Skirting/wood blocks

[DavesMom]

Hi all,

I've got a 2004 Fairmont and posted before out of concern due to the leveling. I've got someone coming out next week to check it, but have also noticed another weirdness that I'm really curious about.

Here's the deal: the skirting sits on top of long blocks of wood, which sounded nice at the time but in hindsight may not have been a good idea. Now the skirting in some places has started to raise up off of the wood and leave gaps. The gaps started out rather small but have gradually gotten bigger.

Any reason why this should happen? Could it be related to the intense heat we've had lately? I know in really cold weather my skirting tends to go all weird and bulge out. I've never noticed this happening before. A neighbor said my skirting might need to be trimmed. Is this a possibility?

Hope I've explained this logically. Any info would be greatly appreciated so I'll know what to ask the guys when they come out to check the leveling. Thanks in advance.

[JD]

A wood mud seal is a good thing provided it is pressure treated wood, or other bug/rot resistant material. The areas that are lifting may be caused by tree root growth or some other natural cause. The bottom track could be cut where it is lifting to allow it to rest flat again. If this is vinyl skirting, when you remove the Top Track Male portion of the top trim, you will see the top of the skirting panels. Behind that is the Female portion of the top track screwed or nailed to the wall. If you look at this portion of the top trim, you will see 2 horizontal lines going the length of the trim. The tops of the cut panels should be between these two lines. I cut my panels to be very close to the bottom line to allow maximum movement. We generally do not get high winds here and blow-out of the skirting is not an issue.

[Mark440]

It sounds like the tops of the panels have been nailed/screwed down. Hence, as the place shifts, the panels appear to raise and lower as compared to the bottom track. When it shifts up you get the gap....and when it shifts down you get the distortion (bulging).

If I understand the "methodology" correctly - the panels should "float" so that the bottom remains in constant contact with the bottom track to keep critters out. The top will move up and down within the width of the top "trim" piece.

[JD]

Yeah, I missed that point. As Mark said, vinyl or the old aluminum skirting panels should not be fastened to the home, only the trim. Wood skirting should have pea gravel under it. Brick skirting should be installed to float on the outside of the home, not under the rim joist.