Skirting Vents?

[Annie410]

I just called a local mobile home parts store to inquire about skirting. He gave me a price and I asked if it was vented, his response was no..and he went on to say that up here (Utica, NY area) it causes problems in the winter. This goes against everything I have read here regarding skirting, which raises a question for me. Should skirting vents be covered in winter? This is the only other major work that needs to be done to the home at this time and I want it done right. Someone suggested that using vinyl siding is cheaper, and looks nice, and vents can be installed that will open and close. I have specs from the park as far as what type of skirting I can use, it has to be vinyl. I'm also wondering about where to get the best price on skirting..is it cheaper to order online and have it shipped? He quoted $550 for a kit that will do a 14 x 70 home.

[UmpJJ]

No matter how "cheap" your skirting is, it isn't cheap, so buy the best skirting you can afford if you plan to stay a few years. My vinyl skirting is insulated with 2" of Styrofoam glued to it. I also have "automatic" vents that open and close with temperature, but I cover them in the winter anyway because brisk winds will blow them open at times.
Here are links to the vents and the skirting I have -

http://canadianvinyls.com/products.asp?bp=10
http://canadianvinyls.com/products.asp?bp=9

Good luck!
UmpJJ

[Greg S]

Vents do cause problems in the colder northern regions but it isn't the vents that are the problem it's the fact that home owners fail to add insulation to their vent openings in the winter.
Mine are designed to easily be removed allowing access to add insulation in the fall.

[Greg]

Annie, The ONLY way I would even think about no vents would be if your home is on a full concrete slap. I recommend covering the vents in cold weather, but you do need air flow to remove moisture during warm weather otherwise you run a good chance of developing a mold/rot issue.

Greg

[Annie410]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I have read this forum for hours at a time, and his advice seemed odd to me, after having read so many posts here. I really appreciate everyone's willingness to jump in and offer advice/help/suggestions to a complete mobile home newbie.
The home is not on a full slab, Greg, sadly enough.
And definitely, there will be insulation added come fall, Greg S.

I love the idea of automatic vents, thanks, UmpJJ, thank you for the links!

[Greg]

Mark has the automatic vents in the site's store, Also I have seen them at Lowes, I personally have not heard anything about them as far as how well they work.

Greg

[Annie410]

Thank you, Greg!

[thatswhoiam]

"building america has done a lot of research on this topic and its now believed that in many climates, vented crawlspaces cause moisture problems. you will have to research what is recommended for your climate, but the ideal crawlspace is unvented and conditioned, which results in cleaner inside air and energy savings."

[UmpJJ]

building america has done a lot of research on this topic and its now believed that in many climates, vented crawlspaces cause moisture problems. you will have to research what is recommended for your climate, but the ideal crawlspace is unvented and conditioned, which results in cleaner inside air and energy savings.

"Conditioned"? You mean air conditioned and heated? Isn't that called a basement?

UmpJJ

[thatswhoiam]

may as well be a basement.....seems lke a lot of work involved to get it conditioned

http://www.builderonline.com/energy-eff ... ces_1.aspx

"Basically a crawlspace should be built like a very short, conditioned
basement" -----> http://www.dos.ny.gov/DCEA/pdf/Energy/Rmanfound.pdf

aint-nobody-got-time-for-that.png

[Greg]

OK So looking at that article I would doubt that many homes are set on a full concrete slab with continuous poured walls. I would still stay with the standard of 1sq/ft of ventilation per 150sq/ft of floor space as a minimum.

My neighbor has been looking into a power vent system for his. I saw a video on them and they look like they do move a lot of air, the only problem that appeared in the video was they seem noisy. They had some set up with thermostats and others with Humidistats.

Here is a link to what he was looking at http://www.crawlspace-fan.com/power-temp-vent.html

Greg

[Annie410]

Although that was an interesting read, I think I'll stick with the standard. The power vents look interesting too, that may be something for another year.

[ponch37300]

may as well be a basement.....seems lke a lot of work involved to get it conditioned

http://www.builderonline.com/energy-eff ... ces_1.aspx

"Basically a crawlspace should be built like a very short, conditioned
basement" -----> http://www.dos.ny.gov/DCEA/pdf/Energy/Rmanfound.pdf

aint-nobody-got-time-for-that.png

Those are for true crawl spaces, which VERY few MHs have. Those articles were written for a "sealed" or cement crawlspace. MHs usually don't have a full foundation that is sealed to the MH. Hence the "mobile" part of the name. You will see ZERO energy savings(actually will see a significant loss) if you try to condition the area below the MH. Unless it is 100% sealed, which is next to impossible unless you have a full poured slab and foundation and the foundation is sealed to the MH. Our thermal break is usually the belly material and insulation. In a true cement crawl space the thermal break is at the cement and therefor you can condition the whole crawl space without energy loss. But try that on you average MH and your heating loss will be very high.

Unless you can seal your whole crawl space and have the thermal break at the "skirting"/slab then go with the traditional skirting and vents.

[Steve S.]

Annie,
Several years back I installed GP Parkside vinyl skirting on my MH...previously I had OSB panels which had no effective venting and had rotted from the moisture wicking up from the bottom. The Parkside panels are all vented with small perforations on each panel...I am very happy with the product so far. I think it cost me roughly $500 for the panels, trim pieces, and fasteners. I had to buy a hammer drill to fasten the bottom rail into my concrete slab with special screws. I don't have any problems in the winter as there is (usually) plenty of snow piled up around my skirting to help insulate.
It is so much drier and lighter under my MH now...on a sunny day I can actually see what I'm doing underneath without a flashlight. I would recommend these panels(both Lowes and some HD stores have them available near me). I believe the panels are 8' long and you simply cut them to size with snips and they slide together and fit between an upper and lower trim piece.

[thatswhoiam]

in hot/ humid climates, vented mh crawlspaces are not recommended.

somebody please tell me i don't have that backwards. i've got about 1/4 of the vents closed off