What skirting is doing
Skirting encloses the crawl area under the home. Done well it keeps wind from driving rain and debris under the floor, keeps animals from nesting around the ductwork, protects plumbing lines from freezing on the handful of cold nights East Texas gets, and gives the home a finished line at grade. Done poorly it traps moisture against the frame, blocks the ventilation the underbelly needs, and hides pier problems until they are severe.
Common skirting problems
- Panels buckling or popping loose. Often the first outward sign that the home has settled, because the height from the wall to the ground changed.
- New gaps along one wall. Same cause. If the gap appeared without anything hitting the skirting, look at the piers on that side.
- Vent openings blocked or missing. Reduced airflow raises humidity under the home.
- Mower and weed trimmer damage. Chronic on the lower few inches of vinyl panels.
- Animal entry. A single loose panel is an open door for possums, armadillos, feral cats and snakes.
- Skirting buried by grade or by wash. On sandy lots, sand moves. It can pile against skirting on one side and undercut it on the other.
- No access panel. Makes every future service call harder and more expensive.
Skirting on sandy East Texas lots
Sandy soil across eastern Anderson County moves with water. That has two implications for skirting. First, the bottom edge needs to account for sand that will drift and wash rather than sit still, or the skirting ends up partially buried on the uphill side and hanging free on the downhill side. Second, skirting should never be used to hold back grade or to hide a drainage problem. If water is running toward the home, closing off the view of it with a panel just means the scour under your piers happens where nobody can see it.
Well designed skirting works with the site: grade sloping away from the home, a clean termination at the bottom, adequate vent area, and an access panel positioned where a technician can actually reach the areas that need service.
Material choices
- Vinyl. The most common. Inexpensive, quick to install, easy to replace a damaged panel. It is also the least impact resistant, and it can distort in heat.
- Metal. More durable against mowers and animals, and holds a straight line well. Corrosion at the bottom edge is the thing to watch where it stays wet.
- Concrete board or faux masonry panels. Heavier and more finished looking, more forgiving of impact, more work to install and to open for service.
- Block or masonry. The most permanent appearance, but it is rigid, so any future settlement shows up as cracking, and it is the hardest to open for pier access.
On a home that is still moving, a rigid skirting choice is worth delaying until the leveling and drainage issues are handled. Otherwise the new skirting becomes the thing that cracks.
Ventilation and moisture
Enclosing a crawl area without ventilating it creates a humid pocket directly under the floor. In a climate with wet spring stretches and long humid summers, that shows up as musty odor in the home, condensation on ductwork, deterioration of the underbelly wrap, and in bad cases rot in floor framing. Vent area and vent placement matter, and so does whether there is a ground vapor barrier under the home. A contractor should look at all three together rather than just replacing panels.
Skirting and pier access
Any skirting installation should leave the underside of the home serviceable. That means a real access panel, wide enough and placed where somebody can get to the plumbing manifold and reach the pier lines. Homes with sealed, buried skirting and no access almost always cost more when leveling work eventually becomes necessary, simply because the crew has to open the enclosure first.
Get connected
Whether you need a few damaged panels replaced or a full new enclosure with proper venting and access, submit your details and a local contractor working around Palestine, Elkhart and Frankston will reach out.