What kind of heat register is this?

10 years ago

This is in the kitchen of the house I just bought. I can only imagine the dirt that must be collecting in the duct below it. Has anyone ever seen something like this? Was it deliberate or did the DIY remodelers just get lazy?

I thought I could use some type of drywall saw to cut a hole to fit a register and then just place it in. Am I oversimplifying it? I have only basic carpentry skills and no power tools other than a drill. Trying to do as much as possible myself to save money, but I would definitely hire a professional for anything that's over my head.

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Comments (6)

Fori
10 years ago
Well, that's different!

Are you sure there's a duct down there? If so, with careful cutting, measuring, and more cutting, you should be able to get registers at least as good as mine. :)

Maybe the POs didn't want anything bumpy on the floor there. I have a register similarly positioned in front of a slider and it interferes with proper rug placement. If you don't NEED a register there, I'd just plop the rug over it and call it done.
palimpsest
10 years ago
I was in a meticulously designed house $4M renovation and furniture budget on a $400K house), and all the heat registers were done this way with a slotted pattern cut out in the flooring so there would be no grate, no seams. The house ended up in Architectural Digest.

It was done more carefully than that but its the same idea. They didn't want a metal grate in the doorway in your house so they eliminated it when the did the floor.
User
10 years ago
I thought I'd seen most of the silly(or stupid) things that could be done----shot that theory.

Looks like the folks that put in the floor forgot the vent location and did not have a register cover---so they just drilled holes in the flooring.

It is possible to cut out the entire rectangular hole and put the proper register cover in place. All that is needed is a jig(sabre) saw.
erinsean
10 years ago
I am sure you can cut it out and put a register cover over it but if it is working, why change it? There has to be a way to clean out the duct work, since it was installed this way. I sort of like the flat rather than the lump of the register cover.
SnailLover (MI - zone 5a)
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the input! Yep, it's a working register. I believe the floor was installed in 2010. Judging from the dirt I dug out of all the other ducts in the house, I shudder to think what's trapped in this one. I think I will purchase a jigsaw and cut a hole. I'd rather have a nice antique looking register than those silly holes.
annzgw
10 years ago
I would leave it alone. In 10 years I've only removed a couple of my registers for cleaning....mainly the one the cat likes to lie on........and even then there was very little debris in the ducting.

With basic carpenter skills and few tools I don't think you'll get the straight clean cuts that will allow a flush mount, in-set register. If you're going to use a register that will overlap the edges and hide your cuts then you may be happy with the results, if you don't mind the raised area.