Updated
Gap Between The Floor And The Skirting Board
A gap has opened between the edge of the floor and the skirting board, wide enough to see underneath.
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What's happening?
There is meant to be a gap. A floating floor has to have clearance at every perimeter so it can expand — 8 to 10 mm is a typical manufacturer figure — and that clearance is supposed to be hidden by skirting or beading, not closed up. So the first question is whether a gap has opened, or whether the covering over it has failed. If beading has come away, the gap you can now see was always there and only needs concealing again. If the floor itself has pulled back from a wall it used to reach, the boards have shrunk — usually from a dry, heated winter — or the whole floor has crept towards the opposite wall because it was laid tight on one side and had room on the other.
What usually causes it?
- Beading or scotia that was pin-fixed to the floor rather than to the skirting, and has lifted as the floor moved
- Seasonal shrinkage of the boards after a heated winter, opening the perimeter clearance further
- The floor creeping in one direction because it was laid hard against one wall and loose at the other
- Skirting fitted before the floor, sitting slightly high off the subfloor
- A subfloor that dips at the edge of the room, so the floor drops away from the skirting line
- Beading too narrow for the expansion gap that was actually left
- Boards that were never acclimatised, laid at a higher moisture content than the room's, then shrank
Is it dangerous?
No. It is a finish problem and a draught and dust trap. The one thing not to do about it is the thing most people try — filling it — because the gap is doing a job.
Can I fix it myself?
Refit or replace the beading, pinning it into the skirting or the wall and never down into the floor. Choose a profile deep enough to cover the actual gap with a few millimetres to spare, so seasonal movement does not expose it again. If the floor has drifted away from one wall and hard up against the other, that is not a beading fix — the floor needs re-laying with the clearance shared between both sides.
When should you call a flooring fitter?
Call a flooring fitter when the gap varies along the wall, when the floor is tight against the opposite wall, when it has appeared alongside peaking or clicking joints, or when the skirting would have to come off to put it right. Those all mean the floor has moved as a whole, which is a laying problem rather than a trim problem.
What will the flooring fitter actually do?
- Measure the clearance on all four walls to see whether the floor has drifted or simply shrunk
- Check whether beading or skirting was fixed through the floor, which is what usually causes the drift
- Re-lay the perimeter rows to distribute the expansion gap evenly where the floor has moved across
- Level or pack the subfloor at the perimeter where the floor is dropping away from the skirting
- Refit beading or skirting fixed only to the wall, deep enough to cover the gap through the seasons
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