just bought a mobile home

[kathy]

this could be lengthy......i don't know much of anything about them, especially under neith....i moved in january and it has been a cold cold winter and a very high heating bill the first month and i am sure the second month also...the skirting is in bad shape. first of all it has vent holes all over..there are a few skirting pieces that don't have them in them...maybe the venting ones are for summer??? i am sure i will get the skirting issue taken care of this summer. i don't know what else needs to be done and i really don't have anyone to look to, except maybe i could start with the park and see if they have any recommendations...i just thought of that. i was told that it was weatherized for the winter...not sure exactly what that means. can anyone give me some idea's on the first most important things i can do to help not have 300.00 heat expenses next year...i live in ohio, the four seasons, winter lasting way too long...1987 kingsley, 12 by 70, (i think)...

[trmimo]

The vent holes are for winter too. In cold weather, it takes more fresh air under the home to keep it dry. (because cold air absorbs less moisture) If you cover the vents, your house will eventually be harder to heat. This is because the insulation will become damp and damp insulation loses its R value. You do need to replace any missing pieces of skirting as soon as possible, because unlike a vent, a missing panel allows the wind to blow under your home and will make the house harder to heat.
Take a look under your home and see if you have any holes in the black paper that covers the bottom of the house. If you see holes, the insulaion is probably torn away there. Check to make sure that all of your self storing storm are closed. These are the window sashes on the inside surface of the wall.
If they are no closed tightly or if some are missing, this can be a major causeof heat loss.
This house was one of the best insulated in it's day, it shouldn't be too hard to heat if there aren't any holes in the insulation and all your windows and doors are fitting tightly.

[Steph]

I understand exactly where you are coming from. I too just bought a skyline doublewide home about 5 months ago. Our first bill was $300 and every other has been $200 and that is keeping the thermostat on 67-68 degrees. We are freezing to death, but at 71-72 degrees, we couldn't afford the electricity. We have had Skyline out to look at it and they say it isn't leaking air anywhere. So, I don't know what the problem is, but it is always SO cold and I live in E Texas where it doesn't get that cold.
Sorry about your problems, I sympathize with you.

[Melissa]

I have a doublewide and our heating bills haven't been that bad this year - 189 at the coldest time. We had a singlewide last year though and our bills were terrible - 369 last JAN. What I recommend is get someone to come check out your heating unit. You should do that every year but esp. since you just bought this place. The month ours was so bad we found out that though our heat was working, one of the heating elements had shorted out so the other was working overtime to heat our house so our bill was really high. It might cost a little but will save you money over time. Also it isn't a bad idea to keep the thermostat at between 68-70. Check around all windows and doors and make sure there aren't any drafts. Look into getting a digital thermostat, the one in the home is probably the original and may not be working effectively. Hope this helps!

[Terry from Iowa]

Hi Kathy! You could also remove the vinyl skirting that you have around the home now and replace it with concrete skirting that looks like actual foundation block. There are vents for this and it will make your home so much warmer and a lot more attractive. Another way to help is do you have vinyl windows? If not, Home Depot has some nice ones with a nailing flange that are easy to put in and will help you with heating/cooling bills. And you could add some insulation underneath the siding-Like a 1/2 inch styrofoam board and reside the home. Since you didn't mention how your home was built, these are just suggestions. Any dealer in your area should have information on the skirting. Happy homeownership!