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I’m not entirely sure I agree with you on this. It’s hard for me to say because I really like the imperfections in things I build, for the most part. Like I’ll
by devjab 2y ago
I’m not entirely sure I agree with you on this. It’s hard for me to say because I really like the imperfections in things I build, for the most part. Like I’ll full spartle a wall (not entirely sure if this is the correct English description) and I’ll intentionally leave the finish less than “perfect” because I think it adds a little soul to it that will make me happy down the years.
Then you have things like flooring, installing windows, and anything on outside, however, where I’ll absolutely make sure it’s perfectly everything. Basically so my floors have none of the issues you describe as an example. Part of the success behind this is to hide the imperfections. You’re not going to ever build a perfect floor if you build it all the way to the wall. So what you do is that you leave a gap between the wall and the floor and you cover that gap up with wooden “footlists” (again not sure if that’s the correct English description). This gives you a “perfect” floor which aligns with everything in the room. The more crooked a room is, the more you have to cheat, but if you put in the effort it’s almost always achievable.I would like the small imperfections in these things as well. Ok, maybe not on the outside unless I was very sure it wouldn’t have an impact on the integrity of weather protection, but I wouldn’t mind crooked floors. The reason I strive to make them perfect is that other people won’t, which will make a property much harder to sell. Because unlike imperfect ”walling”, a floor correction/replacement will absolutely impact the value of a property.
But then there is the part where you will absolutely notice it when it’s not installed correctly. Which is what I guess you’re getting at, and I agree with you. The thing with buildings, however, is that you have to cheat. Buildings are imperfect and they can even more around a bit as weather conditions change. So with buildings you have to cheat. Which is different than with aligning things on the web, or at least it should be. So this is the part I disagree with a little.
As a side note people shouldn’t accept crooked floors and so on, especially not when you’ve hired professionals. They should know how to cheat.
- Stratoscope 2y ago> You’re not going to ever build a perfect floor if you build it all the way to the wall. So what you do is that you leave a gap between the wall and the floor and you cover that gap up with wooden “footlists” (again not sure if that’s the correct English description). This gives you a “perfect” floor which aligns with everything in the room. Here in the US, it's called “baseboard”: https://www.google.com/images?q=baseboard https://www.google.com/images?q=baseboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseboard “[Baseboard's] purpose is to cover the joint between the wall surface and the floor. It covers the uneven edge of flooring next to the wall; protects the wall from kicks, abrasion, and furniture; and can serve as a decorative molding.”
- lostlogin 2y agoIt’s ‘skirting’ here in NZ.
- defrost 2y agoDitto here in NZ's West Island (Australia).
- OJFord 2y agoProbably throughout the Commonwealth, skirting or skirting board (it is here in the UK too), and a confused Canada as for most of these words!
- skipants 2y agoThis time the coin-flip of Canadian nomenclature landed on "American"; we call them baseboards.
- alistairSH 2y agoAnd commonly, in the US, you'll see baseboards (3-4" tall) which were sloppily cut and then that was, in turn, covered up with a quarter-round moulding. If the floor and wall are installed properly, the quarter round shouldn't be necessary.
- jcims 2y agoHey now!! I represent this remark!
- glitchc 2y agoThe gap also helps with expansion, otherwise the hardwood panels will form ridges in the middle of the floor.
- kqr 2y ago> I think it adds a little soul to it that will make me happy down the years. The word for this is wabi-sabi.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoMy OCD self: "At last, I found you, wabi-sabi, my archnemesis".
- joquarky 2y agoBe careful, if you defeat wabi-sabi, next you'll have to face a boss fight with wu wei.
- worthless-trash 2y agoI imagine you draw a large breath and let out a contented sigh while a smile tugs at one side of your mouth.
- drikerf 2y agoAFAIK you should always leave space between floor and walls. As the material may grow/shrink with temperature etc. Very noticable in Sweden.
- aidos 2y agoIt’s also to prevent moisture issues. If you plaster right down to the floor then the plaster slowly soaks up moisture over time. Instead an unsightly gap is left to prevent this bridging. Skirting / baseboard covers the gap. So much of what happens in house construction is about water management and without understanding it, it’s common for people to create issues. Regularly see patios that cover airbricks, causing suspended timber floors to rot.
- dudefeliciano 2y ago> The thing with buildings, however, is that you have to cheat. Buildings are imperfect and they can even more around a bit as weather conditions change. design systems are imperfect, and can become even more so with changing specs/frameworks/dependencies/browser updates/...
- tharkun__ 2y agoFound the German? :) "Spartle" = Spachteln? You may trowel your wall (with a trowel full of plaster). At least that's what I do here in Canada. "Footlist" = Fussleiste? Leiste is not a list. Leiste translated can literally just be "trim" and "foot trim" is quite close - leave out foot and you have what it's actually called. Floor trim, baseboard, baseboard trim (to distinguish from 'baseboard' just meaning 'baseboard heating' if context isn't clear etc). I think your parent, like you are saying in the end as well, was also less worried about seeing your own imperfections (tho that's of course a thing too) and more in line with the original comment about "not being able to unsee it" in general. And that is definitely true. You see all the badly hidden imperfections from professionals. And you will also see all the well hidden ones but you still know they're there now while before you did it yourself, you never even noticed. It can also make your relationship with professionals worse because you will see the hiding but have trouble distinguishing the correct line between "well hidden but visible to the professional eye" and "bad job" :)