by Gary B 1995 U280
I have never been happy with the skirt that goes under the entry door. It is shrunken and distorted and looks pitiful. The only purpose that I can see is to deflect rainwater from the cubby hole behind it.
My nephew works for a major US corporation and he supplied me with some material that they call Panaply. (I am not sure of the spelling). He says its main use is for banners and also for billboards, it can be printed on, does not shrink or sag and is dimensionally stable. It does get very stiff in cold weather but is still pliable. He asked that I not name his employer. I removed the old black skirt and replaced it with this material. I cut it to width and length leaving an extra inch at the top that I folded over.
Then I cut out the slots for the air cylinder rods. The original skirt is held in place with # 6 sheet metal screws and each of the three has a rubber bump stop. Since I could not find bump stops I used rubber washers and snap type screw covers.
Other then the material being white it worked out alright. If you wanted to you could paint it another color using something like Rustoleum spray. The other thing you could do is fold over the edges and sew a hem on the material but I did not think it was needed since the stuff cannot fray. You could also insert a thin metal piece under the folded over top but I don’t think you need it.
Total cost with donated material about three dollars for screws, washer and snap caps, of course, my labor at minimum wage rates are not included. ( $3.18 including Saturday premium cost ).
The old skirt
The new skirt, snap caps still open
Finished
