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Dear All,
Does the skirting board do they need to be stained first before they are put on the full house or can they be applied after the joiner fix the skirting board.

I have been advised by the Joiner who works in the builder merchant to fix the skirting board first and then stain it, as otherwise what will happen is the skirting board will be like a rocking chair.

The reason i was asking is the ground floor is more chance of getting dampl as we have timber floor, as in winter the floor is really cold even though there is polystyrene between joist. Heating goes off and you can tell there is heat loss. We have double glazing and we live in north west.

Im a joiner so i would say fix first.
1) makes my job easier
2) Parts where fixings are applied will need to be stained again and u never get the same colour.

If paint finish i would say prime first then paint gloss after fixing but varnishing i would say fix first. How are they being fixed? If it is with something like no nails then it would be easier to varnish first. But again the wood may slinter in areas slightly when cut to size

Hi Mike,
They will be fixed with screws and the mitre will be nailed. The varnish may penetrate only the half of the wood, as my concern was the other half of the wood will not protected. skirting wood will be 2.50cm thick.

The other half of skirting board will be against the wall and constantly being cold and the other half of the skirting board will be at room temperature.

Like i said the bulider merchant said if you varnish the skirting board before fixing then you will have different shape, as it will not fixed straight away and it will go bowed shape.

Maybe he's right. Depends how long is he leaving them before he fixes them. I haven't ever experienced that problem. Cold is fine against wood as its fixed and won't start coming off the wall. I've took off skirting boards that have been on for donkeys years unvarnished on the back and they are still in good shape.
Like I said before i would fix then fill any holes that the screws have made then varnish. The filled part and the unfilled part tends to come out the same colour. If you varnish then fill then varnish filler they end up 2 different shades.

Thanks Mike.
I will fix them first, as the old one i took out there was nothing wrong at the back of the skirting board and they were there for over 100years.

Thanks again for your help.

if you stain only one side of the board, the moisture from the stain will penetrate only one side, causing it to cup and twist. this will happen through the back of the board after fitting, especially if the room is damp.

the proper way is to stain both sides before fixing, once fit, fill and use a second coat of stain on the face.

do both sides at the same time as far as poss. same goes for doors etc

I didn't think they stained both sides as the wood still needs to breath. Like on doors they tend to leave the bottom of the door unvarnished. When i do doors i fit them first then take the door off and all the door furniture then varnish. If there are plenty of fixings in the skirting the boards shouldn't be able to cup will they? as they will be fixed.

breathing = movement, undesired

did you ever get people telling you their door fits fine in the summer, but sticks in the winter? = moisture penetration from end grain at bottom of door because it is not painted/ stained

what makes you think that wood needs to breath, it is dead you know!!

ps if you get a lot of fixings in it, and the room is damp, it will split. the expansion of wood is incredibly powerful, you will not stop it with nails and gripfill

Hi lol at your reply. nice one made me laugh, then cry can't believe it's dead ;+)
All skirking i have took off in houses that have been donkeys years old have never had the back painted or varnished so i searched websites and asked painters i know. What i have gathered it seems its best to varnish back first like you said then cut, varnish end grains. Then fix with no coat on front. Fill all gaps, holes from fixing etc then paint/varnish front (face side of skirting). You are right about the doors never seen one painter do bottom of the door which i thought was for a reason......it was it was because they are too lazy lol

ive never heard of varnishing the back of skirtings before tbh and ive fitted a good amount of skirting in the past. if theres massive amounts of dampness you may weant to look at getting that sorted first.

other than that if you have to pack the skirting away from the wall with thin off cuts of timber do that. 99 % of the time i counter sink holes then screw and plug the skirtings. usually for example ill drill 2 holes one above the other (one close to the top the other close to the bottom obviously) maybe 1.5 m apart then screw it to the wall and just before im ready to stain it ill plug the holes. I bought a trend snappy counter sink drill and plug cutter set for this purpose.

I haven't heard of varnishing back of skirting before, i do same as you mate 2 holes in line all the way along and cut and plug it, matching the grains up as well as i can. Never had any problems. When i researched it staining the back is the correct method of pratice. I don't think she has damp just cold walls. Good point though mate, it would be a good idea to suggest to your joiner to put wood plugs in instead of filling.

Thankyou for all your replies. I have attached ground floor skirting without staining the back. I hope it will be ok, as i do not have any damp.