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Property/DIY

How high are your skirting boards? For a 1930s detached house.

13 replies

NewspaperTaxis · 28/03/2023 11:47

The family house dates back to the 1930s and is so old it doesn't have skirting boards but rather a strange curbed stone curve at the base - along with a load of Artex on the walls! We're having the hall and landing painted and the curbed curve which reduces the width of the room and gathers dust has to go.

We did have the foresight to install new plug sockets some distance up the walls to allow for taller skirting boards, but I'm not sure whether to opt for these. Presumably they have to be uniform throughout the house, including the loo? Would the taller ones be significantly more expensive? I read on another thread they can be a drag with radiators because things get stuck behind the radiator if kids are on the premises - crayons, etc.

Are tall skirting boards a bit 'flash' - the sort of thing you get in well-to-do houses, which like 'flock wall paper' which can be a bit overreaching if you don't fit that bracket? Are any skirting boards below par or is that not really possible?

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17to35 · 28/03/2023 12:57

Not sure what your current set up is but no, sb do not have to be a consistent height throughout.
Downstairs are usually deeper than upstairs for a start.

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MissAtomicBomb1 · 28/03/2023 20:44

We have a house from the late 20s and the skirting boards are about 6 inches high and an inch deep. A bit of a pain to dust but they do look lovely. The sockets more or less sit on top of them.

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CasperGutman · 28/03/2023 21:44

Mid 1930s semi here. Skirting boards about 16cm high.

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caringcarer · 28/03/2023 23:15

6 inches.

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mmalinky · 29/03/2023 09:13

is there a particular style that should be used in 1930s?

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Geneticsbunny · 29/03/2023 09:21

Can we have a pic of your current skirting please? I can't picture it at all and it sounds fascinating. Do you think it was put in in the 60s/ 70s with the artex?

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Ginmonkeyagain · 29/03/2023 13:08

We have a thirties flat and have normal, if slightly small, skirting boards. We also have bobbly artex ceilings and those mad ceiling lights in the bedroom that are near the window rather than in the centre of the room.

I have seen those types of curved skirtings in thirties properties before - usually in social housing. It was to stop people pushing furniture right against the ealls and causing damp/mould issues.

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NewspaperTaxis · 29/03/2023 16:38

Thanks everyone! Will post a photo of mad curb-style skirting board in next day or so!
Other odd features of this house include a sort of Upstairs Downstairs call bell in the kitchen! It is supposed to link to various bedrooms plus the bathroom which has a push button bell on the wall tiles by the bath but I dimly recall it only being functional in the mid 70s but not since then! The eccentric in me wouldn't mind it being fixed but to what purpose I do not know and what the cost would be...
The Artex is a bugger and had to be skimmed over in the kitchen - the decorator did a good job actually though we might have preferred he hack back to the brick and build up from that, but you wouldn't know. Every single bloody room is Artex, they knew what they liked back then.
I don't really say that a 1930s house needs any particular skirting board but another M'net thread talked of sb's for a 1950s bungalow so I thought it might be best to put you in the picture.
Thanks for all the replies.

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RidingMyBike · 29/03/2023 17:48

We have a house of similar age and have replaced all the skirting boards with the shortest height available with a chamfered edge - it's a lot easier to clean and also fits well with furniture.

www.howdens.com/joinery/skirting-boards?style=Chamfered

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CindersAgain · 29/03/2023 17:59

Ours is original 1930s, needing a good clean and repainting by now, but here is a pic. I would not have wanted anything modern so we kept the old style when we were doing up.

How high are your skirting boards? For a 1930s detached house.
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NoIdeasForWittyNickname · 30/03/2023 01:29

I've come across recommendations that for visually pleasing/proportionate effect, skirting should be 1/17 or 1/18 of the height of the room's cieling or double the width of the door architraves 🙄

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User639762456 · 30/03/2023 07:40

Ours are original ones and they are 6 inches apart from hallway which are 7 inches

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mmalinky · 30/03/2023 08:32

thanks for the tips!

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