mobilehomerepair.com

Good afternoon !
In preparation for winter, I am wondering if installing rigid foam insulated skirting is a good idea.
Recently, I had new heat tape installed and have been told that insulation of some kind is also beneficial ....
Another quicker approach would be to use bales of hay that would need to be discarded every spring. I have been warned that using hay bales invites rodents...
Any advice on this topic would be most appreciated !
Thanks one and all !

Rigid foam does work and is safer than hay bales (fire?). You want your skirting as tight as possible in cold weather.

Greg

Greg wrote:Rigid foam does work and is safer than hay bales (fire?). You want your skirting as tight as possible in cold weather.

Greg

But make sure you have a way to ventilate it in warm weather.

Down this way it's called Rapid Wall skirting - here's a link if you want to compare prices and products...
http://rustiquerapidwall.com/

I LOVE this stuff. No freeze issues (which we had before we moved), easy to work with and cuts with a circular saw. I set the bottom track for it on a frame made of treated 4/4's, secured 24" deep with rebar stakes. It doesn't scar or cut with the weed whacker, either.

I have the trailer set up higher than the norm, so my skirting is about 42" high. I wanted room to be able to work underneath it if I had to.

DON'T use the pink styrofoam you'll find at the big box stores. Rapid Wall is a sheet of styrofoam with one side covered with a layer of plastic. GREAT insulation, easy to work with. It's the best you'll find.

UmpJJ

Thank you both !
The rigid foam insulated skirting I saw online claims it can be easily cut with a utility knife and adhered with rigid foam construction adhesive and /or masonry style fasteners or their skirting mates for framing behind the panels.
I have a difficult time finding a handyman to do jobs and thought perhaps if I could do it with the adhesive....( someone told me I would need to have a frame of some kind to fasten it to because the metal skirting that is present now is uneven due to settling...

check here also.

http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/article6.php

do you really need the expense?

i have lived in my mobile home for 8 years in connecticut and we can get brutal winters and have never had a problem with any kind of freeze up.

just saying

Norm, just saw your post...I haven't checked the site in a while !
Thanks for the positive note ...I need it about now...because the more I think about the foam insulation and the prep for it...the more discouraged I get....now I'm thinking of some shrubbery up close to the skirting or perhaps even more skirting to screw onto the present skirting...?
Thanks for your input !
Joanne