How to choose the right skirting boards for your home – Material Leave a comment

Choosing the right skirting boards can be a complicated task. There are lots of different options out there, and if you’ve opted to pick them out yourself, its easy to get lost in the variety of profiles, sizes and materials. Here are some things to consider when making your choice on which material to go for. The most common materials for skirting are softwoods, hardwoods and MDF.

Softwoods:

Softwoods such as Pine can be a great option aesthetically, creating a natural, rustic look. Between hard and soft woods, they are the most affordable, sustainable and readily available, particularly across the UK. Additionally, its soft nature makes it easy to work with, often making them the preferred choice of natural woods among contractors, architects and interior designers. On the other hand, softwoods can be susceptible to moisture damage and pests, especially if untreated with preservatives, or not painted or stained.

Hardwoods:

Hardwoods such as oak are also a great option to create rustic aesthetics. Similarly to softwoods, they look great without paint and their dark colour can add a beautiful finish to a living space. Hardwoods are highly durable and can be a great choice for high traffic areas. While all wood requires some care, hardwoods tend to require little maintenance and are very long lasting. Hardwoods, however, are the most expensive material due to their low availability and environmental concerns. Furthermore, hardwoods can be challenging to work with as they are heavier and more dense than softwoods and MDF. This also makes them expensive as labour costs are likely to increase. As well as this, like softwoods, hardwoods are susceptible to moisture damage and can swell or warp if they get wet.

MDF:

MDF is an artificial material, making it easy to handle and work with. It is the most used material for mouldings today due to its adaptable nature, easy of use and availability. MDF is generally treated to be moisture resistant, making it unlikely to swell. It is a highly durable material and is smoother than the natural soft and hard woods, making it ideal for painting and flawless aesthetics generally sought after in homes. Although MDF does not allow for a natural, plain wood effect, it is the most affordable and is the preferred material for full renovations and additional mouldings.

Our MDF is of premium quality and is made to handle intricate edge profiling and surface routing. This allows us to produce our best profiles at the highest standards. MDF suppliers go through a process to ensure that their products are sustainably and responsibly sourced via various forest management certification schemes.