Skirting boards, architrave and interior doors

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Has anyone had a complete replacement of all the interior doors, skirting boards and architrave done in their home. My home is 27 years old now and i've only ever repainted them in white but they are looking a bit worse for wear now and wonder if it might be better just to replace the whole lot.

Just wanted a bit of feedback from anyone who'se done this - how big a job it is, how long it takes, whats involved etc etc. Would i need to get quotes from a carpentor or a joiner? Would i need to purchase the materials myself?

[Mutunus]

How big is the house?
It's not exactly a 5 minute job but it's actually not too difficult to do it yourself. Assuming the rooms are reasonably square it's only a question of measuring lengths and cutting the correct angles.
But ....
Unless you are extremely lucky/careful you will damage walls getting the old skirting and architrave off off so be prepared for some repairs. The new skirting will have to be prepped and painted which will take time.
I changed mine a while ago. The old skirting was approx 2" high so I replaced it with 4" which hid the damage caused removing the old.
Can't give an idea of price because it depends on what board you use.
eg, MDF or wood and number of rooms.
Perhaps get a quote from a local carpenter to decide if it's worth it?

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

It's a 4 bedroom 2 reception 2 bathroom house so not small.

I get what you're saying about doing it myself but I live alone and am not very good at DIY. I wish I was because I love that sort of stuff. It's not that I'm unintelligent, it's that I don't have the physical strength to do things that the average 30something male can so this is what always lets me down when doing DIY.

I think I will also replace my 2" skirting with 4" because as you rightly say, it will hide any damage, plus, I think the bigger skirting boards are more fashionable now.

[Greengrapes1357]

Not had whole house done however I'm having them done room by room as I do the house up.
The removal of the old Woodwork has caused some damage (not a problem for us however as we're replastering as we go along to.
The other consideration is the depth of the architrave and skirting is smaller than the ones removed as we couldn't get the exact same as they no longer make it.
We hired a joiner who measured up and provided all the materials. We just had to choose style.

[crosser62]

My house is much older. Took skirtings and architrave off and that took massive chunks of wall plaster with it. Needed to be replastered. Couldn’t skim, big patch up job.
Cost a fortune.
Absolutely nothing is simple or straightforward I have found.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Thanks Greengrapes. Roughly how much did your joiner charge for doing one room?

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

i've just seen that you can buy skirting board covers. I wonder if I use these and replace the doors then just the architraving will need painting. this wouldn't cause any damage.

[JoJoSM2]

Perhaps it’s enough to fill and sand down the woodwork? Replacing the lot after 27 years seems a little OTT unless it was originally done in some very poor quality materials and really can’t be salvaged.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Thanks JoJoSM2. It is salvagable, so i'm leaning towards either doing as you suggested or putting a cover over the existing skirting board

[sidsidsid]

I had it done in hall, stairs and landing in a Victorian terrace including an under stairs cupboard £2700.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Thanks sidsidsid, £2700 for just the hall stairs and landing would be out of my budget unfortunately. I bet it looks lovely though!

[Elieza]

Can you get a painter and decorator in to strip all the woodwork back for you? You can then pay him to paint it or do it yourself. Get a quote for both options and see how you feel about the price.

[PigletJohn]

yes but not all in one go.

changing door and doorframe in one room is a bit dusty, a carpenter might do two in a day. Architrave is a trivial job. Sealing ther frames in with fire foam will block draughts and sound as well as smoke, and hold them steady. Very useful if you ever have a teenage daughter.

skirtings, as and when each room is to be decorated. This is also a good time to repair or renew flooring.

Also consider other joinery such as banisters and handrails.

If you are going to all this trouble and expense, I think you should use good-quality solid-core (or fire-) doors, and learn to paint. It would be a waste of effort if you fitted £30 hollow doors made of air and cardboard.

Lift-off hinges are IMO well worth having as they make it much easier to repaint in future.

If you have a 3-story house or for any other reason need fire doors, there are regulations you need to bone up on. I prefer them. The thick, heavy construction means they are also good at sound-deadening, which is useful especially for bathrooms and WCs even when the regulations may not require them.

A carpenter can also fit good quality locks, latches and handles to tone up your house to a good standard.

[PigletJohn]

btw you can still buy architrave and skirting in traditional large sizes, but you will not find it in your local B&Q.

IMO it suits a period house.

[user1471528245]

Same size house as yours, changed every bit of woodwork For American white oak, it was a total renovation so made sense because I never want to paint woodwork ever again, just the skirting, door frames and architrave were £2700, no fitting cost because we did it ourselves, as per what others have said normally skirtings in old houses are nailed on and can make a hell of a mess when removed, your better option if your not doing an entire renovation is pay a good decorator to strip, sand and repaint

[minipie]

Yes as part of a full refurb (period house).

I doubt you can use skirting board covers and keep the existing architrave, as then the skirtings will stick out more than the architrave and that will look odd where they join. Normally architrave sticks out the same or more than the skirting.

Quality doors are very expensive, so if yours are decent quality I would look into getting them sanded (or maybe even dipped depending on what they are made of) and repainted professionally instead.

Skirting and architrave is less pricey than doors, but you will pay for the fitting and painting as it’s fiddly. And as a PP said any plasterwork if the plaster gets damaged in removing the old stuff. What is wrong with the existing stuff ? Is it very dented or is it more years of blobby paint? If the latter then again you may find it best to get someone in to sand down the blobs and maybe even burn off the worst bits and then repaint. Rather than replacing.

[sidsidsid]

@NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 that included under stairs storage being built so should be quite a bit cheaper without.