skirting issue

[Norm Frechette]

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[UmpJJ]

The only problem I could forsee is the ground heave with frost buckling the skirting if there's not enough "play" at the bottom...

UmpJJ

[Norm Frechette]

i'm on a full oversize concrete slab so there shouldnt be any frost heaving issues

my fathers house is on dirt and no issues there either

[JD]

There is also the inherent expansion and contraction of vinyl just from temperature change. The screws could cause some buckling. When I have to screw down exterior vinyl, I will drill a hole bigger than the screw shank but smaller than the screw head to offer up some expansion room. May not be enough for all cases, but it helps. I use the same type screw heads (lathe screws) you have there, as they were the biggest in the home store.

[ponch37300]

i'm on a full oversize concrete slab so there shouldnt be any frost heaving issues

my fathers house is on dirt and no issues there either

NO vinyl products should ever be screwed tight like that. Vinyl has a very high expansion/contraction rate. If you ever install vinyl siding you will see they have a 1" slot for the nail that you don't nail tight, this allows for the siding to expand and contract without causing buckling. The ends of siding also have a 2-3" overlap where the top edge is cut away so it can expand contract there without any buckling. If you look at your lower and upper tracks that the skirting is in you will see that they leave pletny of room for movement.

What you did by screwing everything together was to eliminate all the features that allow the vinyl to do it's thing without causing issues. I'm sure that it prevents wind damage but it WILL buckle sometime down the road, it may take a year or two but you will see it. Have you seen a vinyl sided house where the siding looks all "bubbly" or "wavy"? This happens when someone installing the siding pounds all the nails tight which won't let the siding expand contract. All vinyl should be installed so it "floats" and can move, that is how it's designed.

You can still screw the siding so the wind won't bother it, just have to do a little more work. Like JD suggested you should drill a bigger hole in the skirting channel and then you can install the screw threaded into the skirting, but don't install it tight. This will allow the screw to move around the bigger hole in the channel as the skirting expands and contracts. I would even go as far as getting some plastic washers so you can drill a 1/4" or 3/8" hole in the channel.

[Rod]

We always use a "Vinyl siding snap lock punch" we put a couple of tabs in the bottom of each panel. On homes in wind prone areas we will also use wind rods.
I cant remember the last time we got a call for a wind blow out from one of our skirting installs.
The srews will eventually become a problem. Once it gets hot again and the vinyl trys to expand it will buckle.....just my 2 cents

[ponch37300]

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I hope you didn't delete your post because of the responses you got. Those responses were only trying to help you, not upset you in any way. Also provided you with good information on how to do what you wanted without creating another problem.