Moving a return air vent from floor to wall?
HU-908640624
4 years ago
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klem1
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Very Cold draft from return air vent
Comments (5)Thank you for the help Bob. After opening and checking all the intake vents, I found that someone, in their supreme intelligence, had partially bent a steel sheet that acts as a barrier from the outside air into the intake duct. They did this to pass some wiring. Once that was re-sealed, no cold draft and the house stays warm....See MoreMoving Return air vent over joist possible??
Comments (2)I'm just a homeowner like yourself. I'll tell you what I've learned. The picture seems to indicate the furnace is behind the viewer. Does the circle show where the existing grille is? The galvanized steel shown makes the joist cavity into a plenum. If that plenum runs straight back to the furnace, you could consider crossing over at the furnace to the preferred cavity. Sheet metal work would be required to create the crossover. Were there any past or any planned future modifications that make this a good choice, or is it overkill. Your mechanical contractor will probably tell you that he can create a single crossover where the circle is. Sheet metal is best but they can also seal off that part of the cavity and run flexible duct across. The expert will ensure the draw is balanced. The limiting factors on any install in addition to cost are appearance and headroom. Appearance and headroom are the reason for suggesting the first option. The expert may also surprise you and say "hey, since you're moving this wall, I can just enlarge the grille over here, results just as good for less money" or something else we would not have considered. If you're tackling this yourself be sure to read up on codes. Duct work is influenced by electrical and plumbing. For example wiring inside that cavity cannot just be Romex. A DIY-er could probably seal the cavity and run two elbows across from one to another, and not violate any code. Again, I'm just a homeowner. Good luck....See Moreair return vents in the wall: paint or not?
Comments (10)OMG! That's an awesome resource. Thanks for the link! There is an older area of homes that I've been working in a lot lately. Lots of 40, 50, 60 year old homes, many were custom and designer back in the day. What an odd collection of vents and returns! Creative HVAC is an understatement. :D Unfortunately, they've been painted and painted and painted and look awful at this point. I know most of them have lead paint - which homeowners don't think about when they take a piece of sand paper to them for a repaint. Sanding and salvaging is often the chosen option 'cuz it can be hard to find replacements. Having an on-line resource to order new is like the highlight of my week!...See MoreVenting and Return air distance from each other
Comments (18)"There should be sufficient returns and you balance the supplies." I have a long and narrow ranch house, with two returns (one at each end) and the HVAC equipment located at one end. The far end wasn't getting enough air flow and so was colder during heating season and warmer during cooling season. I had two HVAC contractors out to assess the problem- did the supply ducts need resizing or balancing or what else could help? Both said the problem was that the return ducts both went directly back to the equipment and because of how air flows, the shorter one would draw much more air than the longer one (at the far end of the house). Both said the ducts were properly sized but there wasn't enough return draw at the far end. With a forced air system, the air flow is affected not only by the blowing of the supply lines, it's also the negative pressure of the return ducts. The solution was to run a trunk line to roughly the center of the house, and then do a Y to run two ducts of roughly equal length, one to each return grill. The result was amazing and the balancing of the return paths and size made the difference. While rooms with closed doors (like bedrooms) do need to have the return air flow accomodated somehow, designing too much of an octopus for the return paths may affect the airflow throughout the house. Yes, jump ducts can transmit sound but the passage can be baffled and if carefully placed, the problem is minimized....See MoreHU-908640624
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