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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Do I really need skirting?
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dave298
Member
# Posted: 26 Aug 2022 17:29
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Hi, I have a 9 x 12, once a fishing cabin, now a storage shed for camping gear in the summer, located in northwest corner of Connecticut. I had to remove the tar paper skirting that my grandfather and father had installed in order to fix the footings. It’s dry underneath, soil has good drainage, and has good ground clearance (due to the slant of the land the skirting would be one to 3 feet tall).

I was going to make a frame and staple chicken wire to keep the big critters out. This shack is 80 years old and it seems like a losing battle with the mice (except for the mice). But my question is - besides keeping out any bigger critters is there really any need for skirting? I mean if it’s dry, and water doesn’t collect under there, and I don’t use it in the winter or sleep in it, is there some reason I’m not thinking of that would make skirting necessary?

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 06:57
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No you dont need skirting. But a few times a year take a leaf blower and blow all the junk out from under it.

spencerin
Member
# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 16:07 - Edited by: spencerin
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No *need* for skirting in your situation, no.

If you end up proceeding with the chicken wire, instead use 1/4" or smaller galvanized hardware cloth. If installed right, it should keep mice out from underneath, too.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 16:20
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No skirting on my cabin. Also no floor insulation. I have put the trail cam down there a couple times and caught mice hanging around but so far none in the cabin. Might have had a coon or two before, heard noise but no evidence.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 19:33
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My 1st cabin in '83-'84 was high enough for me to do a wiggle under if I ever had to, no skirting in 35ish years, no critter issues underneath. I liked the idea of being able to take a peak under there time to time to see what might be going on.
My repurposed ice shanty, now 'toolshed', on an old pop-up camper chassis is a roller, no skirting either. I had a couple of whitetail bunnies under there last winter. Dont think they nested there but it was a hideout anyway. Again, able to peak under.
New/10yr old cabin is a rough sawmill board build, poorly done, Lots of holes....Im slowly closing thing up a wall section at a time. He built it too low to get under, almost too low to look under and it has what looks like a heavy duty truckers tarp 'skirting' all around and dirt backfilled to hold it. Yes, we have critters under there, I think they rather like having an enclosure.
Mice? Keep em out? Lol, good luck, they make their living out there 24/7/365.
We keep some of those green mouse poison blocks in their little plastic maze box always topped up and strategically placed. After the first initial 'control kill' we are no longer troubled by them.

dave298
Member
# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 21:02
Reply 


Thanks folks! Great Information. So happy to hear I can forgo the skirting. I think I'll wait a year and see if any critters are a problem but it sounds like it's not going to be an issue. Thank you for your responses!!

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