How to remove an old wooden baseboard. How to remove a plastic baseboard. How to peel off a decorative baguette from a stretch ceiling - basic recommendations

Repairs in any room require the most various works. This includes wall decoration, floor finishing, and replacement of windows/doors. But in most cases - and this is especially true for secondary housing - various dismantling works are carried out in advance, affecting almost all elements inside the premises. The plinth must be dismantled in order to be able to correctly install the new one. flooring, as well as for the purpose of replacing old products. The procedure is quite simple, and therefore you can do it yourself.

Types of floor skirting boards

The use of skirting boards when decorating the junction of floors and walls is necessary, because this decorative item performs a lot of useful functions:

closes the compensation gap that forms between the floor covering and the wall (when laying laminate, parquet boards and other materials);
masks uneven surfaces near the walls formed during the installation of floor finishing;
serves as a cable channel and allows you to lay electrical communications and other cables inside;
allows the walls and floor to harmoniously fit together.

The complexity of dismantling work regarding this decorative element will directly depend on what type of baseboard needs to be removed, as well as how it was secured. Therefore, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with all types of products in order to have an idea of how difficult or simple the job will be.

Table. Types of floor skirting boards.

Material of manufacture	Description
	The oldest and most famous type of plinth. Usually made from wood coniferous species, as well as beech or oak. Environmentally friendly, very durable and beautiful. It is quite expensive compared to other types. Another disadvantage of wooden plinths is that they are difficult to install; the material requires very precise fitting of parts, and then finishing (for example, painting). Yes, and it’s not easy to dismantle. It also does not have cable channels; laying wires under it is inconvenient and undesirable due to the high fire hazard.
	It is very popular due to its beautiful appearance (no worse than wood) and low price. Lightweight, easy to install, often has cable channels for laying wires. Plastic plinth does not need to be coated with varnish or paint. The product is made of PVC and may have different heights and absolutely any color. Disadvantages: fragility mechanical impact and the need to use additional elements(plugs, connectors).
	Easy to clean and relatively inexpensive. Not afraid of ultraviolet radiation, does not fade, does not crumble. Made from MDF. Can imitate expensive wood species. There are cable channels. The main disadvantages are low strength and short service life.
	Has a wood base and is beautiful outer covering, coated with varnish or melamine. A wide range of colors, natural material, reasonable cost, as well as the possible presence of a cable channel are attracting more and more consumers to veneered plinths. The main disadvantage of the material is the fear of water.
	Often used in commercial premises, it is extremely rare in residential buildings. Various wires can be laid inside it.
	Flexible, easy to install, but requires finishing(painting) provided that the plinth white does not fit the interior. It is not afraid of temperature changes or humidity, so it can be used in the kitchen or bathroom.

Methods of fastening skirting boards

All types of skirting boards require a certain method of fastening and can be installed using:

self-tapping screws (all types);
nails (wooden, veneered);
adhesive solutions (all types);
special mounting brackets(MDF, plastic, etc.);
chopiks (wooden).

Basic rules for dismantling

You won’t be able to remove the old baseboard with your bare hands, so you should get necessary tool. The list below is general - some of the devices, depending on the method of attaching the plinth, may not be needed.

What you will need for work:

nail puller or crowbar;
screwdriver or screwdriver;
mallet, spatula;
spatula;
hammer;
stationery or any other sharp knife;
wooden wedges or chisels.

Advice! To carry out the work, you should take clothes that you don’t mind. There is not so much debris and dust when dismantling skirting boards, but, nevertheless, they exist. You can also easily ruin clean clothes if you remove a plinth that was previously installed with glue.

The most difficult thing is to remove the baseboard secured with nails without damaging the walls and floor. In this case, you will have to put in a lot of effort, since the product is usually installed using powerful and long nails, which are quite difficult to tear out from the base. Here you need to use a small crowbar (crowbar), a chisel or a small spatula.

Attention! When dismantling a wooden plinth secured with nails, the effort must be great, but sudden movements can't be done.

If the baseboard is screwed with self-tapping screws, then the work will be much easier. In this case, using a screwdriver or screwdriver, the baseboard is simply unscrewed.

Attention! If the product is equipped with a cable channel, then it is important, before starting dismantling work, to remove all wires from it, especially electrical ones. Otherwise, there will be a risk that the person performing the work may receive an electric shock.

How to remove baseboards with your own hands?

Sometimes skirting boards need to be removed to replace them with new ones, sometimes to lay fresh flooring and then put it back in place. Breaking is not building, and in any case, removing the baseboards to throw them away is much easier. But to reuse them, you will have to act carefully. Let's consider methods for dismantling skirting boards, depending on the material from which they are made, and on how and with what they are secured.

How to remove a wooden baseboard from the floor?

The most difficult to dismantle are old wooden skirting boards, which were produced back in the days of the Soviet Union and were made to last. And they were attached the same way. Yes, such products are still found in some apartments and have not yet outlived their usefulness, although they have lost their appearance under a mass of layers of paint. They can be fixed in several ways - with glue, nails, or to the wall or floor.

The first thing you need to do is look at how the baseboard is attached. If nails were used for this, their heads will be clearly visible on the surface of the product. They can be recessed into it or, conversely, protrude slightly above the surface.

If the plinth is nailed to the floor, in the place where the nail is found, a crowbar is driven under the plinth with the side with the curved end. It is more convenient to do this if you additionally use a pointed flat spatula. Next, all that remains is to tilt the crowbar and the plinth will come away. There is no need to pull it out completely - the same procedure is carried out at the next nail. And only when the plinth is raised along its entire length is it removed completely.

Advice! Very often to tear off wooden baseboard secured with powerful thick nails, it takes a lot of effort. In order not to damage the floors and protect them from dents, a small piece of plywood is placed under the base of the crowbar.

Sometimes new wooden baseboards have to be dismantled in the same way. They can be used again. However, the plinth may break during work. To prevent this from happening, dismantling must begin from the edge of the wall, and the product should be lifted at a time by no more than 1-3 cm. Also, there should not be a large distance between the crowbar and the nail, otherwise the plinth can easily break. After the product has been raised by this amount, you need to return to the first nail and raise it higher. The rest of the joints are processed in the same way until the nails come out completely. If you can’t get close to the plinth with a crowbar, then you can use a chisel to try to work the product around the nail heads, and then remove them (the nails) separately and remove the plinth.

Advice! In this case, a small crowbar can serve as a support for the crowbar. wooden block.

Sometimes it happens that the nails on the surface of the baseboard are not noticeable - most likely, they were puttied after installation. In this case, you will have to act at random, starting from the beginning of the plinth. As a rule, nails were driven in increments of no more than 70 cm. Usually the distance between them is 50 cm. The first nail will be located approximately 20 cm from the edge.

It is more difficult to remove a baseboard that is nailed to the wall rather than to the floor. In this case, it is easy to damage both the plaster and the wallpaper on the walls. Typically this kind of fastening can be found in very old houses. In this case, a thin spatula is driven between the wall and the baseboard - this is an attempt to slightly expand the existing gap. Next, insert a wooden wedge and drive it deeper with a hammer. The procedure is repeated in increments of approximately 30 cm. Then they return to the first wedge, it is driven even deeper, then the second and so on. You will have to work like this until the plinth itself moves away from the wall. If you don’t mind covering the walls, then you can use a crowbar.

Video - How to remove old skirting boards

Removing a baseboard screwed with self-tapping screws

In this case, it is likely that things will go easier. In the same way as in the previous section, you should find all the screw heads. They can be recessed into the baseboard, or they can protrude slightly above the surface. In order to dismantle the plinth, just use a screwdriver or screwdriver to unscrew all the screws, and the product will be easily removed.

If the screws were driven into the baseboard, which is also not uncommon, then you must act in exactly the same way as when removing a baseboard secured with nails.

Dismantling wooden plinths with choppers

It is extremely rare, but still there are skirting boards attached to the base using small wooden choppers. This installation method occurs in 5% of cases. Typically, the technique is used when installing expensive skirting boards from valuable species tree. In this case, the attachment points will be unnoticeable - they may be circles that resemble knots in the appearance of solid wood.

Advice! You can find chopiks by the dark rim around them or by the grain of the wood. The fibers of the baseboard will run along, and the fibers of the chop will run across.

In this case, the chopsticks are simply drilled out or picked out using improvised means. Sometimes there may be nails or screws underneath them. Then the same crowbar will be used.

Removing MDF skirting boards

Skirting boards made from MDF are usually attached to the wall using special fasteners and secured with a latch. These fasteners are screwed to the wall separately, and the decorative product itself is mounted on them.

In order to remove such a plinth, use a wide spatula. It is driven under the bottom of the baseboard and is used as a small lever. The baseboard rises. The spatula can also be inserted into the gap between the wall and the baseboard - in this case it pulls towards itself. All actions are carried out very carefully. As a result of the work done, the plinth will simply snap off and be removed from the mount.

How to remove a plastic baseboard from the floor?

The easiest way to dismantle plastic skirting boards. As a rule, they are not held as securely as, for example, wooden ones, and are usually simply screwed to the wall using self-tapping screws and dowels. The fastening point is covered with an insert, so the fastening elements are invisible from the outside.

Removing the plastic floor plinth

It is better to start work from any external corner. This is one of the most common dismantling methods.

Step 1. Using a flat-head screwdriver decorative corner It is hooked from below and gently lifted. Then it is simply removed by hand.

Step 2. The strip covering the cable channel and the fastening points with self-tapping screws is removed by hand.

Step 3. Use a screwdriver or screwdriver to unscrew the screws. The baseboard has been removed.

However external corners Not everyone has them in their rooms. It depends geometric shape premises. Fortunately, you can remove the plinth in another way - in this case, dismantling begins from the end part.

Step 1. The end cap is removed from the end of the plinth by hand.

Step 2. The bar covering the cable channel is pulled out by hand.

Step 3. Self-tapping screws can be unscrewed in any convenient way.

Video - How to remove a plastic skirting board

The method for dismantling each type of plinth is described in sufficient detail, and therefore problems should not arise during the work (at least for those who carefully read the article). As a rule, even for novice craftsmen, everything goes quickly at this stage of repair.

pol-exp.com

If the baseboard is nailed to the floor

In 55% of cases, the nail heads are above the surface of the baseboard, so finding them is not a problem. In other cases, they are recessed into the baseboard, and you can find them by their characteristic pits. In this case, the pointed end of the crowbar is driven under the baseboard. The crowbar should be located near the place where the baseboard is nailed to the floor. They pull her towards themselves.

Removing nailed baseboards

Pay attention!
With such actions, it is enough to simply push a recess into the floorboard, especially in cases where the nails are covered with rust.

The support area of the crowbar increases if you make a backing at the support point under the crowbar, for example, from a piece of thin board, thick plastic or plywood. If the calculation is incorrect, the plinth breaks. What should I do? At the support point of the crowbar, it is necessary to place a wooden block on the floor, having a thickness of about 6 cm, but not less than 3 cm.

Place a wooden block

To avoid damage to the baseboard, it is better to start dismantling it from the edge. First, it is raised 1-3 cm from the floorboard on the first outermost nail, and then on the second and subsequent ones. At this distance, the product should be torn off the floor along the entire wall. The procedure is repeated until the baseboard is removed.

Pay attention!
The greater the distance between the crowbar and the nail, the greater the risk that the baseboard will eventually break.

If the baseboard is nailed to the wall

Of course, you can act a little differently. To do this, they undermine the plinth on the first nail from the edge, then on the second, then again on the first, then on the third and on the second, return to the first, etc. However, these are already conventions; it all depends on how convenient it is for the master. If it is not possible to remove the plinth in this way, then using a chisel you can cut out small recesses in the wooden plinth next to the nail. Then the nails are pulled out, clinging them to the heads with a crowbar. IN in this case a thick wooden block will serve as a fulcrum.

Wooden plinth

If nails are not visually visible on a wooden baseboard, this most likely means that the joints were puttied before painting. It is known that they are located at a distance of half a meter from each other, a maximum of 70 cm. The first nail is located 10-20 cm from the edge of the wall. So, the crowbar is driven with its pointed end under the baseboard at a distance of 10-20 cm from the edge. After this, it is smoothly and slowly raised. Then the last nail is seated in place. The fact is that if the holes from the nails are puttied, then this finishing material will definitely bounce due to vibration. The procedure is repeated again and again until the entire baseboard is removed.

If fastened with screws or self-tapping screws

The heads of self-tapping screws or self-tapping screws are most often recessed into the wood, and you can find them by looking at the holes. In addition, the caps may stick out above the surface, making them even easier to find in this situation. In 3% of cases, the caps are closed with plastic plugs. As you understand, they are also noticeable.

With plugs

To remove the baseboard you just need to unscrew the screws or self-tapping screws with a screwdriver. In some cases, screws are driven into baseboards. What should I do? A crowbar and the methods for dismantling the baseboard described above come to the rescue.

If opened with varnish with choppiks

Skirting board with choppers

These types of skirting boards are rare, in no more than 5% of cases. When installing skirting boards made from valuable wood, the fastening is done flush. After screwing or nailing, the nail or screw is closed with a chopper.

Pay attention!
Finding chopiks is not difficult, because they have a characteristic dark rim. In extreme cases, chopiks differ in texture, which is why they catch the eye, although not immediately. The surface of the plinth has a longitudinal cut of the wood, while the chops have a transverse cut.

As a rule, choppiks are drilled out or made using a narrow chisel. Such plinths are most often attached to the wall using screws or self-tapping screws; to dismantle the plinth you just need to unscrew them with a screwdriver. If, after all, the plinth was nailed, then the crowbar - perfect solution for its careful removal.

Removing a plinth made of MDF and its plastic counterpart

Skirting board with clips

MDF skirting boards are attached using mounting fasteners, sometimes with special latches. The plinth on the mounting brackets is mounted on top, the latches are first screwed to the wall, and then the plinth itself is installed on them. To dismantle it, use a wide spatula. It is driven under the baseboard from below and carefully lifted. Or the spatula is driven between the baseboard and the wall and pulled towards itself. The purpose of the action is to remove the baseboard from the latch.

Plastic skirting boards hidden fastening They are screwed to the wall with screws, after which the fastening area is covered with a special insert. In order to get to the fasteners, you should also use a spatula. When the latch comes away, you need to unscrew the screws or self-tapping screws.

Removing plastic skirting boards

If you have any questions about removing skirting boards from the floor, you can ask questions to the experts working on the site. Write down which dismantling method you used.

thewalls.ru

What tools are needed?

It all depends on the material used to make the products. Materials such as wood, PVC, gypsum, and polystyrene can be used to make skirting boards. The plinth can be with or without corners, with decorative elements or without any.

To dismantle a glued or nailed profile yourself, you will need:

Mallet.
A flathead screwdriver or chisel.
Thin spatula or scraper.
Wooden wedges.
Nail puller.
Stationery or shoe knife.
Hammer.

Plastic

Dismantling plastic skirting boards does not cause any difficulties. As a rule, they are used to close the gap between the floor covering and the wall, screwing them onto dowels. How to remove a plastic baseboard from the floor?

Remove decorative strip.
Pull the wires out of the cable channel and unscrew the screws.
Once the repair is complete, simply reinstall the baseboard.

Important! Now let's talk about how to remove the corner of the baseboard. Once you remove the bar, it will come off by itself.

Stucco molding

It is almost impossible to remove the molding without damaging it. Filming stucco decor during renovation, when the decoration does not fit into the updated design. In all other cases, it is better not to touch the stucco molding.

You can try to remove it by swiping several times sharp knife along the joints, gradually pushing the blade deeper and deeper.

Important! If the mixture on which the decor is held crumbles, then perhaps your attempts will be crowned with success.

However, most often, it is not possible to tear off the molded plinth without damaging it, so it is simply beaten off using a chisel and hammer.

How to remove a plinth from a stretch ceiling (foam, polystyrene)?

Foam and polystyrene strips are usually mounted with glue. To dismantle such products:

Send a stream to them warm air to soften the adhesive.
Run a knife or spatula along the joint and, carefully prying up the profile, remove it.

Important! Take off ceiling plinth It is necessary with maximum care, without touching the front side where the decor is applied. Under the influence of warm air, the material becomes pliable and can be damaged by even minor mechanical impact.

MDF

To fasten the MDF profile, special mounting fasteners or latches are used.

Important! When using fasteners, the profile is put on top of them. The latches are screwed to the wall. After this, the plinth joins them.

To dismantle the MDF structure, one spatula is enough:

Push it under and lift it up slightly.
If the profile remains in place, it means it is secured with latches.
Run the spatula along the wall from below and gently pull it towards you.

The profile can be easily detached.

Complex cases

Here we are talking, first of all, about wooden products, which are secured with nails or strong adhesive compositions. To successfully remove such a profile, you will have to work hard. Start removing the baseboard from the corner or door.

Putty and strong adhesive

Polyurethane and wooden profiles for floors and ceilings are removed with a mallet and a thin spatula:

First, run a putty knife along the joint several times to create a small gap.
Now rest the spatula from below, holding the handle close to the wall.
Gently tap the trowel handle with a mallet until the tip of the trowel fits between the wall and the lath.

The plinth appears to be cut from the wall.

Nails:

To begin with, before removing the plinth, unstitch the seams where the profile meets the floor and wall. As a rule, they are filled with varnish and paint.
Insert the chisel into the gap formed and hammer it in deeper with a hammer.
Now insert a wooden corner into the widened slot.
Repeat all manipulations after one meter, gradually tearing off the baseboard.

Important! If manipulations with a chisel are not successful, use a nail puller (crowbar). But do not overdo it so as not to damage the profile.

The force with which you will act on the crowbar is quite large. Therefore, in order not to damage the floor covering, use thin plywood as a backing.

If wood profile to be disposed of, you can do it even simpler: using a chisel, make a hole near the nail, and then use a nail puller.

Self-tapping screws

To dismantle skirting boards secured with self-tapping screws, it is important to find all their caps. Found it? So, then everything is simple: unscrew them using a screwdriver with reverse or a screwdriver.

Wooden chopsticks

Is the profile fixed with wooden choppers? This mount looks like rounded wooden caps located at the same distance from each other. Wood chips can be removed using a chisel or drilled out.

serviceyard.net

Installation of a plastic baseboard with a cable channel

They are the most convenient in every way. They have an internal strip that allows you to hide wires or communication cables behind it. The fixation of plastic skirting boards is invisible because the heads of the screws or nails are hidden behind the cable channel.

Basically, planks are connected in a straight line with splices; external and internal corners are used to connect corners. The cable channel is removable, so you don’t need to think about how the plastic baseboard is attached.

For fastening to the floor, you can use any available methods, such as: fastening using clips, self-tapping screws, dowels, finishing or ordinary nails.

After it is fixed, the insert is returned to its place and everything is hidden under it. fasteners and cables.

Regardless of the method, using locks or ordinary strips with inserts, they are fastened by snapping them into special clips installed in advance on the walls of the room, at a distance of fifty centimeters.

Latch clips are produced in a convex shape; when fastened, they recede slightly from the plane of the wall, so a small free space remains under the baseboard, into which telephone and television cables can easily fit.

In the case of using conventional planks, first of all, communications are laid, and then the baseboard is fastened.

This is convenient because you do not need to worry about the subsequent removal method; if necessary, it is simply snapped out of the locks. For fastening plastic skirting boards to the floor or to walls made of wood or lined with various materials:

Wood materials;
Or drywall;

They use methods that differ from mounting on concrete or plastered brick walls. For fastening skirting boards to frame walls use screws for metal, screwing the strips with them. They are attached through the cladding material to the metal frame profiles.

The most aesthetic installation method

The installation technology and the instructions from the manufacturers do not describe a method of fastening without the use of connecting elements, called “splices” by experts, or without the use of internal and external corners, but such a method exists.

This method can be called one of the best, since there is no installation of parts that spoil the appearance of the floor edging.

Elements for connecting factory-made parts may protrude above the surface of the planks or differ in color, which looks unsightly. However, installation without them is not an easy method. First you need to connect the baseboards in the corner.

To do this, the ends of the planks are sawed off on a “chair”, a special device for smooth cutting of angles of ninety and forty-five degrees.

In our case, we need to cut it at an angle of forty-five degrees, having first removed the cable channel. It is inserted after the plinth is installed on the floor, so that its middle is at the junction of the two planks.

Having sawed the second insert into two parts, its parts are placed on both sides of the whole one.

For cutting, you can use a grinder or a hacksaw. Experts advise people experienced in this type of work to use a grinder; a hacksaw is suitable for beginners.

Thus, installation is carried out by sawing off their ends at the internal and external corners at an angle of forty-five degrees, by analogy with wooden baseboards. All inaccuracies in the work are corrected using fine sandpaper or a grinder with an abrasive disc.

The easiest installation method

There is also a simpler way to attach skirting boards. This method is widely used, but its disadvantage is the caps fastening elements, self-tapping screws or dowel nails that remain visible.

Wide skirting boards are installed in the same way as simple ones, attaching them to the walls through the entire thickness. You should start working from the inner corners. With their help, then, two plinths are connected in this corner and secured to the floor.

To do this, using a drill, mark the points of future holes for fasteners, then press with your hand and drill through it until shallow marks appear on the wall.

The diameter of the drill for the marks and the diameter of the fasteners, screws or dowel nails must match. Then, using a hammer drill with the hammer mechanism turned on, drill holes for dowels according to the marks.

If the walls are smooth, then the distance between the dowels is fifty centimeters. Plastic skirting boards have good flexibility, so they can bend around most irregularities. If not smooth walls, having different differences or complex shape, for example, semicircular, the distance is calculated depending on the situation.

You can use the factory limiter for the hammer drill for drilling walls to avoid mistakes and making holes of greater depth than necessary.

It is necessary to deepen the drill half a centimeter further than the size of the dowel. It is important to observe this condition in order to avoid problems in further dismantling, should such a need arise, for example, to replace cables or repair walls.

You can make a limiter with your own hands; this will require a piece of tube with a small diameter.

To hold the tube on the drill, you need to wrap it with tape or insulating tape, their layer should be such that you have to make an effort to put on the tube. The dimensions of the fastening elements are selected taking into account the material and strength of the walls.

Dowels are driven into the holes, and a strip with a corner attached to one of the ends is placed on top of them. The holes are cut out in advance to further deepen the dowel heads into them.

According to the advice of experts, it is better to do it using a little drill larger diameter than the head of the fastener.

To tighten nails or screws, use a screwdriver or screwdriver. You need to screw it in carefully so as not to twist or strip the thread.

This method of mounting to the floor leaves the fastener caps visible, and the result is not very beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. To correct this shortcoming, you can stick round plates to the fixation points.

They are sold in various construction stores. To select an adhesive, experts advise consulting with sellers.

/ 09.09.2018

How to remove the baseboard

Most often, the nail heads protrude above the surface of the wood, so finding them is not so difficult. But even if they are recessed into the baseboard, even then they are easy to find by their characteristic recesses.

Dismantling with a crowbar - option No. 1

In this case, before removing the plinth from the floor, you need to drive the pointed end of the crowbar under it, not far from the location of the nail holding the plinth.
After this, pull the crowbar towards you.

True, if the nails are rusty and hold tightly, the crowbar will leave a noticeable dent in the floorboard. To avoid this and increase the support area of the tool, you need to put something quite thin but strong (a piece of plywood, a thin board, a metal plate) under the crowbar. But if you apply too much force, the baseboard may break, so you need to act carefully.

For the same purpose - not to damage the border - it is better to start dismantling the baseboard from the edge. First, you need to lift it above the floor in the area of the first nail, then repeat the same at the next, then at the third, and so on, until the entire length of the plinth is at the same distance from the floor. Then continue the operation until the nails finally come out of the floorboards.

The crowbar must be placed as close to the nail as possible, otherwise, the further it is located, the more likely it is that the material will break.

Dismantling with a crowbar - option No. 2

You can do it a little differently: first lift the plinth near the first nail, then near the second, then return to the first, and then move on to the third, then the second, etc.

Video on how to remove an old wooden baseboard from the floor:

If the nails “do not lend themselves” to the crowbar

If the baseboard does not give in anyway, then all that remains is to use a chisel to cut out a small depression near the nail so that the nail can be grabbed by the head with a nail puller. After this, it will be possible to pull the nails out of their homes. Here you can choose a thick wooden block as a support for the crowbar.

If you can't see the nail heads

Sometimes it is not possible to see the location of the nails on a wooden baseboard - in cases where they were puttied before painting.

It can be assumed that the nails are spaced 50-70 cm apart from each other, and the first one is most likely 10-20 cm from the corner of the wall. This is where you should try to find nails when solving the problem of how to remove the baseboard.

First, you need to drive the crowbar under the baseboard 10-20 cm from the corner of the wall and slowly and carefully try to lift it.
There is no point in paying attention to the putty falling off during manipulation - this process is inevitable, and it will need to be renewed later.
A similar procedure continues with the remaining nails until the baseboard is completely removed.

What are the benefits of using skirting boards?

In theory, it would be possible to do without a plinth if the ends of the flooring were perfectly matched to the wall of the room. But in most cases, even when using concrete floors, not to mention wooden coverings, parquet and laminate, there must be a gap between the wall and the end to compensate for the expansion of the material. Therefore, before attaching a plastic plinth to the floor, it will be necessary to take into account the size and location of the plinth strip relative to the cracks.

Using decor makes it possible to solve several problems at once:

Cover defects that are most clearly visible at the horizontal joints of the wall and the floor covering;
Create an additional decorative element bordering the floor around the perimeter of the room;
Hide wiring, cables and even water pipes.

Depending on the height of the plastic plinth and the method of fastening, it depends on whether it will be possible to complete the assigned tasks. Most craftsmen solve the problem of how to attach skirting boards to the floor based on their design, finish and wall material.

Types of plastic skirting boards

Most often, a universal Z-shaped type of polyvinyl chloride skirting board is used for floor edging. Several types of decor are used to decorate home flooring:

Rigid plastic strip with hard edges. This option is used for finishing flat and even walls with hard flooring;
Hollow plinth with flexible edges and an internal channel for laying wires. The groove for laying the wiring is closed with latches with an additional strip;
A flexible tape, shaped to imitate a wooden or hard baseboard, is ideal for edging the joint between the floor covering and plastered walls.

For your information! The good flexibility of the tape allows you to store the decorative element in the form of a wound roll.

Most popular hollow floor plinth fits well into the interior of any room and space, the plastic has sufficient strength and flexibility to withstand the point load from the installed fasteners. This version of the plinth rests on the wall and floor with soft elastic edges, as a result, even significant unevenness in the walls and floor can be compensated and masked.

Rigid plastic material is cheaper and tougher, and can be called an easy replacement for outdated wood flooring. It is used, as well as strip floor plinth, for edging large premises with hard flooring.

In addition to universal floor decor, specialized types of skirting boards are often used, for example, for fixing and tensioning carpet. The strips fix the canvas on the lower edge of the wall and at the same time stretch the material to hold it synthetic fabric on a wooden or plastic backing.

Options for fixing floor skirting boards

According to experienced craftsmen, it does not matter how to fasten the floor plinth, the main thing is to ensure complete adherence of the plastic strip to the wall and strong fixation of the decorative element in the selected area. Traditionally, two methods are used to attach floor decor:

Mounting the plastic strip using durable polyurethane or acrylic glue;
Fixation on mechanical fasteners, most often industrially manufactured.

The easiest and fastest way to fix a floor decorative strip is with any synthetic glue. When producing decor, a supporting ribbed surface is made on the inside of the floor plank, onto which a layer of glue is applied.

Gluing the floor plinth

The adhesive method is very easy to use, but experts recommend using glue to fasten floor plinths only for smooth walls and floors. Sticks well hard plastic decor on plasterboard sheets and self-leveling floors. For laminate, polyvinyl chloride tiles, parquet, you will need to look for special high-strength glue brands, since the floor covering “playing” on the foam backing tears off acrylic adhesives and PVA.

Doesn't like acrylic glue and linoleum. For attaching floor planks to linoleum or plastic tiles Typically, polyurethane, polystyrene or even epoxy compositions are used, which can be used to glue plastic skirting boards to any surface.

If you still decide to fix the plastic plinth using acrylic glue on a wooden plank floor or parquet, you first need to remove the paint or varnish on a thin strip of the wood surface to ensure good adhesion.

The process of gluing floor plinths comes down to the following operations:

The installation of plastic strips is marked, corners and connecting adapters are selected and adjusted;
The glue is applied to the inner parts of the plinth in short strips with a slight excess of adhesive mass;
The floor decor is placed in the gluing area and pressed with a heavy object.

Advice! To increase strength adhesive connection, heavy objects are placed along the glued plinth and the plastic strip is wedged using wooden blocks and slats.

After 5-6 hours, the fasteners can be removed, but the final setting of the adhesive base will only be completed the next day.

Floor plastic plinth can be glued very quickly using double sided tape or polyurethane foam. In the latter case, the foam is applied in small drops, and after installing the planks in place, they are held in a pressed position for at least 3 hours until the foam curing process is completed in full.

Except plastic PVC skirting boards, produce decorative floor elements made of polyurethane foam. The reverse side of such decor is usually covered with a self-adhesive film, but even if it is missing, stick the material using liquid nails will not be difficult.

If using glue causes difficulties, small tips on how to properly attach skirting boards to the floor are shown in the video:

Fastening floor skirting boards with self-tapping screws

Before attaching a plastic plinth to the floor, experts recommend checking and clarifying the material from which the walls are made. In the vast majority of cases, floor decor is hung on the lower edge of the walls using clips, metal or plastic clips. An overview of the fittings and tips on how to attach skirting boards to the floor are shown in the video:

In the case of direct installation of the plank, you have to punch a hole in the wall to install plugs for self-tapping screws and dowels. It is necessary to punch the hole so that a hole at least 30 mm deep is obtained in the brick or concrete. If you try to fix a cork or dowel in the body of the plaster, the clips or fastening of the floor plinth under load will still pull it out of the wall.

The exception is special plaster dowels, which can hold plastic decor even on cement-sand plaster.

The plastic plinth is laid along the wall, the outer strip covering the cable channel is removed, and the places for drilling holes are marked. Typically, self-tapping screws or dowels are placed in increments of at least 50 cm. The installation points of the dowels are chosen so as to press the top edge of the plank against the wall without gaps. The marking lines are transferred to the plastic and to the wall, the floor decor is removed and the condition of the wall is checked in the areas of future drilling. If, when tapping the wall, a void is discovered, the point is moved to the left or right.

In order to connect the laid section with other parts of the decor, complex corner and linear joints are used, so the length of the strip is chosen to be increased by the size of the overhang for attaching the corner joint. Next, a joining element for the inner corner is placed on the decorative strip, after which it is returned to the installation site, and drilling is performed, starting from the joint.

Despite its external plasticity and flexibility, if drilled incorrectly, the floor plank can easily crack, especially in the bottom part of the channel, where the thickness of the plastic wall is very small. Therefore, a hole for installing a plug or dowel is drilled in two passes, first with a thin 3-4 mm drill, then to the required dowel size.

Installation of floor plinths with clips and clamps

The technology for installing hollow floor plinths is not much different from the previous version, the only difference being that special ones are used for installation plastic fastenings- clamps, photo.

It is enough to fix the clamps on the floor, and you can install the skirting boards. But it's not that simple. This scheme works well for rooms lined with plasterboard, clapboard or plastic. The technology with clamps works ideally only if the angle between the wall plane and the floor surface is 90° or less.

In reality, the angle can be 95-100°, which causes a gap to form between the top edge and the wall. Therefore, before installation, the fasteners are placed on the decor and placed at the installation site. It is necessary to place spacers under each clamp to ensure a good fit of the top edge of the plastic strip to the wall surface.

After marking the position and places for fastening, each fastener is screwed to the wall using the same self-tapping screws, and the floor plinth is simply snapped onto the fastening locks. How to install PVC floor decor is described in more detail in the video:

Some decor models use metal clips for installation. They are easier to work with; instead of painstakingly adjusting the mounting angle, you can simply bend the lock petals to the required amount.

Types of floor skirting boards

The use of skirting boards when decorating the junction of floors and walls is necessary, because this decorative product performs a lot of useful functions:

closes the compensation gap that forms between the floor covering and the wall (when laying laminate, parquet boards and other materials);
masks uneven surfaces near the walls formed during the installation of floor finishing;
serves as a cable channel and allows you to lay electrical communications and other cables inside;
allows the walls and floor to harmoniously fit together.

The floor plinth performs several functions at once

Floor skirting boards

Table. Types of floor skirting boards.

Material of manufacture	Description
	The oldest and most famous type of plinth. It is usually made from coniferous wood, as well as beech or oak. Environmentally friendly, very durable and beautiful. It is quite expensive compared to other types. Another disadvantage of wooden plinths is that they are difficult to install; the material requires very precise fitting of parts, and then finishing (for example, painting). Yes, and it’s not easy to dismantle. It also does not have cable channels; laying wires under it is inconvenient and undesirable due to the high fire hazard.
	It is very popular due to its beautiful appearance (no worse than wood) and low price. Lightweight, easy to install, often has cable channels for laying wires. Plastic plinth does not need to be coated with varnish or paint. The product is made of PVC, can have different heights and absolutely any color. Disadvantages: fragility under mechanical stress and the need to use additional elements (plugs, connectors).
	Easy to clean and relatively inexpensive. Not afraid of ultraviolet radiation, does not fade, does not crumble. Made from MDF. Can imitate expensive wood species. There are cable channels. The main disadvantages are low strength and short service life.
Veneered	It has a wood base and a beautiful outer finish coated with varnish or melamine. A wide range of colors, natural material, reasonable cost, as well as the possible presence of a cable channel are attracting more and more consumers to veneered plinths. The main disadvantage of the material is the fear of water.
Aluminum	Often used in commercial premises, it is extremely rare in residential buildings. Various wires can be laid inside it.
Polyurethane	Flexible, easy to install, but requiring finishing (painting) provided that the white plinth does not match the interior. It is not afraid of temperature changes or humidity, so it can be used in the kitchen or bathroom.

How to attach skirting boards with self-tapping screws

Basic rules for dismantling

You won’t be able to remove the old baseboard with your bare hands, so you should get the necessary tools. The list below is general - some of the devices, depending on the method of attaching the plinth, may not be needed.

Features of dismantling floor skirting boards

What you will need for work:

nail puller or crowbar;
screwdriver or screwdriver;
mallet, spatula;
spatula;
hammer;
stationery or any other sharp knife;
wooden wedges or chisels.

Carpentry nail puller

Wooden mallet

Chisel with protector

Advice! To carry out the work, you should take clothes that you don’t mind. There is not so much debris and dust when dismantling skirting boards, but, nevertheless, they exist. You can also easily ruin clean clothes if you remove a plinth that was previously installed with glue.

The process of dismantling the old baseboard

Attaching skirting boards to parquet floors with nails

Attention! When dismantling a wooden plinth secured with nails, the effort should be great, but sudden movements should not be made.

If the baseboard is screwed with self-tapping screws, then the work will be much easier. In this case, using a screwdriver or screwdriver, the baseboard is simply unscrewed.

Attention! If the product is equipped with a cable channel, then it is important, before starting dismantling work, to remove all wires from it, especially electrical ones. Otherwise, there will be a risk that the person performing the work may receive an electric shock.

A plinth with a cable channel is installed at the junction of the wall and the floor, giving the finish a finished look

How to remove a wooden baseboard from the floor?

Removing wooden floor skirting

Old wooden baseboard

Advice! Very often, in order to tear off a wooden plinth secured with powerful thick nails, you have to make a lot of effort. In order not to damage the floors and protect them from dents, a small piece of plywood is placed under the base of the crowbar.

Scheme for dismantling a wooden plinth

Advice! In this case, a small wooden block can serve as a support for the crowbar.

Here a wooden block acts as a support.

Scheme for removing plinth nailed to the wall

Video - How to remove old skirting boards

Removing a baseboard screwed with self-tapping screws

Wooden plinth screwed with self-tapping screws

If the screws were driven into the baseboard, which is also not uncommon, then you must act in exactly the same way as when removing a baseboard secured with nails.

It is extremely rare, but still there are skirting boards attached to the base using small wooden choppers. This installation method occurs in 5% of cases. Typically, the technique is used when installing expensive skirting boards made of valuable wood. In this case, the attachment points will be unnoticeable - they may be circles that resemble knots in the appearance of solid wood.

Advice! You can find chopiks by the dark rim around them or by the grain of the wood. The fibers of the baseboard will run along, and the fibers of the chop will run across.

Skirting board with choppers

In this case, the chopsticks are simply drilled out or picked out using improvised means. Sometimes there may be nails or screws underneath them. Then the same crowbar will be used.

Removing MDF skirting boards

Fastening MDF skirting boards

Quick-Step fastenings for MDF skirting boards

Wood-effect MDF plinth

Plastic floor plinth

Dismantling and removing the baseboard with cable channel

Removing the plastic floor plinth

It is better to start work from any external corner. This is one of the most common dismantling methods.

Step 1. Using a flat-head screwdriver, pry the decorative corner from the bottom and carefully lift it up. Then it is simply removed by hand.

The decorative corner is pryed off with a screwdriver

Removing the decorative corner

Step 2. Remove the strip covering the cable channel and the fastening points with self-tapping screws by hand.

Removing trim strip

Step 3. Use a screwdriver or screwdriver to unscrew the screws. The baseboard has been removed.

Unscrewing screws

However, not everyone has external corners in their rooms. It depends on the geometric shape of the room. Fortunately, there is another way to remove the plinth - in this case, dismantling begins from the end part.

Step 1. The end cap is removed from the end of the baseboard by hand.

End cap

Step 2. Using your hands, pull out the bar covering the cable channel.

Removing the trim strip

Decorative strip removed

Step 3. The screws are unscrewed in any convenient way.

Self-tapping screws are unscrewed

Video - How to remove a plastic skirting board

How to remove baseboard from the floor

During repair work in the apartment, own home or at the dacha, quite often circumstances develop in such a way that it becomes necessary to dismantle (remove) old skirting boards yourself, without the help of third-party specialists. Of course, you won’t need any special qualifications to dismantle skirting boards, however, in order to remove the old structure without damaging anything, you need to remember a number of simple rules. Next we will talk about how to remove the baseboard from the floor with your own hands.

Floor skirting boards can be divided into three main types:

Wooden plinth.
MDF plinth.
Plastic plinth.

Wooden skirting boards are made mainly from coniferous trees, and are more natural and environmentally friendly. The disadvantages of such skirting boards are high market price and the need for an almost jewelry-like fit of all parts when installing them.

MDF skirting boards are today considered the most hygienic of all types of skirting boards. They are fairly easy to clean and hold up well. sunlight and have a very reasonable price. It is also necessary to note some of their disadvantages: fragility and fragility.

IN lately Plastic skirting boards have become widely popular among the population, because they have a huge number of various advantages, such as affordable price, enough light weight, good quality, no need for painting or varnishing. All these features of plastic skirting boards greatly simplify the process of their self-installation or dismantling.

The degree of complexity of dismantling work directly depends on what material the plinth is made of and on what basis it is attached to the floor (putty, adhesive or nails).

Tools required for work:

screwdrivers;
chisels;
nail puller;
screwdriver;
wooden wedges.

In the case where the plastic plinth is attached to the floor with a shoe, you need to pry it up with a nail puller and pull it towards you with some force.

It is advisable to dismantle a baseboard nailed down slowly and carefully to avoid damaging the walls and flooring of the room. The work is carried out with a small crowbar and a spatula. The crowbar should be inserted between the wall and the upper edge of the plinth, then carefully insert a spatula under the bottom of the plinth from the floor side. At this stage of dismantling, you should not rush or make sudden movements. When one part of the plinth has already completely moved away from the wall, you can begin to dismantle its next part, and so on until it is completely removed.

If the old baseboard is fastened with self-tapping screws or self-tapping screws, then you can use a screwdriver or a regular screwdriver to remove it.

To protect floors and walls from accidental damage, it is necessary to place a wooden block under the already obtained so-called levers. Then you need to slowly pull the plinth towards you so that the main load is distributed onto the underlying block.

Dismantling skirting boards

All of the above dismantling steps are used mainly to remove old wooden baseboards.

If the plinth serves as a cable channel, the dismantling procedure will differ in that you will first need to remove the strip covering the channel and pull out the wires from it. Only after this can you dismantle the plinth by unscrewing it from the wall.

Dismantling a plastic baseboard will take much less time and effort. You need to take a regular screwdriver and unscrew all the screws one by one, and then carefully separate the plinth from the wall surface. In the future, after all repair work has been completed, the plinth can be installed in its original place. In this case, you should collect all the removed screws and put them in a box. The dismantled parts of the plinth must be signed in such a way that there is no confusion during the reassembly process.

Although many plastic skirting boards are screwed to the wall (or floor) with self-tapping screws. However, most of them are structurally designed to be fixed in a special fastener, pre-screwed to the wall. Most often, to dismantle the plinth fixed in this way, you do not have to make significant efforts, but in some cases the plinth is so tightly fixed that you have to literally tear it off the wall. In that case it's already underway we are talking about preserving the appearance of the wall, since you have to rest against it in order to tear off the baseboard.

One of the stages of preparing premises for renovation is the dismantling of old and. This work is not very complex, however, there are still several nuances here. But the use of brute force alone can lead to damage to the floor covering, as well as the finishing of the walls and ceiling.

We will tell you how to remove the baseboard from the floor and ceiling carefully, without damaging the surrounding surfaces.

How to remove baseboards with your own hands

To dismantle both ceiling and floor moldings, the set of tools will be the same. It differs only depending on how and how it is attached. You will need one of these: a screwdriver, a screwdriver, or a spatula.

Removing floor moldings

The most simple work– removal of moldings that are attached using clips and mounting rails. On the left side next photo shows how to remove from such mounts. Here you just need to slip a spatula between the plank and the floor and gently press the baseboard up. If necessary, the fastenings can also be disassembled. If the fixation was made using self-tapping screws, that’s also not difficult. They can be removed with a screwdriver or screwdriver.

How to remove molding with clips or screws

An old one, nailed down, can cause much more problems. It is more difficult to remove it, and this despite the fact that there is a constant risk of damage not only to the wallpaper, but also to the plaster. This is especially true for old housing stock. To avoid problems we do this:

We place a spatula between the wall and the molding and carefully try to widen the gap.
We take a small wedge and insert it into the resulting gap.
With light blows of the hammer we drive the wedge a little deeper.
We retreat 30 cm and repeat the operation with a spatula.
We insert the next wedge and deepen it.
We drive the first wedge even deeper.

So we work with two or three wedges, gradually driving them down until the nails come out of the wall.

How to remove a baseboard using a spatula and wedges

How to tear moldings from the ceiling

The easiest way to dismantle ceiling plinths is made of foam plastic or, since they are attached with glue. In a few movements, move the spatula between the ceiling and the baseboard, then move the spatula slightly to the side and repeat everything. We do this until the baguette is completely separated.

If there is a need to dismantle old skirting boards, then it’s time to update the interior. Of course, dismantling skirting boards on the floor and (or) ceiling cannot be called too labor-intensive work, but there are certain nuances. After reading this article, you will learn how to remove skirting boards made of different materials and what tools you will need for this.

What tools are needed?

To dismantle a glued or nailed profile yourself, you will need:

Mallet.
A flathead screwdriver or chisel.
Thin spatula or scraper.
Wooden wedges.
Nail puller.
Stationery or shoe knife.
Hammer.

Plastic

Remove the trim strip.
Pull the wires out of the cable channel and unscrew the screws.
Once the repair is complete, simply reinstall the baseboard.

Important! Now let's talk about how to remove the corner of the baseboard. Once you remove the bar, it will come off by itself.

Stucco molding

It is almost impossible to remove the molding without damaging it. The stucco decoration is removed during renovation when the decoration does not fit into the updated design. In all other cases, it is better not to touch the stucco molding.

You can try to remove it by running a sharp knife along the joints several times, gradually pushing the blade deeper and deeper.

Important! If the mixture on which the decor is held crumbles, then perhaps your attempts will be crowned with success.

However, most often, it is not possible to tear off the molded plinth without damaging it, so it is simply beaten off using a chisel and hammer.

How to remove a plinth from a stretch ceiling (foam, polystyrene)?

Foam and polystyrene strips are usually mounted with glue. To dismantle such products:

Direct a stream of warm air at them to soften the adhesive.
Run a knife or spatula along the joint and, carefully prying up the profile, remove it.

Important! The ceiling plinth must be removed with maximum care, without touching the front side where the decor is applied. Under the influence of warm air, the material becomes pliable and can be damaged by even minor mechanical impact.

MDF

To fasten the MDF profile, special mounting fasteners or latches are used.

Important! When using fasteners, the profile is put on top of them. The latches are screwed to the wall. After this, the plinth joins them.

To dismantle the MDF structure, one spatula is enough:

Push it under and lift it up slightly.
If the profile remains in place, it means it is secured with latches.
Run the spatula along the wall from below and gently pull it towards you.

The profile can be easily detached.

Complex cases

Here we are talking, first of all, about wooden products that are secured with nails or strong adhesives. To successfully remove such a profile, you will have to work hard. Start removing the baseboard from the corner or door.

Putty and strong adhesive

Polyurethane and wooden profiles for floors and ceilings are removed with a mallet and a thin spatula:

First, run a putty knife along the joint several times to create a small gap.
Now rest the spatula from below, holding the handle close to the wall.
Gently tap the trowel handle with a mallet until the tip of the trowel fits between the wall and the lath.

The plinth appears to be cut from the wall.

Nails:

To begin with, before removing the plinth, unstitch the seams where the profile meets the floor and wall. As a rule, they are filled with varnish and paint.
Insert the chisel into the gap formed and hammer it in deeper with a hammer.
Now insert a wooden corner into the widened slot.
Repeat all manipulations after one meter, gradually tearing off the baseboard.

Important! If manipulations with a chisel are not successful, use a nail puller (crowbar). But do not overdo it so as not to damage the profile.

The force with which you will act on the crowbar is quite large. Therefore, in order not to damage the floor covering, use thin plywood as a backing.

If the wooden profile is to be disposed of, then you can do it even simpler: using a chisel, make a hole near the nail, and then use a nail puller.

Self-tapping screws

Repairs in any room involve a variety of work. This includes wall decoration, floor finishing, and replacement of windows/doors. But in most cases - and this is especially true for secondary housing - various dismantling works are carried out in advance, affecting almost all elements inside the premises. Dismantling the baseboard must be done in order to be able to properly lay the new floor covering, as well as in order to replace old products. The procedure is quite simple, and therefore you can do it yourself.

The use of skirting boards when decorating the junction of floors and walls is necessary, because this decorative product performs a lot of useful functions:

closes the compensation gap that forms between the floor covering and the wall (when laying laminate, parquet boards and other materials);
masks uneven surfaces near the walls formed during the installation of floor finishing;
serves as a cable channel and allows you to lay electrical communications and other cables inside;
allows the walls and floor to harmoniously fit together.

Table. Types of floor skirting boards.

Material of manufacture	Description
	The oldest and most famous type of plinth. It is usually made from coniferous wood, as well as beech or oak. Environmentally friendly, very durable and beautiful. It is quite expensive compared to other types. Another disadvantage of wooden plinths is that they are difficult to install; the material requires very precise fitting of parts, and then finishing (for example, painting). Yes, and it’s not easy to dismantle. It also does not have cable channels; laying wires under it is inconvenient and undesirable due to the high fire hazard.
	It is very popular due to its beautiful appearance (no worse than wood) and low price. Lightweight, easy to install, often has cable channels for laying wires. Plastic plinth does not need to be coated with varnish or paint. The product is made of PVC, can have different heights and absolutely any color. Disadvantages: fragility under mechanical stress and the need to use additional elements (plugs, connectors).
	Easy to clean and relatively inexpensive. Not afraid of ultraviolet radiation, does not fade, does not crumble. Made from MDF. Can imitate expensive wood species. There are cable channels. The main disadvantages are low strength and short service life.
	It has a wood base and a beautiful outer finish coated with varnish or melamine. A wide range of colors, natural material, reasonable cost, as well as the possible presence of a cable channel are attracting more and more consumers to veneered plinths. The main disadvantage of the material is the fear of water.
	Often used in commercial premises, it is extremely rare in residential buildings. Various wires can be laid inside it.
	Flexible, easy to install, but requiring finishing (painting) provided that the white plinth does not match the interior. It is not afraid of temperature changes or humidity, so it can be used in the kitchen or bathroom.

plastic floor plinth

Methods of fastening skirting boards

All types of skirting boards require a certain method of fastening and can be installed using:

self-tapping screws (all types);
nails (wooden, veneered);
adhesive solutions (all types);
special mounting fasteners (MDF, plastic, etc.);
chopiks (wooden).

Basic rules for dismantling

What you will need for work:

nail puller or crowbar;
screwdriver or screwdriver;
mallet, spatula;
spatula;
hammer;
stationery or any other sharp knife;
wooden wedges or chisels.

wooden mallet

Advice! To carry out the work, you should take clothes that you don’t mind. There is not so much debris and dust when dismantling skirting boards, but, nevertheless, they exist. You can also easily ruin clean clothes if you remove a plinth that was previously installed with glue.

Attention! When dismantling a wooden plinth secured with nails, the effort should be great, but sudden movements should not be made.

If the baseboard is screwed with self-tapping screws, then the work will be much easier. In this case, using a screwdriver or screwdriver, the baseboard is simply unscrewed.

Attention! If the product is equipped with a cable channel, then it is important, before starting dismantling work, to remove all wires from it, especially electrical ones. Otherwise, there will be a risk that the person performing the work may receive an electric shock.

How to remove baseboards with your own hands?

How to remove a wooden baseboard from the floor?

Advice! Very often, in order to tear off a wooden plinth secured with powerful thick nails, you have to make a lot of effort. In order not to damage the floors and protect them from dents, a small piece of plywood is placed under the base of the crowbar.

Advice! In this case, a small wooden block can serve as a support for the crowbar.

Video - How to remove old skirting boards

Removing a baseboard screwed with self-tapping screws

If the screws were driven into the baseboard, which is also not uncommon, then you must act in exactly the same way as when removing a baseboard secured with nails.

Dismantling wooden plinths with choppers

It is extremely rare, but still there are skirting boards attached to the base using small wooden choppers. This installation method occurs in 5% of cases. Typically, the technique is used when installing expensive skirting boards made of valuable wood. In this case, the attachment points will be unnoticeable - they may be circles that resemble knots in the appearance of solid wood.

Advice! You can find chopiks by the dark rim around them or by the grain of the wood. The fibers of the baseboard will run along, and the fibers of the chop will run across.

In this case, the chopsticks are simply drilled out or picked out using improvised means. Sometimes there may be nails or screws underneath them. Then the same crowbar will be used.

Removing MDF skirting boards

MDF floor plinth

How to remove a plastic baseboard from the floor?

Removing the plastic floor plinth

It is better to start work from any external corner. This is one of the most common dismantling methods.

Step 1. Using a flat-head screwdriver, pry the decorative corner from the bottom and carefully lift it up. Then it is simply removed by hand.

Step 2. The strip covering the cable channel and the fastening points with self-tapping screws is removed by hand.

Step 3. Use a screwdriver or screwdriver to unscrew the screws. The baseboard has been removed.

Step 1. The end cap is removed from the end of the plinth by hand.

Step 2. The bar covering the cable channel is pulled out by hand.

Step 3. Self-tapping screws can be unscrewed in any convenient way.

Video - How to remove a plastic skirting board

If you need to disassemble the old baseboards, then it’s time to repair or update the interior. Of course, no special skills are required for dismantling, but, nevertheless, in order to remove the profile and not spoil anything, you need to know a few simple rules.

What you need

Skirting boards today huge selection: ceiling and floor, made of wood, pvc, polystyrene, metal, plaster, with corners, moldings and elements. And besides this, modern adhesive mixtures attached to glue, nails, putty, etc. with very reliable fixation. It happens that it is incredibly difficult to remove the profile, but you also want to avoid damaging the floor, and also not spoil the fillet, especially if it is expensive and you need to re-glue it.

If the baseboards are nailed or glued, you will need the following tools to remove them:

chisel or screwdriver with a flattened end;
mallet;
scraper or small thin, flexible spatula;
wood wedges;
crowbar, also known as a nail puller;
shoemaker or stationery knife;
hammer.

How to tear off baseboards

It must be said right away that the only task that does not cause any difficulties is how to remove the plastic baseboard. Typically, it is used to seal the joint between the wall and the floor, and screw nails onto the dowel. It is enough to remove the decorative strip, remove the wires from the cable channel, unscrew the screws, and after repair, simply install it in place.

To remove PVC profile just unscrew the screws

Stucco molding

It is better not to touch the plaster baguette. Sadly, it is extremely difficult to carefully remove stucco molding; it is dismantled if it is not suitable for the new interior; in other cases, it is better not to touch it. Try, of course, running a knife along the joints several times, each time trying to push the knife deeper. If the mixture on which the fillet is held crumbles, then there is a chance to slowly remove it. But more often than not, it is impossible to tear off the stucco molding; it gets wet and is simply beaten with a hammer and chisel.

Polystyrene and foam

Planks made of polystyrene and foam plastic are usually glued with special glue. Before removing the ceiling plinth made of these materials, direct a stream of warm air at it; after a while, the adhesive composition will soften. All that remains is to run a knife or thin spatula along the joint, pry up the profile, and carefully remove it.

Important: Try to dismantle the ceiling plinth made of polystyrene or foam plastic as carefully as possible: do not touch the front side with the decor, since when exposed to warm air, the material becomes soft and can be damaged even with minor mechanical stress.

Photo diagram of how to remove ceiling plinth

Difficult case

Wooden and polyurethane skirting boards Usually they are “set” on nails and adhesives that “you can’t tear off with your teeth,” and you have to work hard to remove such a profile. Dismantling should begin from the door or from the corner.

Glue and putty of strong fixation

Ceiling and floor skirting boards made of polyurethane are removed using a thin spatula and a mallet. Run a sharp knife along the joint several times to create a small gap. Press the spatula from below, the handle should be almost close to the wall. Tap the handle with a mallet to metal part The spatula went between the plank and the wall, as if cutting it off the wall.

Nails

Before removing the wooden floor plinth, use a knife to stitch the seams where the plinth joins the wall and floor; they are usually filled with several layers of paint or varnish. From the wall side, insert a chisel into the gap formed and drive it deeper with a hammer. Insert into the resulting gap wooden corner. Repeat the operation after about a meter, gradually tearing off the die.

Tip: If the effort when working with a chisel is not enough, you should use a crowbar to remove the wooden fillet. Try not to tear the crowbar too much, so as not to break the profile.

Step-by-step photo instructions on how to remove the baseboard from the floor

If the profile does not give in, insert a chisel from below, as shown in the photo, and be sure to place a piece of wood under the lever so as not to spoil the coating. Tap with a hammer so that the blade goes in deeper and carefully remove the baseboard.

In old houses, when renovating, high skirting boards (300 mm) are found, while in relatively new buildings simple profiles (100 mm) in height are used. In brick rooms, the plinth is attached to those built into the brick walls wooden blocks, it can also be attached to support posts plasterboard sheets. Modern skirting boards are designed in such a way that they are convenient to install using specially created adhesives, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the work process.

If you decide to lay a completely new flooring, for example, a laminate floor, then get ready for the following steps. First, you need to dismantle the baseboards, then lay laminate flooring, and only then reinstall the baseboards. It should be remembered that they can easily be damaged during operation. If, after dismantling the skirting boards, you plan to reuse them, be sure to number the boards, then you will be able to install them correctly in the same place. If you notice that the baseboards are damaged, try to repair them or remove the damaged area. You can try to look for the most suitable skirting board profile at the market or in a construction supermarket.

Various skirting profiles

Fillets or fillets are mainly used to cover gaps in upper corners between the walls and ceiling. Since they usually successfully cover these cracks, it is worth thinking carefully about whether there is a need to touch them at all. The methods and tools for dismantling them directly depend on how they were attached before. The molded fillet must be broken using a scarpel. We lift the fillet made of polystyrene with a metal spatula. It is convenient to soften the fastening glue with a fan heater, then scrape it off.

Also, in old buildings, profiled brackets, as well as slats for pictures, were attached to the walls with threaded nails. To pull them out, it is enough to use a nail puller, first protecting the wall from damage with a wooden block. It is convenient to remove the nails remaining in the surface with pliers. The fact is that if they remain in place, then rust spots will appear on the surface. New skirting boards are mounted perfectly with screws - which means you need to remove the old putty and remove them from the wall. You can often find another type of fastening - when the profile is fixed into clamps, and then they are screwed to the wall.

Dismantling a plastic baseboard (video)

Removing wooden baseboards

1 Using a hard knife along the entire baseboard, cut the seam that forms at the junction between the baseboard and the wall. Now, using a scarpel, carefully pry up the plinth from below and lightly drive it deeper. This creates a gap into which we insert wooden wedges, then carefully remove the scarpel.

2 After the above, insert a crowbar into the resulting gap, secure it with a board to protect the wall. Very carefully tear off the baseboard. Next, we move along the wall a meter and carefully tear off the plinth at this point. So, moving step by step, further along the wall we tear off all the baseboards.

3 If it is impossible to easily tear off the board, you need to drive in a wooden wedge, and then, using the bent end of the crowbar as a lever, carefully tear the baseboard off the wall.

4 To dismantle a piece of board that has an internal marked corner, you need to separate it from the wall using a scarpel, hitting it with a hammer, you need to insert a wedge into the resulting gap. Pressing the crowbar against part of the board, we drive it under the baseboard, then press on the crowbar in order to lift the baseboard out of the corner.

5 For correct and high-quality removal of a long board, which has ends covered in internal corners, you can use a scarpel and a hammer to easily separate the board from the wall by inserting wedges on both sides of the scarpel. Having cut the board at an angle of 45 degrees with a hacksaw, move the saw upward. If you are too inexperienced with a saw for this operation, try using a saw blade that has fine teeth.

6 Provided that you are going to install the same old skirting boards, you must remove the nails by pulling them out inside, avoiding damage to the front part of the plinth. You need to do the following - fix the plinth to carpentry workbench, try to grab the nail with pliers and carefully pull it through the baseboard.

Video instructions: How to remove an old wooden baseboard?

Repairing dents and holes
In order to properly fill all the dents and holes on the baseboard, you will need a little acrylic putty, put a little of it on a spatula and fill all the holes. Next, pressing a little on the spatula, move it towards you and move it away from the baseboard to the side. After the putty has dried, you need to treat the sealed area with sandpaper, smoothing it with the surface of the board.

How to replace a damaged area?
Having separated the baseboard from the wall, we make a couple of diagonal cuts on both sides of the damaged part of the baseboard. Using a chisel and mallet, we cut out the damaged area. We glue a new piece of wood in that place, and, using a plane and a chisel, we give the necessary shape to the plinth.

What tools are needed?

To dismantle a glued or nailed profile yourself, you will need:

Mallet.
A flathead screwdriver or chisel.
Thin spatula or scraper.
Wooden wedges.
Nail puller.
Stationery or shoe knife.
Hammer.

Plastic

Remove the trim strip.
Pull the wires out of the cable channel and unscrew the screws.
Once the repair is complete, simply reinstall the baseboard.

Important! Now let's talk about how to remove the corner of the baseboard. Once you remove the bar, it will come off by itself.

Stucco molding

You can try to remove it by running a sharp knife along the joints several times, gradually pushing the blade deeper and deeper.

Important! If the mixture on which the decor is held crumbles, then perhaps your attempts will be crowned with success.

However, most often, it is not possible to tear off the molded plinth without damaging it, so it is simply beaten off using a chisel and hammer.

How to remove a plinth from a stretch ceiling (foam, polystyrene)?

Foam and polystyrene strips are usually mounted with glue. To dismantle such products:

Direct a stream of warm air at them to soften the adhesive.
Run a knife or spatula along the joint and, carefully prying up the profile, remove it.

Important! The ceiling plinth must be removed with maximum care, without touching the front side where the decor is applied. Under the influence of warm air, the material becomes pliable and can be damaged by even minor mechanical impact.

MDF

To fasten the MDF profile, special mounting fasteners or latches are used.

Important! When using fasteners, the profile is put on top of them. The latches are screwed to the wall. After this, the plinth joins them.

To dismantle the MDF structure, one spatula is enough:

Push it under and lift it up slightly.
If the profile remains in place, it means it is secured with latches.
Run the spatula along the wall from below and gently pull it towards you.

The profile can be easily detached.

Complex cases

Putty and strong adhesive

Polyurethane and wooden profiles for floors and ceilings are removed with a mallet and a thin spatula:

First, run a putty knife along the joint several times to create a small gap.
Now rest the spatula from below, holding the handle close to the wall.
Gently tap the trowel handle with a mallet until the tip of the trowel fits between the wall and the lath.

The plinth appears to be cut from the wall.

Nails:

To begin with, before removing the plinth, unstitch the seams where the profile meets the floor and wall. As a rule, they are filled with varnish and paint.
Insert the chisel into the gap formed and hammer it in deeper with a hammer.
Now insert a wooden corner into the widened slot.
Repeat all manipulations after one meter, gradually tearing off the baseboard.

Important! If manipulations with a chisel are not successful, use a nail puller (crowbar). But do not overdo it so as not to damage the profile.

The force with which you will act on the crowbar is quite large. Therefore, in order not to damage the floor covering, use thin plywood as a backing.

If the wooden profile is to be disposed of, then you can do it even simpler: using a chisel, make a hole near the nail, and then use a nail puller.

Self-tapping screws

To dismantle skirting boards secured with self-tapping screws, it is important to find all their caps. Found it? This means that everything is simple: unscrew them using a reverse screwdriver or a screwdriver.

Almost every renovation of an apartment or private house begins with dismantling work. When it comes to the floor, to dismantle it, you first need to remove the baseboards. They can be torn out so that there is nothing left to do but throw them in the trash. However, if you plan to use them, then it is important to know how to remove the baseboard from the floor carefully. In this article we will look at the intricacies of dismantling wooden and plastic baseboards.

Old plinth made of wood can be dismantled using several methods. The choice will largely depend on how it was installed. For example, if it is painted and nailed to the floor, then the heads of the nails can be identified by the holes present. Also, nail heads may peek out above the baseboard. In the latter case, it is easiest to find nails.

The work will be very simple. Take a crowbar and drive the side with the pointed blade under the baseboard, preferably in the place where the nail is driven. Then all that remains is to pull the crowbar towards you.

Considering the force with which you will press on the crowbar, you can very easily push a hole in the floor. For this reason, be sure to place a thin piece of plywood under its base.

Especially great efforts will be required in cases where the nail is too rusty. In this case, you will not spoil the floor and carefully dismantle the baseboard, see the diagram for more details:

You should not drive the crowbar under the baseboard where there is no nail and pull it towards you. This may cause the baseboard to break.

If the crowbar lever is not enough to remove the nail, then place a wooden block up to 60 mm thick under the crowbar:

You should not immediately try to rip off the entire baseboard in one go. Start dismantling it from the corner. Tear the plinth 10–30 mm from the floor. Make such a tear on each nail from start to finish. When you have removed all the nails, repeat the process again until the baseboard is completely removed.

If the wooden baseboard needs to be disposed of, you can use another method. To do this, cut out a recess near the nail with a chisel and remove it with a nail puller. What to do if the nail head comes off? Then use the method described above: hammer a crowbar under the baseboard and tear it off. When it is completely dismantled, the nails without heads can be pulled out of the board with pliers.

What if the nails are not visible at all? In such a situation, drive a crowbar under the baseboard and lift it slightly. Then hammer the baseboard back in, after which the nail heads should appear. If the caps were puttied, the putty will come off. If you pull in a place where there is no nail, then the baseboard in this place simply rises. You can move the crowbar to the side and continue

But not in all cases the baseboard is secured with nails. Often it is fixed with self-tapping screws to the wall or floor. Therefore, it is extremely important to find all the screw heads. They can be closed with plugs or recessed into the baseboard. After finding them, take a screwdriver or screwdriver with reverse and unscrew them. The work will not take you much time.

There are often cases when neither nails nor screws are visible on the surface of the baseboard. The only thing that is visible is the small round pieces that look like knots, located on equal distance from each other.

This may mean that wooden choppers, which are these round pieces, were used to fix the baseboards. Dismantling such a plinth will also not be particularly difficult. These chops can be drilled or gouged out with a narrow chisel. In almost all cases, this method of fastening is performed to the wall.

In rare cases, there may be a nail under the chop. Therefore, you will have to take the crowbar again.

The plinth, made of pressed paper, is secured using special mounting fasteners or latches. If fastenings are used, then the plinth is placed on top of them. As for the latches, special elements are screwed to the wall, and then the baseboard is snapped onto them.

To dismantle them, you can get by with one wide spatula. You push it under and try to lift it slightly. If the baseboard remains in place, it means that latches were used as fastening. In this case, place the spatula on top of the wall and gently pull it towards you. With such manipulations, the baseboard should move away.

With plastic skirting boards the situation is different. In most cases, they are attached to the wall using a dowel/screw. Some skirting boards have special channels for laying wires. These channels are closed with a special strip. It must be removed and the screws unscrewed. In almost all cases, such skirting boards are attached to the wall.

But their installation is not always done using dowels. In some cases, for example, when utility lines run through the wall, the skirting boards are attached with glue. Here, too, dismantling work will not be difficult. You can use a wide spatula, which you drive in from above. And after that, with a gentle movement toward you, tear the plastic plinth off the wall.

So, we looked at the main methods for dismantling skirting boards. If you know other details of this work, be sure to write about it in the comments to this article.