Have been putting this off for 2 years now. Getting a bit expensive due to heating and AC bills. The house has no skirt around the pier and beam perimeter. Getting bids now over the next week or 2 from contractors.
Basically, other than the obvious affect on heating and AC bills, an insurance company that I want to go to requires a masonary type skirt on this type of foundation.
I've settled on 2 different types. One is the use of Yellawood 4X4s for framing and Yellawood plywood, with stucco (cheapest overall). The other, pouring slabs between the piers and laying one course of 2" thick (remaining dimensions same as cinder block), followed by cinder block on sequential runs above the first run. The first course would have open joints to allow waterflow on the downhill side. This along with heavy rainfall, and potential plumbing breaks. The house is built on a side of a hill.
I have previously built the access door and framed around that between one set of piers. The house is surrounded by plastic latticework to prevent dog entry now, not an air-tight skirt. Their are 2 concerns regarding lines. One is the water line which is relatively shallow, and the 2 AC lines to and from the AC compressor. How should the contractor approach this?
Is the stucco meeting the soil line a problem?
What are the benefits and potential problems with either kind of skirt?