Caulk or beading

[SquashBandicoot]

Have terrible draughts from a gap between skirting board and floor. Should I just fill the gap with decorators caulk or will adding beading help with stopping the draughts?

There are also big gaps between some of the skirting boards in this area - is caulk the right thing to fill those?

There's also a draught coming up from where the radiator pipes go down into the floor - what would be the best way to fill these?

Thanks!

Caulk will probably crack over time as the floor naturally expands/contracts. Beading would do it but I always found it a bit annoying and trashed it with the hoover. There's something called Draughtex for floorboards that might help? Don't underestimate the importance of ventilation in an old house though!

I hate the look of beading. I have seen white silicone used very successfully, the colour blends into skirting painted white. Scrub out the gap and dry first as it will not stuck to dirt. Not sure what your floor is, protect it with masking tape.

Silicone done not sink and crack like caulk does. You can get a paintable grade if you want. You will need a skeleton application gun.

@PigletJohn thanks - is something like this the right kind of thing?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/ob1-painterspal-paintable-hybrid-sealant-white-290ml/267JM?tc=CT7&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19823510542&gbraid=0AAAAAD8IdPwmg8VCf7URjdm_JHA9y3lWa&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsY3LBhCwARIsAF6O6XjVKGvwgmIRnnZXtNaiKDCDEzUa65dRWC90GYZKtDSM4zCyM8i-rCUaAsu0EALw_wcB

Floor is laminate. Can I also use the sealant to close the gap around the radiator pipe as that is also causing a draught?

I haven't used "hybrid " but the description looks fine. If you sand down and repaint the skirting white it will look better.

For gaps round pipes, you can get a sort of disk in two halves that fits round the pipe. Probably in the flooring section. This sort of thing.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/unika-real-wood-pipe-collars-oak-2-pack/53482

When and if you need new laminate, you can get a better result by lifting the floorboard at the edge of the room and packing the gap against the wall between the joists with mineral wool as used in lofts. It packs easily into irregular gaps and blocks the cold air and black dust that blows up the gap under the skirting.

Caulk and even silicone will detach over time as the floor/house moves. I’ve used a strip of foam and pushed it into the gap in our Victorian property. You can buy it on a roll and cut to size. Same stuff used for draught excluding around doors. Search Amazon for “foam roll for draughts”