Ever wondered about the sturdy foundation supporting your mobile home? The underpinning of a mobile home plays a crucial role in its stability and protection. Understanding the significance of this hidden feature can help you maintain your mobile home for years to come. How does the underpinning impact your mobile home’s durability and overall structure? Let’s delve into the world beneath your mobile home to uncover the importance of proper underpinning techniques and materials. Discover how this often-overlooked aspect can make a significant difference in the longevity and safety of your mobile abode in this article Underpinning For Mobile Homes.
Importance of Skirting for Mobile Homes
Aesthetic Appeal
Skirting for mobile homes plays a crucial role in enhancing their aesthetic appeal. By covering the space between the ground and the bottom of the home, skirting creates a cohesive look, making the mobile home appear more like a traditional house. This clean and polished appearance adds value to the overall visual appeal of the property. Underpinning for Mobile Homes really does put the icing on the cake when it comes to setting a mobile home.
Protection from Pests and Weather Elements
The mobile home skirting kits serve as a protective barrier, safeguarding the underside of mobile homes from various threats. Pests such as rodents and insects often seek shelter beneath homes, posing risks to both the structure and its occupants. Exposure to weather elements like rain, snow, and wind can lead to moisture issues and structural damage. Skirting acts as a shield against these potential dangers, ensuring the longevity of the mobile home.
Energy Efficiency Maintenance
One of the key benefits of skirting is its contribution to maintaining energy efficiency in mobile homes. By enclosing the space underneath the home, skirting helps in reducing drafts that can lead to heat loss during colder months or cool air escape in warmer weather. This containment of air within the crawl space improves insulation and regulates indoor temperatures more effectively, ultimately leading to energy savings for homeowners.
Foundation Requirements for Underpinning
Anchoring Importance
Proper anchoring is crucial for underpinning stability. It ensures the mobile home stays secure during external forces.
Mobile homes rely on a solid foundation to prevent shifting or tilting. The ground anchors provide essential support.
Ground Leveling Significance
Leveling the ground before underpinning installation is vital. It helps maintain the structural integrity of the mobile home.
Uneven ground can lead to issues like sagging floors and misaligned walls. Proper leveling prevents these problems.
To shop the best underpinning available for mobile homes visit this link today and have this product shipped directly to your home.
Underpinning and Premature Rust
The underneath of mobile manufactured homes are made of wood and metal. Metal after setting 2 to 3 feet from the ground starts to rust. This rust over the years can wear down the metal beams that are necessary to keep your mobile home in tip top shape.
By protecting your mobile home with underpinning you can keep the moisture out and keep this space dry.
A vapor laid on the ground will help to keep this area dry as well. Vapor barrier is very important to a mobile homes underbelly. Many homeowners assume that this barrier is the insulation that is hooked under the home itself. Vapor barrier is a sheet of plastic that lays on the ground that helps to keep moisture down. Once you have vapor barrier in place make sure that your underpinning is sealed from any cracks to help keep this area dry. For more information on this visit our article Crawl Space Vapor Barrier.
Ventilation Under Your Mobile Home
Vents are important for your underpinning. You want to make sure fresh air can continue to filter under your manufactured home. Mold likes to grow in damp dark areas and having vents will help you keep this area cool and dry.
It is recommended that you have approximately 1 foot of venting every 125 feet of skirting.
Overview of Underpinning Materials
Vinyl
Vinyl underpinning is low-cost and easy to install, making it a popular choice for mobile homes. It offers minimal maintenance requirements, but it may not be as durable as other materials like concrete or brick.
Concrete
Concrete underpinning provides excellent durability and structural support for mobile homes. It requires little maintenance but can be more expensive upfront compared to vinyl. However, its longevity makes it a cost-effective choice in the long run.
Stucco
Stucco underpinning offers a unique aesthetic appeal with various texture and color options available. While it requires periodic painting for maintenance, stucco is prone to cracking over time, which may impact its durability.
Brick
Brick underpinning is renowned for its timeless appearance and durability. Although it requires minimal maintenance and has a long lifespan, brick can be one of the more expensive options among underpinning materials.
Cinder Block
Cinder block underpinning combines affordability with decent durability. It is relatively easy to install and maintain, offering a balance between cost-effectiveness and longevity for mobile homes.
When considering the best underpinning material for your mobile home, weigh the factors of durability, maintenance requirements, cost-effectiveness, and aesthetic appeal. Each material has its own set of advantages and drawbacks that should align with your preferences and budget.
Homemade Underpinning / DIY
Any type of material that you get that you can hang up and down and paint will work for skirting. There is no guide that you must stick to when it comes to underpinning. If you do live in a mobile home park, I would recommend that you do check with your park office before you start. Especially if you are looking to use a product not commonly used on mobile homes. The park may have rules of how the outside of your mobile manufactured home needs to look to comply. There are many alternatives to underpinning that can be used.
Stone Underpinning Skirting
You can also get underpinning or skirting panels that resemble stones. These come in a variety of colors and can be shipped directly to your doorstep. Check out this stone panel below. These are beautiful and will make your mobile home look amazing! Order these panels at this link and have them shipped directly to your home.
Underpinning Mobile Home: Storage Space
While living in a mobile home park you may realize that there is limited space for storage. It doesn’t take long to fill up a storage shed and you can only have 1 of them. Many mobile home owners are resorting to storing items under their homes. This is a simple idea if you have an access panel to the mobile home underpinning (see access panel below).
The area under your mobile home gives you hundreds of square feet of storage area. You will want to be careful to tear any of the underbelly insulation when storing items here. It is best to go to your local department store or your local hardware and get storage totes. Storage totes will help to keep your items save while being stored under the home. In the event that a pipe was to burst or a rodent were to get under the home this would help to protect your items. Plastic totes can be purchased for a few dollars and be reused over and over. The best part is they last for years.
Mobile Home Underpinning: Without It
If your home is exposed underneath you could have problems with frozen pipes in cold months. Read our article called Frozen Pipes Mobile Home for more info.
Animals can easily get under the mobile home and rip everything apart as well. Cats are typically seen in mobile home parks. Cats love to tear into the insulation under homes and sleep there to keep warm.
Underpinning will help to keep add security to your home and keep people and kids out from under the home where they could get hurt. You do not want to be liable for someone getting hurt on your property.
You also do not want moisture to get under your mobile home. Read our article Water Leak Under a Mobile Home for more help.
Underpinning Figuring How Much You Need
Now you want to calculate just how much underpinning you will need to complete your job. Below are a couple examples that will help you figure out the amount of materials you will need.
Example 1: Let’s say you have a 14 x 76 mobile home like the one pictured above
So, with this example you have 180 feet of area times this by 12” to give you the total number of inches = 2160 linear inches
Now figure out the distance between the ground and the bottom of the mobile home. I would measure at least 5 different spots on your home to get an average. You will have uneven ground and different measurements:
31” + 25” + 30” + 27” + 28” = 141” divide by 5 numbers = 28” . This is the average height of your mobile home underpinning area.
Now call your local hardware with these figures to get all your trim and other necessary materials.
Example 2: Lets say you have a doublewide that is 28 x 52 like the home pictured here.
28 + 28 + 52 + 52 = 160 ft. x 12” = 1,920 inches.
Now again figure out the average height of the distance between the ground and the bottom of your mobile home: 28”
Again call your local provider with this figure to get the cost on all materials that you will need to complete the job.
Material Calculator
If all else fails try this handy calculator from Skirting Direct. With this handy calculator you can enter in your information and it will figure your materials out for you. This company also provides some beautiful skirting / underpinning options for you to consider.
Buying Materials
I would recommend buying over what you need when it comes to buying supplies. Keep your receipt when you purchase the materials to construct the underpinning for your mobile home. You want to make sure you have more than enough. You don’t want to get halfway done with the job and find out that your supplier now longer carries the materials. This can be an expensive mistake and can cause major issues for your progress.
Where to Buy Underpinning for Mobile Homes / Skirting Near Me
Are you looking to buy mobile home skirting that is durable? Do you want skirting in brick or rock patterns? You can have it shipped right to your door step just by clicking right HERE. There are also access panels that can be shipped to your doorstep.
Underpinning for Trailer
Whether you have a singlewide or doublewide trailer underpinning is effective. Underpinning can give your trailer a new refreshed look that lasts for years. It’s a great investment and worth the time it takes to install.
Another great feature of underpinning is if you decide to move the mobile home it can almost always be reused. If you are careful with removing it from under the trailer it can be used again and again.
Underpinning Around Hitch / Tongues
Many older mobile homes have the hitch or tongue still attached to the mobile home. It is possible to just frame around the hitch / tongue and install underpinning around that. You can also cut the underpinning to go around the hitch, but this leaves the hitch exposed, which does not look good. Plus, it leaves small gaps in the underpinning where tiny rodents or insects can get under your mobile home.
Cinder Block Skirting
Another great option that is sure to keep rodents, pests and weather out from under your mobile home is cinder block unpinning. This underpinning looks nice and neat and it will appear as though your mobile manufactured home is sitting on a foundation or basement. The best part about cinder blocks is they are very resistant to any type of weather condition. They also can easily be replaced if anything were to happen to them.
Tip: The downside of cinder blocks is they cannot easily be removed. The makes it difficult to access to other parts of the underbelly of your mobile home. I would recommend that you place access panels under your mobile home to make access easier with this type of underpinning.
Brick Underpinning for Home
If you are looking for a way to make the underneath of your mobile home look better brick underpinning is a great look as well. Brick underpinning comes in panels that you can slide under your mobile home. Another option is if you already have a cinder block foundation you can secure the panels to the cinder block.
Underpinning Mobile Home: Vinyl Siding
Another option when it comes to underpinning is continuing the vinyl siding on your mobile home to the ground. This is not a option I would recommend either if you need to get under your home quickly. Vinyl siding locks together and pulling it apart is difficult. It easily breaks and doesn’t go back together very easily. If you decide to go this route, I would highly recommend access panels on each side of your mobile home.
Old Underpinning
If you are looking to replace old metal underpinning, please keep in mind that you can scrap the metal to get some money back. Metal prices fluctuate daily but a local scrap yard will pay you for the metal even if it is a few bucks it will help cover the cost.
Vinyl Skirting Benefits and Installation
Easy Maintenance
Vinyl skirting for mobile homes offers easy maintenance, requiring minimal upkeep compared to other materials. Its smooth surface makes cleaning a breeze, saving time and effort.
Durability
One of the key benefits of vinyl skirting is its durability. It can withstand various weather conditions without deteriorating, ensuring long-lasting protection for your mobile home.
Versatile Design Options
When it comes to design options, vinyl underpinning mobile home provides a wide range of choices to suit different preferences. From traditional styles to modern looks, there is something for everyone.
Installation Steps:
Prepare the Area: Start by clearing the area around the mobile home where you plan to install the vinyl skirting.
Measure and Cut: Take accurate measurements of the perimeter of the home to determine the amount of skirting needed. Use a saw to cut the vinyl panels to the required size.
Attach Bottom Tracks: Secure bottom tracks along the base of the home using screws or adhesive, ensuring they are level and properly aligned.
Install Panels: Slot the vinyl panels into the bottom tracks, making sure they fit snugly together. Use additional screws if necessary to secure them in place.
Add Finishing Touches: Complete the installation by adding finishing touches such as corner pieces and trim to achieve a polished look.
Color Variety
With a wide array of colors available, homeowners can choose a shade that complements their mobile home’s exterior, enhancing its overall appearance.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Easy maintenance
Durable material
Versatile design options
Cons:
Initial installation may require some effort
Hiring Someone to Install Your Underpinning
If you don’t want to install your underpinning you will have few different options when it comes to finding someone to do the job.
If you recently moved the mobile home to its location the company who moved the manufactured home will know someone who is experienced in doing this type of job. When living in a park and looking to replace your underpinning your maintenance person at the mobile home park might be able to help as well.
TIP: If you hire someone from Craigslist, Facebook or even Angies list be sure to find out if they have references. Only put a small deposit down to get the job started. You want to make sure that you hire someone who knows what they are doing. You also want to make sure that they finish the job before they are paid in full.
Decks with Underpinning
Having a beautiful deck on the side of your mobile home is a great feature to your home. A deck can provide and your family with another area to enjoy company. Leaving the bottom part of your deck exposed to outside elements can cause issues. It can give rodents / pests a place to hide. It can also cause moisture to gather up and get under your mobile home. Many mobile homeowners are putting underpinning on their deck to keep these animals out. Here are a couple great examples. This also adds to the curb appeal of your mobile home.
Samples: Underpinning
Its best to get some sample materials of mobile home underpinning. Lay them up against your mobile home and decide which one you think looks best. Underpinning will last for years to come and you want to be happy with your decision. Nice looking underpinning can add value to your home and help with your energy efficiency. It will also help to keep the weather out from under your mobile home.
Once you start this project getting the prep work done to hold the unpinning will take the longest time on this project. You should be able to complete this project within a couple days and change the curb appeal to your mobile home.
Conclusion
In conclusion, no matter what underpinning your choose for your mobile home and deck be sure its secure and it keeps critters out. Once you have it installed be sure to check it a couple times a year for any openings. When the wind blows it can easily move unpinning and create gaps. Be sure to get this taken care of ASAP.
FAQ’s: Mobile Home Underpinning
What is the cheapest way to underpin a mobile home?
The cheapest way to underpin a mobile home is by using durable materials like vinyl skirting or lattice panels, which are more affordable compared to options like concrete or brick. These materials provide adequate protection and ventilation while being cost-effective.
What can I use for underpinning on a mobile home?
You can use materials like vinyl skirting, lattice panels, or corrugated metal for underpinning on a mobile home. These options provide a protective barrier, improve aesthetics, and allow for ventilation underneath the home.
What is a cheap alternative to underpinning?
A cheap alternative to traditional underpinning is using materials like vinyl skirting, lattice panels, or even straw bales, which can be cost-effective and provide some insulation while allowing for ventilation.
How much does it cost to put skirting around a mobile home?
The cost of skirting for a mobile home can vary depending on the material used, the size of the home, and installation fees. On average, the cost can range from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars, with vinyl skirting being a more budget-friendly option compared to concrete or masonry.