especially seen as hes had the curves put in especially and having tiles flooring and underfloor heating.

I dont know what the room looks like or anything but take pictures!  So we can see  [big grin]  Maybe you can use something else make a feature out of the curves?!?

JMB

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Ya that's true jmb but he could use the methods I suggested to form it before the tiles go down. Remove it once set and then put it into place once the tiles are down.