manufacturedhomelivingnews.com Manufactured Home Living News
There are many types of possible foundation enclosures – aka “skirting” – for a manufactured home. Regular vinyl skirting is the most common. On the elegant Tidmore Home, we saw brick used as a foundation enclosure.
The first Do It Yourself (DIY) video on installing vinyl flooring we did with Brad and Craig Albers was such a big hit – and continues to be well watched! – that we knew we had to come back to New Durham Estates and do more handyman videos with these skilled, college-educated craftsmen. So this Inside MH Road Show episode will be part of our periodic features on how-to work on pre-HUD Code mobile-homes and modern manufactured homes.
Brad mentions other kinds of ‘skirting’ that they’ve used, with brick or stone patterns, and some of those are insulated too. The graphic below will help paint the picture. Some who start with standard vinyl later upgrade to other styles.
So on this video, we featured an insulated skirting, which Brad and Craig have been working with for about 6 years. As they explain, they’ve used many brands of insulated skirting.
Price and Benefits
For millions of manufactured home buyers, the single most important factor is the cost. Vinyl skirting does the job, and is the most common choice for low cost. But what if you have a bigger budget to work with? Many want a more upscale or residential look. This insulated skirting gives the benefit of both a sharper look, more durability and an insulated value that over time will help pay for the added up-front cost.
So know your options, and pick what makes the best sense for your taste and budget.
For those who say, ‘wait a minute! What about non-insulated skirting? Does that lead to more freeze ups?’ We quickly ask and answer that question on this video. We will do so in more detail with our next Do-It-Yourself handyman video that will focus on the wisdom of using heat tape on your exterior water lines. Keep in mind that millions already have a manufactured home, and freeze ups are easily avoided with a little common sense.
FYI – heat tape is used on conventional houses that have a crawl space as well as manufactured homes.
Manufactured Housing Done Right
Stacy Epperson at NextStep uses the catchy slogan of manufactured housing done right. There is no monopoly on the desire to do a job right, so there are thousands of manufactured housing pros who apply that principle every day. We saw that in evidence in many of the things that the Fath Family has done in their community.
The idea of using insulated skirting on so many homes the Fath Family has installed at New Durham Estates is part of a long term vision! So when someone has to watch their dollars closely, certainly there are good reasons to use standard vinyl foundation enclosures to ‘skirt’ the home. But when you have the budget, consider other options before you finalize.
We hope you’ll enjoy this insightful how-to video! As they say in broadcasting, more to come, stay tuned. ##
