Adding Value to a Mobile Home by Adding a Skirting
As the owner of a mobile home you need to undertake home improvement projects that add value to your investment, improve the curb appeal of your home, and make it safer and more comfortable. All of these goals can be achieved by adding skirting to your mobile home.
DIY or Professional Installation
A mobile home skirting can be installed by a skilled DIY enthusiast or a professional skirting installer. There are many different mobile home skirting products available and these need to be handled with care. For instance, concrete skirting will release dust when sawed that can cause respiratory problems.
Re-Leveling
Before you install skirting around your mobile home you need to ensure that it is level. This is important for the structural safety of your home. While newer mobile homes are often installed on a permanent foundation, older mobile homes rest on metal a metal frame that is supported by individual piers. These homes can become uneven as the ground below sags or addition weight is placed on the structure because of carports or awnings. Your mobile home needs re-leveling if the doors and windows jam, if floors creak, or you notice an uneven floor or tilt. In such cases, get your mobile home professionally re-leveled before you install the skirting.
Types of Skirting
Skirting for mobile homes can be made of wood, concrete, metal, or copper. The choice of material depends on your budget as well as the look you are aiming for. Concrete skirting is more expensive and difficult to transport and install but lasts longer and adds lasting value to your mobile home. You can choose from a variety of finishes and colors for the skirting.
Protection
Properly installed skirting for a mobile home can increase the safety of the home. If the skirting is made of concrete and has concealed vents, it can prevent pests from making a home for themselves under your home. This will keep your surrounding clean and healthy as well.
Permanence
A skirting around the mobile home provides an appearance of permanence to the mobile home. This increases the value of your home. If you think your mobile home cannot increase in value you are certainly mistaken. You may be one of those people that that believes stores such as Ace Hardware, The Home Depot, or Lowe’s are only there for people who live in stick built homes. If this is the case you are certainly mistaken. You can increase the value of your mobile home and set it apart from your neighbors and skirting is one way to achieve this.
Curb Appeal
When you install skirting around your mobile home you will enhance its curb appeal since it will make your home look more permanent. Additionally, by choosing the right texture and color for the skirting you can ensure that your home looks grand and inviting.
Access Door
When installing a skirting around your mobile home you need to ensure that an access door is also installed for you to be able to access the space below your home. You do not want to be trapped inside your mobile home and this can happen if you only have one exit. The movie Lethal Weapon II illustrated this during an action scene when Detective Riggs and his pretty girlfriend escaped through the floor access door when his mobile home was being destroyed by South African mercenaries who surrounded his home.
There are many ways of enhancing the value of a mobile home and increasing its safety. One simple way of doing this is by installing skirting that matches the appearance of the mobile home and reflects your tastes. This will make your mobile home look more permanent and also keep the space below it free from pests. This enhances the safety of your home as well.