How to fix the floor plinth

When the repair comes to an end, it is the turn to perform various small-scale, but very important works. Among them, without a doubt, it is worthwhile to include the installation of floor plinth. And, like any work, this process requires careful attention.

Training

Before proceeding with the direct installation of the floor plinth, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory works.

• Need to free up enough space along the walls. If there is furniture in the room, then you can simply push it away.
• To clean. You can just vacuum, you can do a wet cleaning.
• If installation of a wooden plinth is supposed, then materials need to be brought in the room in order that the tree had an opportunity to adapt to temperature and humidity. It is not recommended to fix the plinth immediately, because for some time, under the influence of moisture, the tree may undergo deformation.
• It is important to correctly calculate the amount of material. In order to know how many meters of plinth will be needed, you need to measure the perimeter of the room and add about one and a half meters to the value obtained. Do not forget about consumables.
• You also need to prepare and all the necessary tools. Be sure to need: measuring tape, hacksaw, hammer, screwdriver and screwdrivers.

Types of plinths

Before you learn how to fix the floor plinth, you need to say a few words about how it can be. This refers to the material of manufacture. Usually floor plinth is made of wood or plastic. In principle, their characteristics are similar, but plastic is somewhat preferable. Inside the plastic plinth you can hide all kinds of wires, which allows for greater aesthetics. As for the installation technology, it will also differ to some extent depending on the material used for the production of the plinth.

Plastic

When it is decided to fix the plastic floor plinth, the work must begin with a markup. Usually inside such a plinth is the so-called cable channel, designed to accommodate the elements of electrical wiring. This space closes with a kind of cover. So, it must be removed. After that, you need to attach a plinth to the place of its future fixing.

It is worth remembering that you need to install floor plinth starting from the corner of a larger wall, making it not close to the corner, but retreating a couple of centimeters in order to be able to put the connecting corner elements.

After this kind of fitting, it is necessary to pierce the edge of the plinth in the middle of the cable channel with the help of an awl or self-tapping screw, thereby marking the first point at which to drill a hole for fasteners. The same should be done on the other side of the baseboard. Then it is necessary to remove it for a while, and at the indicated points drill holes into which you need to drive in plastic dowels and screw in the screws.

Then, with the help of a whipping cord or a simple thread, stretched between these two screws, it is necessary to draw a horizontal line that will serve as a guide. Along this line, in increments of about 40–45 cm, a row of holes should be drilled and dowels should be hammered into them. So you need to mark and drill holes along the entire perimeter of the walls of the room. After that, you can proceed to fixing the baseboard. This should be done with screws, which can be tightened with a normal screwdriver, or using a screwdriver or a drill with a bat, of a suitable size. At the same time, care must be taken, as excessive force may damage the baseboard.

Note! At installation of a plinth it is necessary to consider material of production of walls. If they are made of wood or plasterboard, then there is no need for drilling and you can screw in the screws immediately.

It should also be noted that separate parts of the plinth should be joined using special elements, usually sold in the same place as the plinth.

As a rule, the upper and lower edges of the plastic plinth are made more flexible, so that they fit as close as possible to the walls and floor. However, if in the process of installation gaps still formed, they must be sealed with special mastic.

After all the installation work has been completed, it is necessary to replace the decorative strip covering the cable channel. It is usually fixed on special guides, so the installation process is unlikely to be problematic. The bar is simply inserted from the end and moves along the guides.

Tree

Installation of wooden plinths is somewhat different from the installation of its plastic counterpart. Mainly, the difference lies in the fact that it is necessary to drill holes in the walls through the baseboard itself. Of course, you can drill separately, but in this case there is a big risk of a mistake in size.

Particular attention should be paid to how to attach the baseboard in the corners. In order for the ends of the individual parts of the plinth to match, they must be filed at an angle of 45 degrees towards its outer surface. If we are talking about the docking of the outer corner, then the filing should be directed to the inner surface.

To fix the wooden plinth you need with screws. But before screwing them in, it is necessary to drill out the holes for fasteners a little, with a drill bit with a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the screw head. It is necessary to do this in order to make sweat, so the screw head will be recessed into the plane of the outer surface of the plinth when tightening, and it can be closed with special decorative caps, or covered with a putty of a suitable color.

Note! When using wooden plinths, it must be remembered that this material may be affected by temperature and humidity changes, so they need additional protective treatment. For these purposes, you can use various stains and oils for impregnation, as well as varnishes.

General installation rules

Speaking about how to properly install the floor plinth, it should be noted that in carrying out this process there are a number of general rules. 

• The baseboard can be fixed both to the walls and to the floor. It is worth paying attention to what the walls are made of. For example, if they are covered with plaster, then the mount will be fragile, so in this case you need to twist the screws into the floor.
• If the walls are covered with gypsum plasterboard, it is necessary to use butterfly fasteners made specifically for working with this material. And also you need to use a metal profile, which is usually used for installation.
• If the walls of the room have any irregularities, they should be smoothed out as much as possible, since this will affect the quality of the work performed.
• If, as a result of the work, the gaps between the baseboards and the floor or walls remain, they must be puttied, otherwise these gaps will turn into dust collectors, which will far better affect the hygiene of the room. It is always necessary to pay attention to this circumstance, but especially if there are children or people with allergies in the house. 
• When installing the plinth, you need to try to appear as few places as possible to join the parts along one wall. To do this, you need to carefully measure the perimeter of the rooms and choose the length of the baseboard elements on the basis of the length of the larger wall.
• If the design of the plinth has a cable channel, then it is very convenient to place wires and cables in it, for example, from the Internet or satellite television. It is not recommended to place electrical wiring in them, as this is not safe.
• It should be noted that the installation of a plinth made of plastic is easier than the installation of a wooden one; moreover, plastic plinth will not have to be covered, for example, with varnish.

When installing the plinth, the main thing is not to hurry, and act in accordance with the proverb "Measure seven times - cut once."

Video

This video shows the fixing of the plastic baseboard with cable channel:

This video shows the installation of wooden plinths: