Mobile Home Skirting Blues

Sometimes you just can't afford to replace stuff, so I always try to find the next best remedy.  Usually it's paint!  This time it was just what I needed to freshen up the yellowing skirting.

It's been over ten years since I painted the house, so it's no wonder it was starting to look ragged.  Especially the places where there aren't any gutters overhead.  I imagine years of rain splashing mud up on the skirting has discolored it.

So here's what it was looking like.

Yuck, right?  Well I had this great idea to paint it the color of the trim, instead of the house color, just to add a little life.  Well, let me tell you how hard it is to match ten year old paint!  But I only got it wrong once before I decided to take in a sample of the trim color (luckily I still had it).
A couple of nice afternoons and two coats of paint, and wala!

So the winterizing has begun here.  Wrapping up some outdoor projects like treating the roof moss and cleaning the chimney and awning.
The front porch mudroom is cleaned out and the snow shovel is handy (not like last February when I had to wade through the snow to get to the shed, lol).
The firewood is in, stacked and covered.  I'll be wrapping up the hoses in October and winterizing the outdoor faucets.  It could be an early winter for us as our mountains are already getting their first snow!!  That's about one or two months early.

Hope you all are enjoying your end of season wrap.
Till next time!

2016 - It's A Wrap!

Huckleberry hollow underwent some major improvements this year.
To recap, here's an overview, follow the links to read the full posts.

Back in April of 2016 I decided to redo the bathroom - again - and it really turned out nice.  New paint, trim and floor paint.  You can read the full post here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/04/bathroom-make-over-again.html .

All Spring and Summer a friend helped me install a new 6 foot cedar fence along my property line.  This was labor intensive!  Together we cut the labor costs and although it took us several months of part time work, we were able to finish it in time for some outdoor deck sitting - with privacy.
You can view the complete post here: https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/07/fence-me-in.html .

In the middle of the summer I started working on new ways to skirt the mobile.  I love Pinterest and get a lot of my ideas there.  I found some great ideas on alternative skirting concepts and used two of them for around my place.
One was a row of concrete blocks placed just under my addition, leaving about an inch of air flow space.  Another was to use cedar fence boards like pickets, around other sections of the home.
Two posts covered this subject and they are here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/07/skirting-issue.html .  And here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/07/skirting-issue-part-ii.html .

By the time summer was winding down and had a little more free time from work, I decided it was time to tackle the mud room and front deck issues.  There was dry rot and leveling that needed addressing.  Again my friend helped me with the leveling and I replaced the top deck boards last.
That post is here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/10/restructuring.html .
 You'll notice some additional upgrades to the paint around the place too.

After that we transplanted 2 of my very large bamboo into 4 bigger pots, as well as dividing them.  They are 12 feet tall now and have occupied those pots for about 10 years.
They add the perfect privacy screen above the new fence!
That post is here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/10/bamboo-transplanting.html .

By then the weather was changing and it was time to focus indoors.
I needed to finish working on a back bedroom that needed some odd repairs, not pictured, but not interesting in photos anyway.  The goal here is always about insulation and sealing, while still trying to maintain aesthetics.  It's not a pretty place, but it is very functional.
I also worked on the other two little bedrooms, carrying on the same theme with new paint.

I also revamped my first poetry book, Poetic Zen, with new color photographs.  The post is here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/12/new-book.html , with a link to ordering it.

After the fallout of 11/9 so many of us were devastated by the news of a new leader that when I finally regained some optimism, I decided to pull together some artists and writers and publish a book about hope.  It's called Messages of Hope and the post is here:  https://huckleberry-hollow.blogspot.com/2016/12/messages-of-hope.html .  You can order from the links there.

I wrapped up the year by reopening my Etsy shop and diving back into metalsmithing.  I purchased a new domain name for it as well, you can visit it here: www.jgray-design.com .
My goals this year are to increase my work-from-home income with finished jewelry pieces as well as supplies for other artists in similar mediums which lead to a second shop just for supplies at www.jgdsupplies.com

So the smallest bedroom has been converted into half storage and half art studio.  Upcoming posts on that as I try to squeeze another work space into an already tiny space!

Thank you all for following along with me on my journey to remodel my life.  :)
Farewell 2016, and hello 2017!  May we all prosper and find joy. 

Restructuring

I began the new siding / skirting project in the Spring of 2016, juggled other outdoor projects and then added the skirting / cedar siding under the mudroom.  I could only get half way through that too, as the front porch needed dry rot boards replaced as well as leveling.

By the end of August I completed what is pictured above.  I had help with the leveling but replaced the deck boards myself and added the skirting boards.  Later I added the new gravel and began work on the landscaping.

 The top boards are now replaced (and safe!) and level.

The cedar siding / skirting looks good on this old structure, adding airflow underneath.

It's simple, it's safe and was extremely affordable.

Next Spring I can work on the surrounding landscaping to bring back that charm it had in earlier days.

Skirting the Issue Part II

I am carrying on with this fun new way of enclosing the gaps around my place.

This time it is the structure I call the mudroom, or front porch.  It was built as an addition to the mobile home and works well as a porch.

Previously it was enclosed with plywood - which of course began to rot over the years and was a perfect breeding ground for mice inside.

Since I had such good luck with the fence boards on the addition in back, I thought I'd try it on the mudroom.

It looks good and will last a long time.  I have run a board along the bottom, above the ground to attach the lower ends to avoid warping.

Here it is on the other side.  It adds a nice finished look to the structure.

I'm still working on the front porch and trim paint above.

Skirting the Issue

If you've been following the blog you know I have a large addition built on the back of my mobile.  When I bought the place it wasn't finished.  I threw on some stuff and forgot about it - till this year when I finally took the steps needed to put a nice finish on it.

It's built as post and pier, so there's an open gap underneath.  Mobile homes have skirting to enclose these gaps, buildings usually have foundations or some kind of skirting to finish it, as well as weatherproof it and keep animals out.

I get a lot of my ideas from Pinterest and found this one to be perfect for this end of the addition.
I used treated fencing boards, cut to size as pickets, with a small gap for airflow.  The ground is lined with patio blocks and gravel under that.

 It's a finished look, structurally adequate and adds a little charm to the old place.

I'll be adding gravel back here, rearranging the potted plants and chairs, so stay tuned for future posts on that.

** By the way, in previous posts there was a platform deck in this area and this was called the Privacy Deck Area, however time and weather  took its toll on the re-purposed wood I used and it needed to be removed.