When you’re at your local home center browsing home models or finalizing your home purchase, a home center consultant will show you different skirting options they have available. They’re happy to help you find the perfect skirting to complement your personal style and finish off your home exterior.
You can also find other skirting options online, but you should talk to the contractor finishing your home’s on-site construction to see what type of skirting material is best for your home.
You’ll also want to check with your local building officials on what type of skirting materials are allowable in your area. Depending on your manufactured home destination, your local or state officials could require a specific type of underpinning. For instance, many local building officials in Georgia require a stucco skirting.
Can you install underpinning yourself?
Some skirting vendors offer mobile home underpinning kits. While these underpinning kits allow you to put skirting on your home yourself, it can require a lot of work and expertise.
You also need to check local requirements regarding permits and inspections. Improper skirting installation could void your home warranty, or if skirting is installed without proper permits, it could void an insurance claim.
As a homeowner using an underpinning kit, you’ll have to make sure that your home has proper ventilation, that you have the right amount of skirting panels for your home and that you accommodate possible height variations around the perimeter of your home. If you do choose to install mobile home underpinning with a kit, vinyl skirting is usually the easiest to install because it is lightweight and affordable.
Wondering about that height variation we mentioned? Well, your skirting must cover the space between your home and the ground, which can vary around your home.
We recommend carefully considering the type of skirting you want before purchasing your home and letting your on-site construction team of professionals install your underpinning of choice. Getting skirting for your mobile home installation takes the task off you and lets a professional handle it.
About Vinyl Skirting
Vinyl is the most popular underpinning for double wides and single wides. Also, vinyl has the perks of being:
- Easy to install
- Affordable
- Attractive and flexible in style options
- Resistant to mildew and rot
- Fairly easy to repair
A common style of vinyl underpinning for manufactured homes is made of panels with vertical lines. These can come in an array of colors to complement your home exterior.
Vinyl skirting can also be made to look like stone, brick and other textures in a wide range of colors and tones.
About Concrete/Stucco Skirting
Concrete skirting panels, often called stucco skirting, are a sturdy skirting option that resist rot and pest invasion.
One of the most popular concrete skirting panel brands boasts hidden ventilation panels so you have a seamless look but still get the proper ventilation you need to resist gas and moisture buildup under your manufactured home. Concrete skirting is heavy and considered more difficult to install than other types of skirting, but is a smart skirting option because of its durability.
About Brick and Cinder Block Skirting
There are vinyl and resin skirting systems that can be made to look like brick or blocks, but you can also skirt your home with actual bricks or actual cinder blocks. This does not mean your home is on a permanent foundation, but it can enhance the style of your exterior and make it look like your manufactured home is on a permanent foundation.
Using bricks or blocks to skirt your home will cost much more than vinyl, but the weight and durability of brick skirting means you likely won’t need to replace your skirting for the lifetime of the home.
About Faux Brick and Stone Skirtings
Faux brick and stone skirting materials are made from sturdy plastics and are made to look very realistic. They are a little more rigid than vinyl panels, can insulate the area under your home well depending on the brand and hold up well in inclement weather.
Faux brick and rock underpinning panels are fairly easy to install and come in a variety of patterns. Because of the manufacturing process, they are slightly more expensive than vinyl options.
About Fiber Cement Skirting
Sometimes, people use exterior siding material, such as lap vinyl skirting, to skirt their homes. Fiber cement siding is one of the siding materials that homeowners use and you can indeed use it as a skirting material for your mobile home. Some brands even offer a warranty on the siding if it is installed in accordance with the brand’s guidelines for using their siding as skirting.
About Lattice Skirting
Lattice skirting for mobile homes could be made of either vinyl or wood. With any type of lattice skirting, ventilation is usually not an issue since the spaces in the lattice pattern naturally allow for air flow.
Wood lattice skirting is fairly inexpensive and easy to work with, but can be susceptible to rot and mildew if it is not treated. Wood lattice does not take wear and tear as well as other materials.²
Vinyl lattice skirting is available in diverse colors and unique lattice patterns like stars and flowers, so it makes for an affordable, customized skirting option.
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