Any skirting board experts, or carpenters?

[worldgonecrazy]

I want to have ogee skirting - pine so we can stain it, rather than mdf. However the builder has said that modern production methods mean that the ogee profile (4 inch height) is weak and prone to warping and that he won't be able to get a good finish even though the walls are newly skimmed and not too bad. Is he bullshitting me because a bullnose is easier to fit and he can't be arsed, or is it just that his carpenter isn't skilled enough and we need to find one that is? There are several internal and external mitre joints to go around pillars, if that makes a difference.

The joints will tend to open up as the house dries out, especially if fitted when the plaster is damp. White silicone is more flexible than caulk or filler, but don't apply it until the joints have shrunk open.

Internal joints are not mitred but "scribed"
I can't do it but a skilled chippy can.

For a superlative job, fix battens to the wall, one aligned to the top of the skirting, and one about 18mm up from the floor, and then the skirting is fixed to the battens with small screws, and is not in direct contact with the damp wall. But if you are going to do it that way the battens should be fixed before plastering the walls, it is more work afterwards.

Cheap modern skirting is MDF sprayed white, and more stable than real wood.

P.s.

If you are having stained pine, fix it with brass screws. Then you can easily take it off to sand and restain in future. Big nails may cause splits.

This is all more work than gluing MDF to the wall.

Thank you for that detailed answer. The plaster has dried out. We have decided to go with a very boring bullnose profile instead, as it really looks crap and I don't think the carpenter is up to anything too technical. There was a 3-4mm gap between the skirting and the wall around the pillars, and we didn't want to use any form of filler/silicon as it doesn't look right for the room as that pillar is the first thing you see when you walk in the door.

I suppose you could put pine beading over it.

The batten method is very good for avoiding gaps.

If the external miter joint is cut at 45 degrees and still is open at the front , with a coping saw you can remove some of the wood from the inner part of the joint to close the gap . The same result can be achieved with the inner miter. Skirting boards can look good with brushing wax too.

coping saws are a bit like a mini hacksaw with a blade that can be tensioned . You can use masonry pins for any part of the skirting to pull it in where the wall runs out. I use a combination of no nails adhesive and masonry pins .Cuprinol do a all purpose wood filler cellulose based and different colors for different woods. You can use it on items that live outside too