skirting

[Brenda (OH)]

Hi Everyone,

I moved a mobile home, and survived, and I am ready to learn about vinyl skirting.

I am considering using the landscape timbers to place the bottom rail on to avoid weed wacker damage to skirting. OR could I use treat 2X4, and put the railing on top of that? would I let the 2X4s unattached, or attach them to the stakes I would put in behind them? or hammer through them? or predrill and put the stakes through them? the first time through for a repair is so challenging.... grins

my question is, on the dirt, do I have to drive spikes through the timbers, and how hard is it to do? I do own a mini sledge hammer, but this is a 14 by 67 ft home.

about 1/3 to 1/2 of home is over dirt, the rest is over cement.

so my next question is, without a hammer drill, how to I attach the bottom rail to the cement? are masonry nails easy to use? I am not a wimp, but I do find doing heavy repetitive work is hard on my wrists (ex, one window,ok second window install, that 18v cordless drill feels SO HEAVY!) lol

the rest of the install I think I understand. leave room for vertical frost heave when over dirt, make nice corners in the bottom rail, start things as level as possible etc.

feeling a little overwhelmed.... think I will go paint some walls while waiting,that repair I understand

Brenda

[JD]

Hi Brenda,

I usually use pressure treated 2x4s but the landscape timbers would be nice also. With the 2x4a you really have to aim the weed eater at the bottom of the board. If the ground is firm, we will pre-drill holes in the 2x4 and use 11" aluminum spikes (like big nails) to anchor. If it is soft ground like rural dirt often is, you can use small wood stakes and drive them in with a hammer, then screw the mud board to the stake. On concrete we use 3/16 lead anchors, sometimes called redhead anchors (brand name). They are cheap and real easy to use. A 3/16" mason bit and cordless drill is almost always enough to drill your hole. Drill right through the vinyl ground channel into the concrete.

For headroom on the skirting panels, you should see 2 lines on the back part of the top trim that you screw to the home. In cold weather areas, I would measure just to the top of the bottom line. Be sure to leave your screws slightly loose and in the middle of the nail channel. This leaves room for expansion and contraction. To really get the skirting to stand plumb, cut the bottom of the skirting panel to match the contour of the ground. When the ground has a slight hill to it and you cut the skirting straight across, it causes the skirting to lean after a few pieces. If the ground is pretty much level, you probably don't need to worry about it. When it is sloped, I mark off every 16" and then measure from the top of the bottom line at each 16" mark, down to the ground channel to get the right angle on the skirting.

This is a pretty easy install. Have fun.

JD

[Greg]

Hi Brenda and welcome. Personally I would not use vinyl unless I was forced to. check "a better skirting idea" in the articles section. I uses metal on our home and I will tell you first hand that about all a weed eater does to it is make a lot of noise. If you are allowed to use it, that is what I would use. Greg

[Jim from Canada]

Another option for skirting is wood or concrete board. I have 3/4" plywood and it works great. I live in Southwestern Ontario (Canada) and have never used heat tape on my water line and have never frozen up (I don't recommend or endorse this). My pipe is insulated too. I used the wood because it was free. When the wood deteriorates enough that it needs replacing I will definitley use concrete board. I had to install vents in the skirting, but I seal them up for the winter. Someone had a great skirting project in the old photo album where they poured concrete around the peritmeter using pier footings and re-bar and then studded from there to the bottom of the home, making extra support for the walls too. It was brilliant! To the point that I'm stealing the idea! lol.

Jim

[Maureen]

Hi Brenda, and guys!

I just want to add one more little tip. It doesn't matter what you use, but like Greg, I like metal. If you live in an area that does have frost heave, a small trench with gravel under the bottom rail will help there! That will 'give' more than anything else!

I've got vinyl, and can;t wait to change it out to metal! Still have hubby's weed whacking marks from when we first moved in! They're sealed, but ya can still see them in certain areas. Not to mention, every time the Wind blows a certain direction at high speeds, I have to go out and pop some of them back in.

Also, if you're doing it from scratch, metal is much cheaper than vinyl. I haven't looked into concrete board here, so I can't do the math there. Keep your mind open to other possibilities!

Maureen

[Brenda (OH)]

Maureen and all,

would any of the advice on metal vs vinyl change if I mention I am rehabbing for resale? So I need fastest time to install, and lowest cost.

metal siding, with a pebble trench, sounds nice but slow.

How would vinyl skirting, with needing to anchor into concrete and some of it on landscape timbers over dirt compare?

Other factor is, I have a store I can drive to 1 hour away for a vinyl skirting kit, I don't know where to get metal skirting. I live in Cincinnati OH

thanks again for the encouragement. preplanning this job is making it less of a dreaded task, and more of a challenge.... lol

Brenda

[JD]

Hi Brenda,

Personally, I am not a big fan of metal skirting. I am assuming we are talking about painted steel (corrugated) siding. I feel the vinyl looks better and is easier to install. Vinyl skirting can chip easier in cold weather, but with some type of mud seal and a little caution, it should last a very long time.

Vinyl can be cut with a power saw. They say to turn the blade around backwards, but I don't. I use a 22 tooth carbide blade and have never chipped a cut. It can also be cut easily with one of those big Weiss metal shears. Don't use the small aviation snips, that would be a pain. If you buy a full trim kit (made for a 24x60 home) it comes with the corners already cut on the front male section of the trim. I will just score the back female section that gets screwed to the house to make a nice corner. You will need to miter cut the ground channel. Side cutter aviation snips work good here.

Depending on skill level and amount of time it takes you to remove old skirting material, it would probably take a DIY person (with one helper) a couple of days to install. Installing the ground channel on concrete (metal or vinyl) is easy. Put a straight piece of wood against the house, mark the concrete, and that is where the back of the channel goes. Put a mark about every 4'. Lay the channel on the mark and drill through the vinyl into the concrete using a 3/16" mason bit about every 2'. Have an extra bit or two. We have a hammer drill, but I always use my 12 volt Dewalt, because I don't want to drag a cord. Slide in the anchor bolt and tap the pin down until it snugs up in the hole. The small 3/16"x7/8" anchor bolt is more than enough and you don't have to drill very deep. I tried to upload a picture of the type of anchor I use below. If it doesn't show up, I will put it in my Personal Album



As for cost, I pay around $500 for vinyl skirting and trim for a 24x60. I see the online stores are around $700. (21) 2x4x8 pressure treated is about $100, 4x4 p.t. fence posts around $170, and nicer browntone landscape timbers (with the rounded corners) about $250. If you are selling the home, go with the 2x4s, easier to work with and looks great. They can be installed with spikes, (predrill the hole) which comes with the trim kit. 4xmaterial should be staked.

Just my opinion. Hope this helps.

JD

[JD]

One more note on the anchor bolt. I use a punch to tap the pin down since a hammer head won't fit down into the channel. A 3-4" bolt would work well also.