FT-12Refit the skirting boardsBefore you drill, use a cable and pipe detector along the wall, but still assume something could be there and prove otherwise — detectors miss cables that are deep, in metal conduit, or behind metal-backed board. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns before you start. If you have any doubt, isolate the circuit at the consumer unit, and turn off the water at the stopcock before drilling near anything that could carry water. Work out what's behind the wall: run a magnet or stud detector along it to track a line of screw heads for timber studs, tap for a hollow sound between studs, or drill a small pilot hole — timber dust means a timber stud, fine grey swarf means a metal stud. In solid brick or block, drill with a 6mm masonry bit and use a 40mm wall plug with a 50mm screw. Into a timber stud, drive a 40mm wood screw straight into its centre, no plug needed. Into a metal stud, use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or a small toggle-type hollow-wall anchor — never a plastic plug or an ordinary wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel. On dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a screw and plug long enough to pass through the board and dab gap into the masonry behind, typically 75-90mm. On lath and plaster, find the timber laths by feel or with a detector and drive fine screws into them, working gently so old plaster doesn't crack. Skirting is light, so any of these fixings done properly is strong enough — you don't need a noggin or pattress for this job.