Replacing skirting - help!

[ChocBix]

Hi all, I have moved Into a new home and I want to redecorate the living room. The skirting boards are currently coming off the wall...they're still stuck on but I'm guessing they're ancient and just tilting away from the wall at the top of that makes sense.

My question is...I have laminate flooring with a border piece around it...I want to ideally replace the skirting but not the laminate. Will this be possible? Am I best getting a professional in? Please help me I'm clueless !

Can you post a photo showing the skirting coming away and the beading (the bit covering the gap between the laminate and skirtings)? I suspect that it might just need some caulking where the skirtings meet the wall. They might not need replacing unless you want to change the pattern or replace painted with oak, for example.

Removing the skirtings may remove some of the plaster on the walls which might then need tidying up. Ideally, the flooring should go under the skirtings for a neat finish, i.e. no beading is used and the flooring is laid first and skirtings put on afterwards so there is minimal visible gap. It sounds as though the laminate was put down with existing skirtings in place. If I were you, I'd wait until I wanted to change the laminate and do the floor and the skirtings at the same time. Otherwise you'll have nice new skirting boards which will need beading attaching to them.