Skirting board calculator: lengths and cut list
The calculator needs JavaScript. The worked example, formula and figures below show exactly how it works, so you can do the sum yourself. A guide, not advice. Check your supplier's or maker's figures before ordering.
Short answer
Worked example
| You enter | Value |
|---|---|
| Walls | Wall 1: wall length 4 m, door widths on this wall 0 m; Wall 2: wall length 3.5 m, door widths on this wall 0.8 m; Wall 3: wall length 4 m, door widths on this wall 0 m; Wall 4: wall length 3.5 m, door widths on this wall 0 m |
| Lengths you can buy | 4.2 m |
| Allowance per piece | 100 mm |
| Internal corners | 4 |
| External corners | 0 |
Order: 4 × 4.2 m lengths of skirting
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Lengths to buy | 4 |
| Length to buy | 4.2 m |
| Skirting needed (after doors) | 14.2 m |
| Left over | 2.6 m |
| Joins on long walls | 0 |
| Mitre or scribe cuts | 8 |
| Length | Cut into | Offcut |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (4.2 m) | Wall 1: 4.1 m | 0.1 m |
| 2 (4.2 m) | Wall 3: 4.1 m | 0.1 m |
| 3 (4.2 m) | Wall 4: 3.6 m | 0.6 m |
| 4 (4.2 m) | Wall 2: 2.8 m | 1.4 m |
Show the working
- Wall 1: 4 m = 4 m
- Wall 2: 3.5 m − 0.8 m of doors = 2.7 m
- Wall 3: 4 m = 4 m
- Wall 4: 3.5 m = 3.5 m
- Pieces with 100 mm allowance each, packed into 4.2 m lengths: 4 lengths (16.8 m bought, 14.2 m fitted)
- Mitre or scribe cuts: 4 corners × 2 = 8
How it works
- Each wall's piece = wall length − door widths + allowance per piece (for squaring ends and mitres)
- A wall longer than a stock length is made from full lengths plus one shorter piece; each extra piece is a join
- Pieces are packed into stock lengths longest first (first-fit decreasing), trying each stock length you can buy and keeping the one that buys the fewest metres
- Mitre or scribe cuts = 2 per corner (each corner joins two pieces)
- Adhesive tubes = metres needed ÷ metres per tube, rounded up
Internal corners are often scribed rather than mitred; either way each corner needs two cuts.
Our default (adjustable)
These are typical planning figures and our own allowances, not facts about your product. Change any of them in the calculator to match your bag, pack or tin.
| Figure | Our default (adjustable) | Kind | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lengths you can buy | 2.4, 3, 4.2, 5.4 m | Common UK size Not yet checked against the source | From your product Common stock lengths (brief v2 FL2); check your merchant. |
| Allowance per piece | 0.1 m | Our assumption Not yet checked against the source | Our choice: change it to suit your job Allowance per piece for squaring ends and mitres (brief v2 FL2). |