Draught proofing skirting boards on laminate floor?

Mark A

Mark A

Mark A

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I have laminate flooring in my bedroom and can feel a draught coming from between the skirting boards and the laminate. I haven't filled the screw holes yet, so can take them all off if I need to.

I was thinking of just putting a fine silicone bead around the whole room (where the skirting meets the floor) and caulking the top, but just a bit worried that this could then stop the laminate from moving? My other idea was to get hold of some 3-5mm draught excluder foam strip and sticking it to the under side of the skirting board and then when the screws go back in they will pull it down tight and should fill the gaps. But not sure if this would also have the same effect of stopping the laminate from moving freely.

Will silicone or the foam do the trick? Or any better methods?

Cheers.
 
I'm not 100% sure where the draught is coming from. It's a wooden floor, so maybe some air getting through where the floor joists are bricked into the cavity wall? Or do they put airbricks into the inside skin to allow air to circulate around the floor cavity? It's not a lot, but enough to make the floor feel cold in places.
 
Have this in one room with oak beams. Air is coming through the gap in the skirting board which leads to the void/basement underneath - and that's getting a nice funnel of cold air from the the air bricks.
Would have attacked it with silicone sealant already but that would look ugly :(.
 
Nightglow said:
When I've laid laminate floor, I have always taped the joints in the underlay, & taken it up the walls by about 50mm, this is then covered by the skirting.
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That's a good idea. I used the green fibre board underlay so couldn't do that, but will use the foam sheet stuff next time.

Would have attacked it with silicone sealant already but that would look ugly
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Yeah, thats another concern about using silicone. I'm pretty good with it and can get a nice neat line, but it'll still be visible. I like the clean edge you get when putting the skirting on top of the laminate, so would be a shame to ruin that.

I might give the foam a shot. Would need to be really soft so that it can be compressed enough to not leave a gap between the flooring and skirting.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weatherba..._Door_Accessories_LE&var=&hash=item20c53501a6
 
With the underlay board it's a good idea to seal with a sealant where it meets the wall to eliminate any draughts before fitting the laminate.

This sealant might be suitable as it will accommodate -/+ 25% movement.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Adh...um Building Silicone 310ml/d180/sd2350/p97204

EDIT: If you remove skirting, you should have a expansion gap between laminate & wall, this gap should be wide enough, so it possible to seal the gap between the underlay board & the wall where they meet?

You can always plane a chamfer on the back of the skirting bottom edge to allow clearance for the bead of sealant, if it stops skirting fitting properly, have done this in the past to solve your problem.
 
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Dow Corning do a lovely clear that the silicone I think the name has diamond in it as it has a sparkle to it. Once set you can hardly tell it's there.

I used it on my oak worktops to oak upstands.
 
I've sealed the gap between skirting and laminate throughout the whole ground floor of my house using silicone. I did it to stop insects getting in but I was pleasantly surprised at how much better it looks. Makes it look more finished without the gap. I bought a set of sealant smoothing tools by 'No Nonsense' to get a perfect finish and personally wouln't attempt it without these cos its a messy job!
 
stonewall_jack said:
I've sealed the gap between skirting and laminate throughout the whole ground floor of my house using silicone. I did it to stop insects getting in but I was pleasantly surprised at how much better it looks. Makes it look more finished without the gap. I bought a set of sealant smoothing tools by 'No Nonsense' to get a perfect finish and personally wouln't attempt it without these cos its a messy job!
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Do those tools work well then? I have seen them online, but i can't imagine them not just smearing the silicone all over the place.

I have ordered 10m of that foam from the ebay listing to see if it'll do the job. It's pretty cheap so worth a shot.

The crystal clear silicone or felt are good options too if this foam doesnt work.

Thanks for the ideas, will report back when the foam arrives.
 
Yes the set i bought is fantastic. Paid about a tenner for it and all it is is 3 bits of rubbery plastic with different profiles. You just overfill the gap with sealant and drag your required profile along it. The excess collects on the tool as you go. I did see some others that claimed to be smoothing tools but they had rubbish reviews.
 
I think this foam is going to work. Leaves a small gap of a mm or less and should go a bit more once the screws go back in. Think it'll look better than sealing it despite the small gap.

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That foam will look grim once the dust etc gets in there over time.

Why put laminate flooring down over a wooden floor? I assume the boards aren't great?
 
Turbo-G said:
That foam will look grim once the dust etc gets in there over time.

Why put laminate flooring down over a wooden floor? I assume the boards aren't great?
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They were just bog standard pine ones that had been cut in places to gain access to pipes etc and were full of gaps with broken T&G everywhere. Would have looked horrible sanded up. I'll replace it with solid oak one day, but just can't afford it at the moment as there is so much that needs doing.

I put the foam a few mm back from the edge so that it isn't seen and now the skirts have all gone back the screws have pulled them down so there is virtually no gap. Maybe 1/2 a mm. Its worked a treat as there is no draught at all now.

DSC_6090_zps554a1a3f.jpg


Just need to fill the holes and then put a couple of top coats on and it should look ok.
 
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