The years of using sheets of corrugated galvanized metal as
the predominant material for mobile home skirting are mostly over. While the
typical colorless gray of bare steel can still be a trendy design style for
some homes, it provides absolutely no insulation benefits and can be very loud
during inclement weather when used on its own. However, it can still be used
with a backing of insulated skirting or as a second layer over your existing
skirting. This way, you retain all the benefits of insulation and quiet that
comes with traditional skirting with the trendy design and durability of
galvanized metal.
Installing metal mobile home skirting and insulating it
separately is a little different than installing it over pre-existing skirting.
Before you begin make sure you have all of the materials and tools in the list
below ready. You don’t want to be running back and forth trying to track things
down at the home improvement store or waiting on UPS to deliver your packages
from
MobileHomePartsStore.com.
Needed Items:
- Corrugated Metal Sheet
- Self-tapping screws
- Rubber-backed washers
- J-channel top track
- Corner channel
- Treated 2x4
- Wooden stakes
- 3.5in galvanized screws
- Vents
- Pea-gravel
Instructions
1. Installing the top edge
At the top edge, the J-channel will hold the mobile home
skirting and secure it to the house. Most people will simply secure it to the
side of the house using the bottom edge of the outside wall as a guide.
However, since mobile homes don’t always sit exactly level, you’ll want to use
a yardstick, a carpenter’s level, and a chalk line and make a line all the way
around at the same height.
2. Preparing the lower edge
Once the top channel is installed, hang a plumb line at each
corner and mark the corner with a stake or nail exactly at the point where the
plumb-bob rests. Next, run a line around all of the corner markers to establish
your homes footprint. Once you have the line run, clear all rocks and debris a
few inches from both sides of the line.
3. Building the bottom rail
Unlike newer styles, basic mobile home skirting like this
requires that you build your own support at the ground. This way the skirting
won’t get bent or blown around by the wind.
Inside the line that you ran for your home’s footprint, lay
down a rail of 2x4’s on edge. Check again to make sure the ground is adequately
cleared. Behind the 2x4’s, drive wooden stakes into the ground about every 3 to
4 feet. Once all the stakes are in the ground, raise each 2x4 rail up about an
inch and secure it to the stakes that are behind it using the 3.5in galvanized
screws. In front of your new ground rail, dig a 5-6 inch deep trench and fill
it half-way with gravel. Make sure that the trench you dig is not too close to
the rail otherwise the integrity of the ground it is staked into could be
compromised.
4. Installing the skirting
Next, cut the pieces of metal skirting to the correct length
and fit them between the J-channel and the top of the pea-gravel in the trench.
Secure it to the bottom rail with self-tapping screws and rubber-backed
washers. Use at least two screws on the seams between pieces of your new mobile
home skirting. Seams should be layered. In the corners, use corner channel to
finish the edges.
5. Adding insulation
If you didn’t install your mobile home skirting on top of
existing material, now is when you’ll need to install an insulating layer.
It’ll keep the summer head and biting winter cold out from underneath your home
which will help keep the inside comfortable and keep your energy costs down.
It’ll also help make the space under your home a better place to store things
like outdoor furniture, garden tools, or sleds for the kids.
The easiest way to add insulation is to cut foam insulation
board to fit precisely behind it. Once it’s cut, glue the foam to the back of
the metal to keep it in place. You also have the option of using expanding foam
sprayed to the back of the skirting. Sprayed foam can be much more efficient because
you can get better coverage which leads to better efficiency. However, it makes
it much harder to change the style of your mobile home skirting once it is
sprayed in place.
6. Adding vents and access doors
Depending on your local building codes, you’ll be required
to add a certain number of access doors and vents to the skirting. Typically,
you’ll need at least one door on each side and they should be located so it’s
convenient to get to utilities like gas and water shut off valves. You’ll also
need at least one vent for every 150 sq. ft. of floor space as a baseline. If
your vents have louvers or screens – and they should – you’ll need to increase
your vent area by 30 to 50%.
7. The final details
Now that your skirting is installed with doors and vents,
you can fill up the pea-gravel trench. This will give the bottom of the
skirting somewhere to go if the ground ever swells. Also, if you live in an
area with harsh winters, you’ll probably want to avoid screwing the skirting to
the house at the upper J-channel and instead leave a little extra space above
the skirting to allow for some vertical movement.
