Skirting and architrave jobs
New skirting after new floors
New timber, laminate or hybrid floors usually mean new skirting: the old boards come off, the floor goes down, and new skirting covers the expansion gap at the edge. It's mitred at the corners and scribed to the floor where it isn't flat.
Replacing damaged lengths
Skirting chewed by a dog, swollen by water from a leak, or split where furniture hit it. A matching profile is cut in so the joint disappears once it's painted.
Matching old profiles
Older Brisbane houses often have tall, moulded skirting that isn't stocked any more. A close match can usually be found in a timber merchant's heritage range, or built up from two or more profiles.
Architraves around doors and windows
New architraves around new doors and windows, replacements where old ones are split or missing, and matching trims where a doorway has been moved or a wall taken out.
How much does skirting board installation cost in Brisbane?
Skirting is priced by the metre and by the room: the length, the profile and the material set the price, then the number of corners, door openings and cupboards to work around. Taking off old skirting, filling and making good adds time, and so does scribing to floors that aren't flat.
Painting is a separate cost. Pre-primed MDF and pine skirting is ready for paint; stained hardwood costs more but suits a house with other stained trims. Say whether you want the new trims painted or left ready for your painter.
For carpenters' published hourly and call-out rates, see carpenter rates in Brisbane.
Choosing a skirting profile and height
Modern homes mostly use plain square-edged or bevelled skirting, painted the same colour as the walls or the trims. Older houses suit taller skirting with a moulded top edge. The safest choice is to match what's already in the house, or the architraves, so the trims read as one set.
Bring an offcut, or send a photo of the end of an existing board with a tape measure against it, so the profile and height can be matched.
- Pine: painted finish, the most common
- MDF: painted finish, stable and straight, but not for wet areas
- Hardwood: stained or clear finish, to match timber floors or old trims
Taking old trims off older Brisbane homes
Skirting and architraves come off with the wall lining behind them. In a house built before 1990, the Queensland Government says there's "a good chance" it contains asbestos, and that it's often very difficult to identify by sight. Say when the house was built before old trims are levered off a wall lining you're not sure about.
If you suspect a wall sheet is asbestos cement, leave it alone and have it tested before work starts. See asbestos before renovating.
What to send with your enquiry
- Which rooms, and roughly how many metres of skirting
- Whether the old skirting comes off first
- The profile and height you want, or a photo of the one to match
- Pine, MDF or hardwood, and painted or stained
- Any architraves to replace, and how many doors and windows
- When the house was built
Questions about skirting and architraves in Brisbane
Should skirting go on before or after new floors?
After. The floor goes down first with its expansion gap at the walls, and the skirting covers the gap. Old skirting usually comes off before the floor goes down.
Can you match old skirting boards in a Queenslander?
Often, from a timber merchant's heritage range, or by building up the profile from two or more boards. Send a photo of the end of an existing board with a tape measure against it.
Is MDF or pine skirting better?
Both take paint well. MDF is straighter and cheaper but swells if it gets wet, so it doesn't suit bathrooms, laundries or the bottom of a wall that gets damp. Pine and hardwood handle the occasional mop better.
Can damaged skirting be replaced without redoing the whole room?
Yes. A damaged length is cut out and a new piece of the same profile joined in. Once it's filled and painted, the joint is hard to see.
Does skirting work need a QBCC-licensed carpenter?
Only if the job is valued over $3,300, counting labour, materials and GST. A whole house of new skirting and architraves can pass that, and then it needs a QBCC-licensed contractor. See QBCC licences.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 28 October 2026.
- QBCC: when you need a licence · Queensland Building and Construction Commission, last reviewed 11 August 2021
- Queensland Government: homeowners, look, check and prepare · asbestos.qld.gov.au, undated page
- Queensland Government: common locations of asbestos in domestic and commercial buildings · asbestos.qld.gov.au, undated page
