How can I build cheap skirting around my porch?

The least expensive way I have found to skirt a porch is to use lattice. You can buy lattice panels and use the additional wood to support the lattice where the pieces come together.

we used vinyl lattice it never has to be painted and comes in different colors and easy to install

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAykYXpyX3Y

Hi Suzie, you could use extra boards to skirt, then paint or stain them the same color as the decking, 2x 6 or larger boards work well, but if you run short you could always do plastic lattice, it never needs painting and comes in a variety of colors. Here is a link with some ideas

http://nextluxury.com/home-design/deck-skirting-ideas/

Not sure how much extra wood you have or whether you have any funds to add to the project, so I will throw out a couple of suggestions that I hope might be helpful:

1- use the wood you have to create panels with space between the boards. How much space depends on how many boards you have, of course, but the closer together the boards are on the panels, the fewer large critters will get through and the better it will likely look.

2 - use the wood you have to create panel frames and use chicken wire or hardware cloth to make the middle of the panels. You can weave rope or vines or twigs or other things through the wire to mask off the area under the porch a bit more.

3 - use the good wood to build solid panels if there's enough of it

4 - use the good wood to build frames and fill in the frames with wood from pallets that you find for free

Once you get some sort of skirting in, add some plants around it and the skirting won't even show much.

I hope you will post photos of what you end up doing. I would love to see it.

Has the wood been pre treated for exterior use?