# Forum Home Renovation Doors, Windows, Architraves & Skirts  Tips on fitting skirting board

## marek

Hi, 
Does anyone have some tips on fitting new skirting boards?  In particular, I have a bay window which is kind of octagonal in shape.  I have no idea on how to start fitting the skirting to get the perfect fit. 
Any tips greatly appreciated. 
Marek

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## GeoffS

Marek - do a search on 'skirting board' - you should find quite a long recent thread on the subject.
Basic rules - you don't mitre the joins. They are 'coped'. That is, one piece is fitted square to the end, the other piece is cut using a 'coping' saw to fit around whatever the shape is. That overcomes the problem that few rooms have exactly 90 (or 45 or anything else useful) degree corners.
Which piece to fit first. Easy if the room has only one door, stand in the doorway and fit the first pieces (the ones with the square ends) so that when you fit the second piece (the coped ones) you won't see into the join, i.e. you make the imperfections harder to see. If the room has 2 doors, well you have to use your own judgment! Furniture placement, lighting from windows and common sense all play a part in making the decision.
Hope I have been some help but find that thread - had lots of good advice.
Cheers

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## seriph1

What I have done in the past is: take a 3-5 mm thin piece of scrap and use it to draw a template on the piece to be fitted into the corner (This is after square-cutting the first piece and fitting it hard into the corner...) As mentioned, try always to run the coped edge so it goes "away" from the line of sight.....ok, where was I? Oh yeah .... so you draw the "opposite" of what you have already fitted, then cut it out - ideally with a coping saw I spose, but I used a jigsaw and a wipe (yes only a wipe!) of caulking silicon, which is fine if you're painting the skirts.......hmmm hard to describe this one, no pun intended. 
let's know if this makes any sense at all 
luck

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## marek

What about the bay window?  Would I mitre them, i.e. work out the angle, halve it to give me the right fit or try to profile it and use a coping saw?  I presume you cope the inner corners and mitre outer corners?

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## BigPop

Marek,
As mentioned by Geoff have a search on 'skirting boards' or 'scribing'.  Scribing is the preferred terminology for cutting skirting boards in and there are a few lengthy discussions on this subject on the forum.  
Have a search about and you will find virtually all you need.
It is really easy to do once you have the hang of it but it's hard to try to explain how to do it without showing you.  :Frown:  :Frown:  
Once you find the threads on it they should help you out as it is explained pretty well.

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## barnsey

This is one of the directions I found: 
it's pretty much the same process as you've been using but you offer the scribing piece up at 45deg instead of 90. So you cut the first piece and butt it in between the walls, cutting the ends to follow the corner angle (ie one end 90 the other 45, or whatever). Cut two pieces of skirting stock at 45 deg, one in each direction (ie opposite handed). Scribe both the front and the back of the piece to be cut, using the appropriate ends of the of the two pieces. Obviously the face section that is moulded won't get properly scribed but this will still give you some reference marks to work off. Sorry if this is not a really clear description, gimme a couple of bits of skirting and I'd show you in a few minutes   
Mick 
Was from Journeyman mick - learned one from Nth Qld.  :Smilie:   
Hope that helps.  's a pity solid geometry doesn't get taught anymore :confused:  
Jamie

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## silentC

For external corners you're stuck with mitres. For internal corners, the first piece is docked at the angle of the conrner. So if it's a 90 deg. corner, you dock it at 90 deg. The intersecting piece you cut at half of that angle, in this case 45 deg. (as if you were mitring the corners on both pieces ie. the back of the board is longer than the front). You then use the line formed between the 45 deg cut and the face of the board as a line to scribe to. Follow this with your coping saw or jigsaw and you have a perfect join.  
If the corner is greater than 90 deg., say 135 deg., then the first piece is docked at 135 deg. and the second at 67.5 deg. to give you the scribe line. In this case, when you scribe the line, you have to angle your cut at 67.5 deg. (or slightly more) back the other way so that the second piece clears the first. The offcut will be a wedge-shaped piece with 135 deg. between the faces. 
Note: on your SCMS, 90 deg. is marked 0 and 135 deg. is actually 45 deg. from vertical. So you would set your saw to cut at 45 deg. to dock the first piece. The front would be the long side. 
It is hard without a picture. Maybe this helps:

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## marek

Thanks for all the above tips - I can't find anything when I do a search for skirting boards that relates to bay windows.  I have figured out ordinary internal corners and coping the profile.  The bay windows will be a little trickier but the above kinda make some sense - a little (or lot) of practice will get me there.  It is kind of tricky to explain this - pics help - perhaps a few movie clips would be useful too. 
Great site - not too many forums like this that people actually respond.

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## Shane Watson

the internal cornors of a bay window are done the same way. theres no difference to technique just the angle used. Its rather simple once you've done one, or should I say, once you've stuffed up the first one  :Wink:

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