Skirting the issue.

We got our house delivered November 10th. Wow, time goes by quickly. Everyone has told us, since it was delivered, that we have to have it skirted. The house is a mobile, sitting blocks and pilings. Skirting is putting something around the bottom and closing it in.

Here is the house without the bottom closed in. The wind, snow and cold whip around under there causing all kinds of problems. Or so we were told. The house went through some pretty cold temperatures without incident.

We went to the library a while ago, after introducing ourselves to the librarian, she knew who we were, the people in the house without skirting. We went to pay the water bill at the town office, and before we could say hi, were asked if we had the skirting on. I am sure there was a town bet going on, dates picked and odds set for when we are done. We are done and I wonder who won. We got it done last week.

Skirting the house was the hardest thing I have ever done. We had 3 inch thick Styrofoam coated in a fiberglass, creating a very rigid 4' X 4' material with about a 20 R insulation rating. We had metal channel that had to be screwed to the underside of the house, to hold the top of the panel in place, and we had 2 x 6' boards to be attached to the ground and screw channel into that to hold the bottom. The panels then slid into the channel to skirt the house. Sounds easy enough.

This is another one of those posts that when I start talking about it, it just sounds like whining. Once in a while, I guess is okay to whine. We have no top soil or lawn.The weather was above freezing and the yard was one big mud puddle mixed snow and melting ice. We crawled around in the water, mud and snow to attach the top channel, crawled in it to hammer the 50 plus, 5/8 re-bar through the 2 x 6 boards into the frozen ground to hold the bottom channel. Hands and knees to attach bottom channel to the boards,  Walked for miles, or so it seemed, back and for the through the sliding muck to the saw on the only piece of dry ground to cut the panels to fit the channels.A good time was not had by all, but we got 'er done. A week later, I am still cleaning the mud out of the house that we tracked in.

The piece of trim came off when during transit and replacing it is on the list for things to do.

I am claustrophobic and when we first got the mobile I was very uncomfortable working under it. Fear is not quite the word for it. Facing a man with a gun would be fear, but it was difficult for me to go under and stay under there and work. However we have spent a lot of time under that house.We had some sewer problems when we first moved in. Had to crawl under, removed the belly, poly and insulation, fix the problem, and put it all back together again. While skirting we spent a lot of time under there I have gone from very uncomfortable to indifferent about being under the house. All my fear of small places, at least under the house, have left the building.

This past week has been cold, record cold, and we have spent it in the house working on the inside. We work slowly, but we work at the only speed we have. We are learning as we go and want to good job. We have some rooms complete, some almost done and some just started. I will have pictures .....soon.....

I placed Pot Head I made in Edmonton in one of the trees. He says it all about cold weather.

We, and I use the term loosely, are putting the floor in the front entry and bathroom today. If I was doing much to help, I would not be writing this blog. I am gofer, holder and watcher. It is fiddly around the doors and corners. Jim is doing it and by the time I am done this post, he will be at a point where we can work together.

Until next time.

AKA
Mrs. Clay