What is a belly board made from for mobile homes? I need one so badly. I haven't got a clue how to finding someone to put one on my house. Energy Assistance won't help me either.
By Lorraine from Bristol, CT
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What is a belly board? I have lived in a mobile home, and I have no idea what it is that you are talking about. I am sure others are equally puzzled.
I believe it is the bottom of the trailer. I crawled under my trailer once because a cat got in there. It was a kitten and the mother put it in there, but didn't come back to feed it.
I had to tear out this board material (there was a hole in there already). I could see the insulation and joist under that. Then the flooring of the trailer. I ended up getting the kitten out from under my tub in the bathroom, but had to do it inside the trailer.
The material I had to tear out was easy to rip out since it already had a hole in it anyway. It was like pressed wood, but really flimsy. It was just a barrier to keep the critters out of the insulation. This is my guess. Hopefully it helps you out.
A belly board keeps critters from nesting in your valuable insulation, keeps drafts from moving the insulation around and most importantly keeps your insulation from coming loose from around your pipes. Apart from the skirting boards, it's the most important part of the underbelly of your home.
Make certain that whoever you get to fit a new one under your trailer knows what they're doing! Different climates use different types, from two-ply thick plastic, to actual boards made from luon (pronounced LOO-on) (not sure if I spelled it correctly, but that's how it's pronounced).
Take a look under your trailer and see what was used in the past. If you see a few areas where it looks like something tried to burrow in to it, you could get away with just patching the area, however, if there's damage in more than a few areas, it's just smarter to rip it out and start over. But first, get a piece of paper and sketch out how it was laid out originally. Also, you need to make an overlap where your heat tape is. You do NOT want to forget to leave the wires out when you're stapling the new belly board up, then you'll be praying that the temperature doesn't drop under 20°, otherwise your pipes will freeze!
Always mark your calendar every September (while it's still pleasant out) to check your heat tape is properly plugged in (that's for the skinflints who unplug their tapes for four months to save the $1.00 in electricity). Check the electric plug to be sure that it doesn't have any chewing marks on it as well. Make sure that your belly board looks in tact. Also that's a good idea to check that no light can be seen coming through your skirting boards - a mouse can get through a hole the size of a dime, and once established, can have a massive family in no time tearing up your trailer and causing you God knows what in repairs! That skirting board has to work for you to save money on heating your home for the next six months, so make certain that nobody has dinged it with the weed whacker, otherwise you might as well leave your living room windows open all winter.
Hopefully you'll come back here to read this, otherwise I may have been able to help someone else! You'll know if you've done the job right if your feet are warm all winter.
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