As your home ages, signs of wear and tear can start to appear. Changes in temperature and moisture levels indoors can cause timber, such as your skirting boards, to expand, shrink, and even distort. Over time, you might start to see unsightly cracks appear, resulting in your property losing that ‘brand-new’ finish.

But with CT1 sealant and adhesive, unpleasant skirting board cracks are just a quick fix away from looking new-build fresh again. CT1 is the ultimate solution for sealing and bonding, and can quickly and easily be applied to repair a cracked skirting board – even the most novice DIYer!

Plus, you won’t have to worry about repainting your skirting boards afterwards (unless you want to!). Thanks to its revolutionary TRIBRID® Technology, CT1 has excellent colour retention. CT1 also comes in a variety of colours, including clear, white, black, grey, beige, brown, oak, blue, silver and anthracite. So, if you’re using white CT1 to repair your white skirting board, it will look spick-and-span in no time!

The first step to repairing a crack in your skirting board is to remove any old sealant. Usually, you can see where the wood has contracted and warped by the wavy, bumpy pattern of the remaining sealant. Take a Stanley knife and cut away as much of this as you can.

Next, use some sandpaper to smooth down any residual bumps along the groove. If you’re planning to repaint your skirting boards after sealing, you can use this opportunity to sand down the entire skirting board. However, if you’re just repairing the crack, you may want to skip this step.

Now, prepare your CT1 cartridge. Carefully cut the tip to your chosen diameter. If you’re using CT1 for the first time, try and cut a very small opening. This way, you can apply CT1 accurately. Remember that you can always add more if you need to. But, if you cut the opening too big, there’s no going back! A top tip for very small or precise applications is to use a thumbtack to pierce a hole at the end of the nozzle and use this to apply your CT1.

Check that there’s no dust or dirt on your skirting board by giving it a quick wipe with a dry cloth. Then grab your caulking gun and place the prepared CT1 cartridge inside. Gently apply pressure on the trigger until the sealant fills the nozzle, now you’re ready to apply it.

Place the tip of the nozzle against the crack’s edge and drag it along, applying pressure to the trigger to squeeze out the sealant. Then, take your finger and smooth the sealant into the crack. Repeat this process along each gap. Remember to keep a damp cloth nearby to clean up any excess. Leave the sealant to cure, and then admire your revamped skirting boards – they’ll look as good as new!

To start your cracked skirting board repair, pick up your CT1 sealant from our official online partner, ToolStation!