Why Do We Have Skirting Boards?

Skirting boards are found in pretty much every house in the UK, indeed I can’t remember being in a home without them. But why do we have skirting boards? Let’s have a look.

Skirting board is used to protect the bottom of walls from shoes, prams, chairs and other objects that would regularly bump into them.

If there was no skirting board at the bottom of your walls think of the amount of damage they would take. Shoes bumping into them, wheels from prams or maybe even bikes, chairs and table legs would all hit the bottom of your wall at some point or another.

The plaster would undoubtedly get damaged quickly and crumble away, leaving an ugly mess. This is where skirting boards are great, the wood helps to protect the more delicate plaster.

Not only that but painted wood is fairly resilient and also washable. Get some muck on your skirting board, simply wipe it down. With dirt on the walls, it is not always so simple.

Then moving beyond the simple washability of skirting boards is the simple fact that they are easily replaceable. If your skirting board takes extreme damage you can just put some new board in. with a wall you might be calling for a plasterer.

Decoration

Beyond all the reasons listed above, there is the simple fact that a skirting board works well as a decorative item in a room.

It helps to hide unsightly joins between your walls and floor which would otherwise be visible.

Wooden floors need expansion gaps, these allow the floor to expand and contract with differing moisture levels. The skirting board hides these expansion gaps, which would otherwise be visible.

Conclusion

So skirting board acts as protection to the bottom of your interior walls which would otherwise get regularly damaged. It can also be easily cleaned, which walls cannot. Then on top of this, it can hide unsightly joints as well as be attractive in its own right.