First Custom Made Vent...Opinion

jcalvin

Let me start by saying that I am no flooring man or a cabinet maker. I installed Brazilian Teak in my home about a year ago and wanted some wooden register vents. Problem was that the only ones I could find were oak. I used some of the flooring to whip these out. The first one took a couple hours so I could perfect the angles, spacing, sizing, and fastening solutions. Teak is brittle, splits too easy and I busted a couple before I got it right. After I figured it out, I could make one in about 30 minutes. I am trying to get in with some flooring contactors to see if they would like to buy these. Do you buy these, make them yourselves, or just use the metal prefabs?

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Cal


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PrecisionFloors

Looks damned nice. Whereabouts in WNC you at? I'm 10min from Lake Lure as I type this...

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Precision Flooring
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Tom Struble

very nice...craftsman style

AtlRemodeling

Sharp looking JCalvin! Most of the floors we install are in the basements we are finishing so no floor vents. I know our hardwood sub uses these all the time but I'm not sure how much non-oak he is putting in or where he is getting them. I'll inquire today.

Great use for those little scraps from an install.

jcalvin

I'm in Canton. About 20 minutes west of Asheville.

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Cal


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genecarp

What is your method of joinery? They look great. G

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threaderman

Really nice,are you getting comparable air flow from the registers.

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

woodfloorpro

You did a good job making these. I usually pay between 25 to 35 apiece for these depending on species and size. Its hard to tell by the pictures but I think you have the grain running the wrong direction on the pieces where the air comes out. They should be cut with the grain for added stibility. Cross grain cuts will break. Mike

jcalvin

Wood glue holds them together. If you look close at the vents, you can see that they are only pieces of the wood floor with the t&g still on. I used some small dowel rods on the bottom of the vents to help stabilize the pieces.

FloorPro, yes they are cut across the grain. Didn't think about that but that would explain why they broke so easily. Like I said before, I'm no flooring man or a cabinet maker so I don't think about those things. They have been in my home for almost a year now and haven't broken yet. You will notice that I was son unsure about the shortened lifespan of these, I picture frames them so I can just pick up the broken guts and replace them.

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Cal


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jcalvin

I started with a 4x10 metal register. I had to neck the opening down to 3 1/2 since that was the size of my wood. The openings in my floor were actually around 11 inches so I could make up the difference in that. I never actually measured the open space in each of the registers and compared them. I have five of them in the main open area of the house and haven't been able to tell a difference in the hvac at all.

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Cal


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Cdat

Very nice. I do this except for the dowels. Think I'll adapt your way. If I may, try picking either the boards you're cutting away from the vent or wood closer to the actual ones that will be next to or abutting up to the vent. You can, basically, make the vent disappear if the wood is the right color. Also reverse or turn those vents at a 90 degree and have them run with not against the direction of the floor. Nice job indeed. Thanks for the dowel idea. I'll put it to good use.

jcalvin

I think you are talking about picking like colors therefore blending the vent into the wood. This wood has soooo many different colors in it. I think it would have looked worse to have a section of like colored wood than doing it randomly as I did.

Post a picture of the one you make. I am curious of how you do yours. I had to use the teak flooring since it was prefinished and I wanted the wood to match. Also, I don't have the tooling to recut the t&g so that I could turn the grain the other way. As thin as the wood is in the vent, I doubt it would've made a big difference.

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Cal


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nwtile guy

Those look great!!

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Chad

GBAR

Nice looking vents! I know in foundation and soffit vents, they figure square inches by net opening minus the wire material. If they were 4x10, now 3.5x10, you lost 5 square inches. Minus your grid material-50%, leaves you with 43% of the original. I wonder it that would affect back-pressure or system balancing? Are they operable? Look very nice, good job!

sparehair

my local flooring supply company charges for vents by the square inch. Like $.50 an inch.

sparehair

The ultimate test.

Have you jumped on them?

rbsremodeling

Those are really nice looking vents. Bump what all these guys said. Very nice job.

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jcalvin

Actually I have stategically placed furniture in my house to keep myself and others from even stepping on them. But, I have 3 (young under 5) daughters that rearrange the furniture daily and legs on the ottoman have crashed into the vents several times. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that nothing ever destroys one. I screwed up big and sold what little I had left to just get it out of my way. Came back in the house, counting my money, and about fell over when I saw the vent. Forgot to keep any wood whatsoever to repair.

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Cal


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