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Trash To Treasure

Need Material Ideas

11 years ago

My old house has non standard floor vents. The metal vent covers that were here were not the old original ones, you know, the pretty metal scroll-y ones. They were the modern vent ones that had been poorly altered to kinda sorta but not really fit. They are rusty and bent up though and when I refinished the wood floors, I never put them back down. They didn't really fit all that well and were quite ugly.

I've gotten used to the vent holes being open, they are narrow and out of the way, but for safety sake I really should cover them. Buying new ones is going to be crazy expensive, especially if I get anything pretty, as they'd all have to be custom ordered/sized. I am trying to diy something.

I thought about the punched sheets you can buy at Lowes, but honestly even those are more than I want to spend, especially considering they'll still need to be cut and then frames built to hold them in place. I'd love something more "scroll" type.

What kind of material could I use for the actual grill portion, that would be pretty enough to suit an 1913 craftsman home? The air coming from them is never hot, only warm, but of course I want something that isn't going to catch fire. They are out of the way so I really don't see them being walked on, but the material should be strong enough so that if the cats or my dog walk across them it will hold, or a child that purposely steps along the wall, you know how kids are.

I love the look of something like this, but this material is pretty thick and while I'm sure the heat would never be enough to melt the rubber, it isn't exactly ideal for a vent grill.

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/rubber-leaf-stair-treads/250932

So, any really cheap suggestions for a center "grill" material? I can build a simple frame, but I need to think of a creative solution for the center portion.

Ideas? We're talking about several vents, and they are all non standard size, some are only a couple inches or so inches wide by 24 ish or longer and all are right on the very edge of the floor next to the wall.

I know there's an inexpensive and creative solution, I'm just not thinking of it. :)

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Comments (4)

arbpdl
Original Author
11 years ago
http://www.americanfloormats.com/fleur-di-lys-recycled-rubber-stair-treads/

would this stuff get too hot? It's just a standard normal gas furnace, the air coming out never feels more than warm.
sunnyca_gw
11 years ago
Some screen doors have scroll work piece at bottom & middle to give door more strength. I think you used to buy new pieces at the hardware store. Go look to see what they have & then start looking on trash day for screen doors going out in trash if they are still more than you want to spend. Might check dump, Craig's list or ironworks places, maybe they have something like that. Rubber mat if child was very heavy at all could give out & child would fall in. Rubber might give off fumes too. Hard to know what processes it goes through these days especially if coming from China where they have lots of "heavy metals" to get rid of.
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steiconi
11 years ago
make sure the holes are small enough to prevent things from dropping down the shaft. I dropped my wedding ring down one, have kept them well-covered ever since. I used nylon net under the grate, wedged between the grate and floor. Saved a few beads and other teensy things, and never melted or smelled.
karenmo
11 years ago
I think I'd talk to someone who installs heating systems, and see what they recommend, but I would definitely want them covered securely.

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