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Free joiner / carpenter calculator
Skirting board calculator: skirting, architrave and stud wall timber
Measure round the room, count the corners and doors, and find out how many lengths of skirting and architrave to buy, with the nails or screws, grab adhesive and caulk to fit them. Add a stud wall and it works out the studs, plates, noggins, plasterboard, screws and acoustic insulation too, using the Screwfix stud wall guide and merchant stock lengths.
What you need
Skirting
- Skirting board
- 4 × 4.2m lengths13.1m run after 1 door, plus 12% for cutsWickes stock lengths 2.4, 3.66, 4.2m
- Corners to cut
- 4 corners4 internal (scribe), 0 external (mitre)
- Window boards
- 1 boardsMDF window board is sold in 3m and 4.2m; one per window under 1.5m wide
Architrave
- Architrave
- 5 × 2.1m lengths4 legs (one length each, they cannot be joined) and 1 length cut into 2 heads of about 0.95mWickes: 2.1m dominant, door set = 5 lengths
- Door sets
- 1 × packs of 5if you buy it as door sets instead of singles
Fixings
- Screws and wall plugs
- 38 screwsone every 600mm into plugs, countersunk and filledBuildWiz: screw and plug on masonry
- Grab adhesive
- 3 × 350ml tubes22.4m of skirting and architrave at 10m a tube on a 6mm beadBuildWiz
- Decorators' caulk
- 3 × 310ml tubestop edge of the skirting and the architrave to the wall
- Filler
- 1 tubsnail and screw holes, mitres
Round up to whole packs and bags. Figures include the wastage you chose and match TradeCalc in the app.
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Or claim your free profile link nowHow the maths works
- Skirting run is the room perimeter minus 0.9m for each door, plus about 150mm of waste for every external mitre. 12% is added for cuts and it is split into the board length you pick: Wickes stocks 2.4m, 3.66m and 4.2m; 4.4m is the MDF trade length.
- Corners are counted from the room, not guessed from the perimeter: internal corners are scribed, external corners are mitred.
- Architrave is counted in pieces because a leg cannot be joined. Each side of a door takes two legs, one full length each, and a head of about 0.95m, so two heads come out of one length. Both sides of one door is five 2.1m lengths, a door set; two doors is nine, not ten.
- Fixings depend on the wall. Into studs, a lost-head nail every 600mm and grab adhesive (pin and bond). On solid plaster or dot and dab, a screw and plug every 600mm, long enough to reach the masonry. Grab adhesive does 10m per 350ml tube on a 6mm bead (BuildWiz), and the top edge is caulked at 10m per tube.
- A stud wall has a stud at 400 or 600mm centres plus one on the end, and two extra studs and a head for each door opening (Screwfix). Studs are one length each; head and sole plates are counted in 4.8m lengths; noggins are one row at mid-height.
- Plasterboard is 1200 × 2400mm both sides after door openings, screwed at 300mm centres up every stud: 36 screws a sheet at 400 centres, 27 at 600. Acoustic roll goes between the studs at the wall area.
Worked example
A 4m by 3m room has a 14m perimeter and four internal corners. One door leaves a 13.1m skirting run, which with 12% for cuts is 4 lengths of 4.2m. The door takes 5 lengths of 2.1m architrave (4 legs and 1 cut into 2 heads), and the skirting and architrave together need 38 screws and plugs on plastered walls, 3 tubes of grab adhesive and 3 tubes of caulk.
Questions people ask
How do I measure for skirting board?
Measure each wall at floor level and add them up, then take off the door openings. Count the corners: internal ones are scribed, external ones mitred, and each mitre loses about a board width. Buy a little more than the run: the 12% here covers the cuts and the odd wrong one.
What lengths does skirting come in?
Wickes stocks 2.4m and 4.2m in the biggest numbers, with some 3.66m. MDF from a trade merchant is usually 4.4m. Longer boards mean fewer joints but they are harder to get up the stairs, so pick the length you can handle and the calculator will count it.
How much architrave do I need per door?
Five 2.1m lengths for both sides, which is what a door set is: four legs, one length each, and one length cut into two heads. You cannot join a leg, so count pieces, not metres. Doing one side only is three lengths, and two doors both sides is nine.
Should I nail or screw skirting?
Into a stud wall, pin and bond: grab adhesive plus a lost-head nail every 600mm into the studs, punched and filled. On solid plaster, screw and plug at the same spacing. On dot and dab there is a void behind the board, so pins have nothing to grip; use screws long enough to reach the blockwork and let the adhesive bridge the gap.
Should stud spacing be 400mm or 600mm?
600mm centres with 12.5mm plasterboard is common for a non-loadbearing partition and saves timber. Go to 400mm if you want the wall stiffer, are hanging heavy things on it, or are using 9.5mm board. Check the plasterboard maker's guidance before you commit to 600.
Which timber for a stud wall?
CLS is the usual choice because it is planed and regular: 38 × 63mm (3 × 2) for a light partition, 38 × 89mm (4 × 2) where you want room for services and insulation. 47 × 100mm sawn does the same job but is rougher and heavier.
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