SK-06Fix the skirting to the wallHow you fix it depends on what's behind the board. Into solid brick or block, drill a 6mm hole roughly 40mm deep into the mortar joint or brick, push in a red plastic wall plug, and drive in a 50-60mm screw. Into plasterboard on timber studs, screw straight into the centre of each stud you marked earlier with a 40mm wood screw - no plug needed. Into plasterboard on metal studs, use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or a snap-toggle fixing, never a plain wall plug or ordinary wood screw, which will strip straight through 0.5mm steel. Through dot-and-dab plasterboard, use a 60-75mm frame fixing long enough to pass through the board and the adhesive dabs into the solid masonry behind. Into lath and plaster, aim for the timber laths where you feel solid resistance, or spread a toggle fixing across several laths, since one lath alone won't hold. Skirting is light, so a fixing every 400-600mm, plus one near each end and joint, is normally enough.