- Finishing
- Laminate flooring
- Wojciech Dobry
- October 2026
- about 5 min
- 2:31, Polish captions
How many skirting boards to buy? Working out the perimeter without the doors
For a 4 × 5 m room with one 0.9 m wide door, buy 8 skirting boards of 2.5 m: the 18 m perimeter minus the door is 17.1 m, and with 10% waste about 18.8 m. On top of that you need 4 internal corners, 2 end caps at the door frame and 3 connectors. You can work out the floor for the same room in the article how much laminate flooring for a room.
How to calculate
length of skirting = room perimeter − door width
number of skirting boards = length of skirting × 1.1 ÷ length of one board, rounded up
Perimeter. Measure each wall at floor level and add them up. In a rectangular room this is 2 × (length + width). Do not forget alcoves, chimney breasts and pillars: each projection like this adds two short runs of skirting.
Doors. Deduct the width of each door, including its frame, from the perimeter, because the skirting stops at the door frame. For a standard Polish “80” door (one with an 80 cm leaf) this is usually about 0.9 m. Treat openings without a door the same way if the floor continues into the next room.
Waste 10%. You buy skirting boards as whole pieces of 2.4–2.5 m. Every wall ends with a cut piece, and a short offcut cannot always be used on another wall. With corners mitred at 45°, part of the waste also goes on failed cuts.
Counting wall by wall is more accurate: for each wall you check how many full boards you need and whether the offcut from the previous wall covers the rest. The formula with 10% waste usually gives the same result or one board more.
Accessories. Plastic skirting and many MDF skirting boards are fixed with clips and joined with accessories:
- an internal corner in every inward corner of the room,
- an external corner on every outward corner (for example at a chimney breast or a pillar),
- an end cap (left and right) at every door frame,
- a connector at every joint between two boards on one wall.
Timber skirting and thicker MDF are usually joined without accessories, with the corners mitred at 45°.
- skirting
- internal corner
- external corner
- end cap
- connector
Example: a 4 × 5 m room with the door in the middle of the shorter wall
Assumptions: a 4.00 × 5.00 m room, a 0.90 m wide door (with its frame) in the middle of one of the 4 m walls, skirting boards of 2.5 m. The example in Baukit uses the same data.
- Perimeter
- 18.00 m
- Without doors
- 17.10 m
- With 10% waste
- 18.81 m
- Internal corners
- 4 pcs
- End caps
- 2 pcs
- Perimeter. 2 × (4.00 + 5.00) = 18.00 m.
- Minus the door. 18.00 − 0.90 = 17.10 m.
- Waste 10%. 17.10 × 1.1 = 18.81 m.
- Skirting boards. 18.81 ÷ 2.5 = 7.52, so 8 boards (20 m).
The check, wall by wall:
| Wall | Skirting | Cut from | Offcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.00 m | 5.00 m | 2 boards of 2.5 m | – |
| 5.00 m | 5.00 m | 2 boards of 2.5 m | – |
| 4.00 m | 4.00 m | 2.5 m + 1.5 m from a second board | 1.00 m |
| 4.00 m with the door | 1.55 m + 1.55 m | two boards, 1.55 m from each | 2 × 0.95 m |
| Total | 17.10 m | 8 boards | 2.90 m |
Offcuts of 0.95–1.00 m cannot be used for the 1.55 m runs, so the result is the same as from the formula: 8 boards.
Accessories: 4 internal corners (the four corners of the room), 2 end caps (one on each side of the door) and 3 connectors (one on each 5 m wall and one on the unbroken 4 m wall). On the wall with the door each run is a single piece, so there are no connectors there.
- skirting 17.10 m
- 4 internal corners
- 2 end caps
- 3 connectors
If the door were near a corner, say 20 cm from it, the wall with the door would have runs of 0.20 m and 2.90 m. You cut the short run from the 1.00 m offcut, and make up the long one from a full board and another piece of that offcut. Then 7 boards are enough. So the position of the door changes the result by one board, and the formula with 10% waste safely covers both cases.
What it costs
| Material | Typical price | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| PVC skirting board approx. 8 cm, 2.2–2.5 mPack: 2.5 m piece (also 2.4 m) | 17.99 PLN/mapprox. 45 PLN per pack17.83–18.16 · 2 shops | 17.83–18.16 | 2 shops |
| Skirting board corner (outer / inner)Pack: pack of 2 (also single) | 4.48 PLN/pcapprox. 9 PLN per pack4.22–4.75 · 2 shops | 4.22–4.75 | 2 shops |
| Skirting board end capPack: pack of 2 (left + right) | 5.95 PLN/pcapprox. 12 PLN per pack4.72–7.18 · 2 shops | 4.72–7.18 | 2 shops |
| Skirting board connector (straight)Pack: pack of 2 (also single) | 4.16 PLN/pcapprox. 8 PLN per pack3.59–4.72 · 2 shops | 3.59–4.72 | 2 shops |
You usually buy the accessories (corners, end caps, connectors, clips) from the same range as the skirting, because they have to match its profile and colour.
Calculate it in Baukit
Open in Baukit- Open the example: a 4 × 5 m room with one door and the notebook open.
- The room is already selected. The notebook shows the length of skirting without the width of the door, with 10% waste (18.81 m), and the accessories: 4 corners, 2 end caps and 3 connectors.
- Press Esc so that nothing is selected. In the whole-building view, the skirting line shows the number of pieces to buy: 8 boards of 2.5 m.
- Add a second door: press G and click a wall, then select the room again. The skirting gets shorter by the width of the new door, and there are two more end caps.
Frequently asked questions
Do you deduct doors from the perimeter?
Yes. Deduct the width of the door including its frame, because the skirting stops at the door frame. For a standard “80” door this is usually about 0.9 m.
How much waste should I add for skirting boards?
About 10% of the length. You buy skirting boards as whole pieces, and short offcuts often cannot be used. If you are mitring corners at 45° for the first time, add one more board.
Corner pieces or 45° mitres?
Plastic corner pieces make fitting easier and hide uneven walls, but they are visible. A 45° mitre looks better, especially with timber and MDF skirting, but it needs a saw with an adjustable angle and square wall corners.
How many clips for skirting boards?
Clips are usually fitted about every 40–60 cm and near the ends of each run, which is about 2–3 per running metre. The skirting manufacturer gives the exact spacing. In the example room (17.1 m of skirting) that is about 35–50 clips.
Related
3 sources
- Deducting the door with its frame, clip spacing and accessories: skirting manufacturers' installation instructions and DIY shops' guides, read in October 2026 (values to be confirmed; not checked).
- Skirting board length 2.5 m: the Baukit materials catalogue, based on shop offers, October 2026.
- Example: Baukit calculation, 11 October 2026.