How to add skirting boards to Laminex Surround?

[NiKu]

Hi,

I bought a few sheets of surround by Laminex (heritage VJ 900mm) and 18mm thick skirting boards and a thin 18mm for on top.

We got an old heritage home and I'm mindful of existing architraves and doorways. 18mm is also the thickness of the old skirting boards and fits very well to cover the space between floorboards and wall (directly down to subfloor).

My thinking was to install the 18mm skirting, on top the VJ panels and lastly the 18mm top ledge nicely stacked above each other. Furniture would be 18mm removed from the wall.

However now watching the videos it looks like I need to install the VJ panel first with like a 1cm expansion gap to the bottom and then put the skirting in front of that. So now I would be like 28mm off the wall with the furniture at the bottom, 18mm in the middle and 1cm at the top. It's going to look weird. Particularly as there is a large chest of drawers right when you walk into the room and the gap is right in your face.

Question, does my approach of first skirting, then panel, then top ledge work? Would there be expansion issues I need to be aware of?

Thank you heaps

[EricL]

Hello @NiKu 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about skirting boards.

The typical thickness of an Easycraft VJ Panel is 9mm. If your current skirting board is 18mm, would it be possible for you to put a timber moulding on top of the existing skirting board? This will save you from having to double the thickness of your skirting board. 

I've placed a sample sketch below to give you an idea of my proposal. Please let me know if it's not possible to do it in such a way. My next suggestion would be to reduce the expansion gap to 7mm and fill it with Selleys 475g No More Gaps Interior Multipurpose Gap Filler. This should disguise the gap nicely and there would be no need to add additional timber to the skirting board. However, please let me know if you had another configuration in mind.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[NiKu]

Thank you heaps Eric.

Do I have to do an expansion gap?

Other questions, the surround by Laminex boards will go against an internal brick wall and I planned on putting the boards straight against the wall. I wanted to use liquid nails but probably need some screws or nails too. Do you think normal masonry screws would be enough?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @NiKu,

I see you are installing Surround by Laminex, and my colleague @EricL has referenced Easycraft. However, they are both 9mm, so his method will still work.

To install Surround by Laminex, you'd need to follow their installation guide. You'll find the section on fixing onto masonry surfaces on page 21. Unfortunately, "Direct fixing to brick, blockwork or masonry is not permitted and will not be recognised under warranty.". If you are to install the product as per requirements, furring strips are needed. It's hard to know what fixings would be enough as it's not a recognised fixing method. However, we've seen members successfully instal panelling using construction adhesive and masonry screws. Just remember, this isn't covered under warranty.

A 10mm gap between the bottom edge and the floor is required. In your case, the skirting board would be considered the 'floor' as the product is sitting on top of it. You could decide not to have the expansion gap. However, my concern would be that you could end up with a gap between the skirting and board, or if it expands, have the board bow. The expansion gap is required for warranty purposes, but since you are not fixing the sheets to the wall in the required way, having the expansion gap is likely just another area you could choose to deviate away from the installation instructions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell