Mobile home skirting is definitely necessary for multiple reasons:

1) Most insurance companies will not insure a home without skirting.

2) Most building departments require skirting as part of a permitted installation.

3) It gives the home a better appearance by covering what would otherwise be an unattractive gap between the home and ground with visible straps and foundation piers.

4) Skirting keeps critters such as raccoons, possums, skunks, and armadillos from taking up residence under your home. Animals nesting under a home often tear at the belly board and pull down insulation.

5) Skirting offers protection from freezing for you plumbing pipes under the home.

6) Skirting reduces heating bills.

    Also, see our blog post Does mobile home skirting have to be ventilated? 

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Want to learn more about inspecting
manufactured/mobile homes? 
Get our Handbook for 
Manufactured Home Inspectors 
at amazon.com for $19.95

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Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES:

• Where can I file a complaint if I have problems with my new or used manufactured/mobile home in Florida?

• What are the most common defects in mobile/manufactured home foundation piers?

• How do I determine the age of a very old mobile home?

• What is a "HUD label verification letter" for a mobile/manufactured home?  

• When did a ground cover vapor barrier (plastic sheet) become required under a mobile/manufactured home? 

• Is it safe to go under a mobile home? 

• Are older mobile homes unsafe? 

• What do I need to know about buying a foreclosed mobile home? 

• Does it make sense to buy an older mobile home and remodel it? 

• Where do I find the vehicle identification number (VIN) on a mobile home? 

• How do I find out how old a mobile home is and who manufactured it?

• What is the right price for a used mobile home?

• How energy efficient is a mobile home?

• When were the first double-wide mobile homes manufactured?

• What is a D-sticker mobile home? 

• What are the tie-down requirements for a mobile home?

• How fireproof is a mobile home?  

• How can I tell if a mobile home is well constructed?

• How can I tell the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home?

       Visit our MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES  page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.