skirting board removal

jame5_b

hi, im going to lay some wooden flooring next week and im wondering whats the best way of removing the skirting boards without damaging them so i can reuse them?

wasim21k

well. i think its depend how skirting is connected to wall? is it nailed? screwed? glued?

carpainter

If it's nailed in place I'd use a gorilla bar to remove it, protecting the wall behind with a piece of hardboard or thick cardboard. When reomed you might cause less damage to the surface of the board by pulling the nail, point first, through the board, thus preventing the face from bursting out. You'll inevitably have some damage along the top edge where the pry bar was used but you can caulk this all later after re-fitting and when painted in your skirtings will look fine. I've done this a few times with good results but small sections of skirting can be vulnerable to splitting when you try to remove them (especially if glue was used also)

If the boards are screw fixed you'll have to try and locate the screws heads and if you can do this there'll be less damage alright but it may not be so easy (or quick).