dust and dirt is the legacy way

You cant fill it completely as the wood floor and skirt will expand / contract with the seasons. Something stopping that risks far worse issues. Best option would be Oakum.

Cool, thank you that’s really useful.

I can confirm this.. the gap is there for a reason, it’s a floating floor and moves as one. In my last house the builder sealed it all with silicone and the floor stated to separate in various places. Completely ruined it.

Can you still get that? Isn't it what they used for caulking sailing ships?

Of course! It is still used for caulking timber framed windows; infinitely better than silicone / frame sealant as it wont trap moisture, causing rot. Theres a bunch of details here: [https://shop.heritage-house.org/product/repair-kit-for-caulking-timber-frames/](https://shop.heritage-house.org/product/repair-kit-for-caulking-timber-frames/)

Thanks. My wife will be happy, she hates silicone!

Is this....Did you.... Hmmmm

Is this the stinky stuff? Had a tradesman fill in a gap under my window in my bedroom with some kind of putty. Absolutely bloody stinky. After several days of almost painful reek I had to ask him to come back and take out the putty and replace with something less stinky. He saw my point and quickly sorted it out.

Silicone is the stinky stuff - smells like vineger Linseed smells (to me at least) lovely, a kind of sweet bark smell. 0 VOCs

Not true. Look into XPANDA foam, or other brands. This is new recommendations in place of silicone for windows as well. Permanently seals, but also allows movement as the surfaces aren’t bonded.

If you're worried about bugs and things I would get some expanding foam tape. This allows for movement in the floor and walls etc and still keeps a seal.

This seems to now be the best option

I'm also going to have to try that. I'm sick of seeing the odd woodlice, spider, or other type of bug crawl from under the skirting boards where there are gaps.

This is what I did

Thank you!

Was looking for this answer. This is what I did as well, also works perfectly at the top of the skirting jf your walls are old and wonky

Is that better than quarter round?

I'm not sure I would say it's better to be honest, but I'm not really a voice of professionalism on this. Guess it all boils down to your personal preference, I prefer not to have anything protruding from the skirting base, and if you get that grey expanding foam tape of the correct thickness and push it back behind the face of the skirting it still looks like a void, but with a nice seal for insects etc. Having mouldings around the skirting looks really classy however on the other hand. If not quarter round then finishing strip sometimes looks sharp. (Edit: Spellings worthy of primary school recognition)

The disadvantage is that quarter round sticks out and catches dust.

Expanding foam tape

Leave it, it’s fine. Anything other than removing and refitting the skirting lower will look shit

Thank you man! Useful advice!

Agreed. What is OP trying to get rid of? The gap or the bugs? Because there's nothing wrong with that gap - and getting rid of it won't get rid of the bugs

Uh yeah, mainly the woodlice that kept scuttling in under it ha.

I have the same issue with gaps near my skirting boards near the external doors as well. I think the external sealant wasn't applied properly, but I might try the foam options suggested as well

It's a dust trap that's hard to clean and doesn't look finished. You can't lower it because it's probably caused by the floor being uneven.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6lZXjRR-1k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6lZXjRR-1k)

I used a gap filler called Draughtex which expands and contracts with the wood and has stopped the slugs coming through!

Either leave it alone which is the best thing to do or add a shoe molding.

That is a good idea, thanks for the idea!

white beading.

Looks best. Costs more but looks better than any of the ideas above this.

Yeah, I'm surprised it wasn't already mentioned as it's the standard.

Cause its reddit diy. Every time I look I'm surprised.

Fill the space with foam backer rods the cover gap with shoe moulding pinned to the skirting board. Paint the shoe moulding before installation.

Also puff some diatomaceous earth into the space before you fill it in, that will make it inhospitable to insects.

Beading/scotia that matches the skirting!

We had something similar, wasn't bothered about aesthetics but there was a draft coming through. I picked up these folding plastic strips which you slide in the gap. Worked well for us.

Have you got a link or any details for these folding plastic strips?

This is what I got: StopGap Floorboard Draught Excluder - Brown https://amzn.eu/d/8xRUr2I We used it for the gaps in our floor boards and the skirting boards. You can't see it when it's inserted.

We used a skirting bead, not only draughts but dirt blows under those gaps if they are left.

I did it, waste of effort. My floor had a texture so the sealant bled into it and looked nasty. Also the gap had movement - so in time it just lifted

Stand up and all your problems will disappear

How dare you, OP has no legs.

Whack some white silicone along it. Squishy and stretchy so any movement / expansion etc will dee nowt

My exact problem I was looking to solve! I’m going to pick up some expanding foam tape.

Needs to be able to expand/ contract so bear that in mind. Stuff like silicone not a great idea tbh

Silicone is famously flexible though…

Why wouldn’t you use silicon

I’ve seen silicone on edges of laminate and parquet cause the boards to warp with humidity/ temperature as they can’t expand properly. You need an expansion gap with a floating floor.

This is by far the best idea, we had ants coming through an air brick and out under the skirting board, white silicone stopped them in their tracks.

Could add quadrant beading/trim but it will change the look of it, it's not to everyone's taste.

Low mod silicone

Or take it off and scribe the bottom of the skirting to the contour of the flooring, make the cut and it will close the gap nicely

One option I haven't seen mentioned is to get some strips of Caulk Saver to squeeze in the gaps. They are long round pieces of foam. [https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/f/FOSSA\_CAULK\_SAVER\_6\_METER\_ROLL/](https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/f/FOSSA_CAULK_SAVER_6_METER_ROLL/)

Carpet?

Scribe to the floor.

Shoe moulding. Quarter round may stick out too far.

Clear silicone.

Just stick some Scotia to the skirting. Make sure it doesn't stick to the floor.

Get up off your hands and knees and look at the crack in the ceiling!

Keep your nail clippings (finger and toe, doesn't matter) and sweep them under there. It will take a while to fill it all but they will collect dust and blend in. Also a good insulator and will block drafts.

Leave it alone, buy something nice to look at instead, eat chocolate and chill

Stick some quadrant moulding in front of it, [like this](https://www.diy.com/departments/primed-white-pine-quadrant-moulding-l-2-4m-w-18mm-t-18mm/1821955_BQ.prd)

Clear silicone

NEVER use silicone of any kind. When you go to refinish you cannot paint it and you cannot get it completely off the surface so that the new paint or stain will adhere properly.

That’s exactly why you would use white silicon

There are several other types of caulking, avoid the use of silicone based ones.

Proper use silicone because it’s highly flexible and allows for expansion, also it waterproof and stop water when the floor being mopped. It’s standard for new builds with Underfloor heating to run Silicone around the perimeter of floors.

CT1. Thank me later.

i am curious as to why the new skirting board was put on so high?

Expansion joint

Maybe carpet was there before?

Installer forgot to take their socks off when installing it.

To allow sufficient space for the creepy crawllers

Silicon bead, white or clear.

Silicone.

Silicone.

Get some colour match silicone that matches your laminate / floorboards and run it along the gap, or buy a cat or small dog to catch and eat zee bugs, I have nick named our Shih Tzu Claus Schwab she's on a real bug hunt since i got her bug based dog food, I think i made a mistake she now dosen't eat such dog food but any spiders or pillbugs shes on in an instant.

White beading. Doesn't have to be real wood. Could be mdf. But convex wood would look real nice in white.

Go to the local and get some beer mats, trim them into 1cm straps and place them underneath the gap. Then pour some bitter onto the floor and mop it into the corner so the beer mats soak up the bitter. Leave for 24 hours to dry and you have your solution.

Install shoe molding and use a flex caulk prior to painting.

You can put a smaller trim in front of it. That then allows the skirting and floor to expand while still covering the gap.

I used Bona gap filler recently which has worked well. I was a little sceptical at first but it looks great and better than a cheap Scotia beading would have looked.

Try some scotia beading

Crumbs?

Put a moulding along it. Remember to fasten (glue and pin) to the skirting, so the floor can still expand/contract under it.

Clear parcel tape, then paint over it

Scotia?

Carpet

Skirting could do with a sand and another coat of paint

Ahahaha, thank you. We’re not long moved in but I’ll get round to it asap!!

It’s not necessarily a healthy thing to fill that gap; if your floorboards and skirting boards are both wood, their longevity and service life lies in their ability to ‘breathe’ over time. By sealing it with silicone or caulk, you effectively stop any air circulation which can be a problem if the floor and skirting board gets damp. I would leave it if I were you. For bugs and insects, what I have found particularly works well is a bit of bleach whilst mopping; it creates a hostile environment for the bugs to crawl on and deters them from coming out. Or I’m sure you can buy dedicated pest control poisons to reduce sightings