Skirting Board Calculator
Metres and lengths from perimeter and doorways, with waste.
Quick answer
With the default inputs: Room perimeter 18 · Doorways 2 pcs · Doorway width 0.9 etc.Net length 16.20 m
Edit the inputs below to recalculate.Inputs
Result
Net length
16.20m
| With waste | 17.01m |
| Per piece | 2.40m |
| Pieces to buy | 8bars |
| Length bought | 19.20m |
| Offcut | 2.19m |
| Deducted at doors | 1.80m |
| Corner pieces (est.) | 18pcs |
Allow 50-100 mm of return at each side of a doorway in practice. Tile skirting needs 8-10% for cutting losses.
Reverse: known result, work out one input
Enter a target result; the other inputs stay fixed and this one is worked out.
Formula
| Net length | L = perimeter − doorways × width |
| With waste | L = net × (1 + waste) |
| Pieces | n = ceil(L ÷ piece length) |
| Offcut | n × piece length − L |
An 18 m perimeter with two 0.9 m doorways, 2.4 m pieces at 5% waste: 16.2 m net, 17.01 m with waste, so 8 pieces totalling 19.2 m and 2.19 m spare.
How to work it out
- Measure the room perimeter along the wall base, including the returns either side of openings.
- Deduct the door openings, but to the outer face of the architrave, not the structural opening — architraves typically project 60-80 mm, so deducting the opening overcounts.
- Multiply the net length by (1 + waste) and divide by the stock length, rounding up for the number of lengths.
- Remember you buy whole lengths: a 3.5 m wall in 2.4 m lengths takes two, and the 1.3 m offcut is waste unless it fits elsewhere.
- Count corner pieces separately: external corners, internal corners and end caps.
Where it goes wrong
- Ordering by metres without converting to lengths — quotes are per metre but delivery is per length, and a room whose walls are not multiples of 2.4 m runs short.
- Deducting to the structural opening — the skirting must reach the architrave face, so the run comes up short and leaves a gap.
- Laying skirting before the floor — the floor goes down first and the skirting covers the expansion gap; reverse the order and the gap gets filled with mortar and the floor crowns.
- Ignoring wall flatness with surface-mounted skirting — undulations over 5 mm leave gaps that only adhesive can fill, and it cracks later.
Material and cost
PVC 8-20 CNY/m, veneered MDF 15-30, solid timber 30-80, cut tile skirting 15-35. Labour 10-20 CNY/m.
On site
- Use the matching corner pieces rather than mitring on site; PVC chips and timber shows end grain.
- Flush (shadow-gap) skirting needs a rebate cut before plastering — decide at first fix, not mid-finish.
- Skirting must be thicker than the architrave, otherwise the architrave bottom floats and the job looks unfinished.
Basis
- GB 50210-2018 Code for acceptance of building decoration, Chapter 12 (joinery)
- GB 50327-2001 Code for construction of residential decoration
FAQ
What height should skirting be?
80-120 mm is common domestically, 100-150 mm commercially, and 40-60 mm for minimal interiors. Match the door architrave: skirting usually equals or slightly under its width. Too low and it fails to protect the wall base from mopping; too high and it visually lowers the ceiling, especially in small rooms.
How are corners handled?
Internal corners are usually butt-jointed; external corners need 45° mitres that close tightly. Tile skirting uses corner trims or 45° chamfers. Every cut should be filled with filler or colour-matched compound, or it collects dirt and darkens. Corners are where the standard of work shows.
Flooring or skirting first?
Flooring first, then skirting, so the skirting covers the expansion gap between floor and wall. Skirting first leaves the flooring unable to reach the wall, with an ugly exposed edge and restricted movement that causes buckling. Leave an 8-10 mm gap for the skirting to hide.
Cite this page
Use this format in reports, method statements or coursework. The link is permanent.
Building Calculator. Skirting Board Calculator. 2026-10-25. https://jianzhujisuan.com/en/skirting
Results are estimating aids only and are not a design basis. Construction and final accounts must follow the drawings, the applicable standards and an approved method statement. Anything affecting structural safety, shoring or falsework must be checked by a suitably qualified engineer.