To the untrained eye, it might be hard to notice that mobile homes are typically raised a few feet off of the ground. Some manufactured home owners do this to evade flood damage, prevent their home from settling into the ground, or to provide a space in which they can perform maintenance on their home. Water supply lines typically run underneath a mobile home, which homeowners can have easy access to if their plumbing needs repairs or general maintenance. However, leaving this space wide open can cause many problems, the most common being damage from wind and air turbulence.
That’s where mobile home skirting comes in. Mobile home skirting gives your abode both style and function. Skirting is a barrier that rests on the bottom 3 feet of your home, creating a wall to secure the underneath area of your home. It can help deter unwanted critters from moving in underneath your home and provide insulation to protect your pipes from freezing. It’s also installed to prevent wind gusts from tearing up the underside of your home. Because skirting is bought for pretty much every mobile home, it comes in a variety of styles that can enhance your home’s exterior appearance.
Types of Mobile Home Skirting
Your skirting needs to be made with materials built to withstand the elements. If you’re searching for some new skirting, you may start to see the term “underpinning” used a lot. No need to fret about what to buy. You’re not necessarily out of the loop. Underpinning for mobile homes means the same thing as skirting. They’re synonymous terms referring to the same thing.
The main types of skirting for mobile homes is vinyl, faux rock skirting, and metal skirting. Although there are other options out there, these are the most common. Vinyl skirting is less expensive and more visually appealing for your home, as it can come in a variety of colors and designs. Faux rock skirting for your mobile home comes in a close second, mainly for its visual appeal. However, when looking into mobile home skirting, you need to consider the durability of your skirting choice. Metal skirting is quite popular; not because of its visual appeal, but because of its strength and durability.
With these options in mind, it should be easier to decide which type of mobile home skirting is best for your home. Whether you’re installing new skirting, adding to it, or repairing your old skirting, it helps to know what skirting varieties are the best. Skirting that detaches from your home or is prone to flying away is a common problem, so it’s beneficial to know what other options are out there if you’re looking for a change. Let’s move on to how to secure your mobile home skirting.
Install Mobile Home Skirting Wind Rods
Wind rods or “blow out rods” are metal supports that slide into the seams of your skirting for additional support to your panels. Just like their name implies, these rods help your mobile home skirting stand up to high winds. By adding skirting wind rods, you give your skirting panels a stronger structure and prevent strong gusts of wind from bending your skirting or causing it to fly off of your home.
Secure Your Mobile Home Skirting’s Bottom Track
Mobile home skirting commonly lifts up from the bottom and breaks off from your home. This happens when the skirting’s bottom track isn’t securing the skirting tightly enough. Once this bottom portion of your skirting panel rises with harsh winds, it creates a heavy weight that causes the whole thing to snap off. To prevent this from happening, try adding skirting screws to the bottom track of your skirting. Be careful to not add these screws too close or too far apart. We recommend you add a screw about every other panel.
Enlist the Help of a 2x4
If you’re still having issues with your skirting blowing away, we have one other possible solution. Secure a 2x4 to the ground, possibly by hammering small but thick wood beams into the ground before drilling the 2x4 into it. After your 2x4 is confirmed to be stationed in the ground by your skirting, drill your skirting to it. This should provide a stable structure for your mobile home skirting to hold onto.
Mobile Home Skirting Items from Star Mobile
If you’re ready to make some changes to your mobile home skirting to help keep it secured, Star Mobile Home Supplies is a one-stop-shop for everything you need. We have a collection of mobile home skirting and other necessary hardware to help you complete your home repairs. And if you’re feeling ambitious with your home maintenance projects, you can easily shop all other mobile home supplies on our website.
