Attaching styrofoam under corrogated metal skirting

Busybee1952 · Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:26 pm

Mark suggests screwing 1 x 2's to the perimeter of the home in his book. That seems like an awful lot of work. Is there some kind of L-shaped metal or something else that would be easier to screw to the perimeter joists? I have a full cement slab and 2 x 4 perimeter on the cement which the skirting screws to. (sorry for the dark shadows in the pic. It just rained! YAY!) Thanks for any ideas.

Greg · Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:41 pm

If the 2x4 is in good shape and lines up correctly, by all means use it. there is no sense in making more work for yourself. Greg

Busybee1952 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:50 am

What about some kind of U shaped metal thing? I could only be about an inch or so wide. Is there such a thing?

JD · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:55 am

How about skirting bottom track? Should be readily available and cheap

Busybee1952 · Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:02 am

What about maybe glueing the foam board to the back of the corrugated metal skirting with construction glue?

Yanita · Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:27 am

Hey Busybee,

Sounds like a plan to me, although some glues eat styrofoam.

Yanita

Busybee1952 · Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:24 am

Got Marks book back out and looked at how styrofoam board was attached. In the example in the book, the home is not on a cement slab but the idea was that stakes be driven in the ground around the perimeter board and these will then hold the styrofoam sheets in place. Since my home is on a cement slab and the slab is wider and longer than the home, I got some lath strips, some carpenter's glue and my handy screw gun and affixed 8" lath strips every 2' to the perimeter board with glue and a screw. The styrofoam was cut to fit tight up under the edge of the home to the perimeter board and it all seems to be working great so far! It's raining but I will take some pictures later and post them.

Busybee1952 · Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:16 pm

Got 4 sections of bellyboard repaired today and installed the foam board to those sections. I used flex mend tape, pieces of tarp, pieces of lathe, pieces of paneling and it's definitely all tight underneath those sections. Got the metal skirting back on and am wondering what I should get to put over the edges. I know people use j-channel but I have some pieces of a two part metal flap that screws on but some of it is missing. I don't know if it's still available to buy or not.

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JD · Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:54 pm

Hi Pat,

You can get Z-bar in varied widths at your local home store. Our Lowe's is now selling it painted as well as galvanized.

JD

Busybee1952 · Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:49 am

JD, can you please explain how this z-bar works? I don't understand why it has an outside piece of metal and then also an inside piece of metal. I have a bunch of that putty tape like one uses behind window frames and such. Do you think it would be a good idea to use some of that behind the z-bar when I attach it?

My metal skirting is selvedged and had some holes in it where it had been attached somewhere else. I found some tape that sticks good to it and so have put tape over all of the holes not only to keep air/bugs out but also so that when I get ready to paint, the paint won't just go through. I would like to paint the skirting before I put the z-bar back on because the skirting is several different colors but I might not be able to afford the time or money this year. If I put the z-bar on without painting, would I have to remove it again when I do get ready to paint?

Also, should I get some of that spray foam stuff and go along the top side of the corrogated skirting just to fill in all the little spaces? I was thinking of also using the spray foam or some caulk or something to go along the bottom 2 x 4 so that water can't seep in. Is that even practical?

The section I have just finished is right outside the door. Last year, I had put wood pallets on the ground and also stood some up against the skirting to hold my immediate wood supply. It seemed to work okay because I also had a tarp that went over the wood.

JD · Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:51 pm

Hi Pat,

Usually, the very tops of the skirting will be higher than the bottom of the siding to keep it from falling in, and the z-bar is put over the top to keep it from falling out. And usually, the z-bar is just put over the corrugation of the siding and not sealed to allow water to pass right through, there for not trapping water anywhere. If you want this area sealed, I would use the sticky-back weatherstripping foam on the siding, about 1/8 to 1/4" below the top of the Z-bar, and then seal with a paintable polyurethane sealant. The foam would act as a caulking rod to keep caulking from just oozing through that gap.

I would not do anything to seal with the bottom of the skirting to the mud seal (2x4). The caulk would soon give loose anyways and again, possibly trapping water. If you wanted to be real fancy, you could put a slight (very slight) pitch to the 2x4, causing water to drain to the outside of the building. From there, you have to level dirt or trench to be sure water does not collect at the bottom of the skirting.

I also would not store wood against or right beside the home. This may invite termites and carpenter ants to check out the home.

JMO

JD

Busybee1952 · Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:57 pm

um, I have a feeling I've done this all wrong. The metal skirting is screwed to the 2 x 4 at the bottom and is also screwed to the dark colored strip that is at the bottom of the metal siding. My skirting doesn't "float" because I'm on a full cement slab. There is no settling or movement. You can see it clearly in the picture above where I just have the foam board up. This is how it was done when I started working on it so I just put it back the same way.

Also, I still don't understand why the z-bar has 2 metal strips. To me, it seems rather redundant.