DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

hello im new here so please bare with me so here goes.
basically i have decorated the whole of my living room e.g. papered walls, painted, and had new carpet fitted, now after all this my girlfriend has now decided she wants a new fire display, the problem is that its a whole suite and fits flush to the wall so it needs a section of the skirting board to be cut out, is there any way to cut skirting board without damaging new wallpaper and new carpet. i don't really want to remove board if possible as its attached to plaster board and when i did this in other room it made mess of wall. please if anyone can help i would be very greatfull.

thankyou

if you can remove your skirting without doing any damage at all then you'd be extremely lucky, be prepared for at least a little making good.

pull the carpet out of the way - don't use saws or any cutting equipment near it for obvious reasons.

i've tackled similar projects in the past and i use my bosch pmf 180 multitool which does a pretty good job of cutting the skirting with little (but not completely without) damage.

assume you don't know how the skirting is fixed to the plasterboard - check to see if it's screwed to the studwork as this will help immensely with keeping remedial work to a minimum. if glued then you are likely to have a mess on your hands - plasterboard will be torn away but either way do not expect it to be pretty behind your skirting regardless of how it's fixed on.

i can almost guarantee that you will not be able to remove the skirting to leave no visible damage. if you are not prepared for any making good then i suggest you leave it where it is.

Hi.
I agree with your latest response which is the correct way. However, if you can't remove the skirting without damaging the surounding area, may I suggest the following:
Measure the skirting you want to remove. Mark a straight line with a sliding square. And use a hammer and SHARP chisel. It's a little laborious and not as neat as previous post, depending on how confident/careful you are, but it will eventually get the job done.
Hope this helps.

You should be able to tell if the skirting is nailed on with counter sunk heads.

If so, you should be able to get the skirting off with out too much hassle by slipping a chisel for example behind the skirting and gently prising the skirting away from the wall.

I have done this a few times with good results, but be prepared to sand and repaint the skirting before reinstalling it. You're not going to be able to cut it in situ, as if your asking, your not likely to have the right tools.

Remember to pull the carpet away first.

hello just a quick reply to let you know i have installed fire i just cut skirting with tenon saw and it poped right out all that looking for best tool turns out already had it only took about half hour max to fit whole thing and there is no damage to rest of skirting.
happy days :D