Monday, March 7, 2011

Replacing Gravity Vents With Clean New Designs

Chances are if you live in one of these wonderful old Craftsman style homes, you have what are known as gravity heating vents and chances are they look like this one or worse.

The one we removed from our bathroom was rusted and they had to cut a huge chunk out of it to fit in the wall & when we replaced the floor, we began looking for wall vents. NOT EASY!

We checked old stores in our area, contacted the local lumber yards, Home Depot and even electrical and heating contractors. No one had these, no one had sizes close to these.

This one is in my living room. We have one in each of the kids room, however, for some reason there isn't one in the master bedroom, kitchen or dining room.

I looked all over the internet and sorry to say, I truly did not want a vent like this one. The flaps come open depending on the air coming up from the basement and they are noisy. I wanted something that fit the hole and kept in the design, but not with such a large flap.

Air Rite Services out of Cleveland, Ohio came to my rescue. They were super friendly, had what I wanted in stock and they were very knowledgeable in what I wanted. They aren't cheap, just under $60 plus the cost of shipping, but if you replace it with the same type of vent (if you can find a refurbished one) you will pay the same price.

Today, UPS arrived and inside the box, was this beautiful, shiny white, brand new vent. It fits perfectly where it needs to go and I can finally removed the cookie sheet from the duct so the cat won't get into it.

Once it is in place, the 5" old world Craftsman baseboards will go in and the bathroom will almost be complete with the exception of tiling around the tub and putting in a new glass shower door.

So, if you have a Craftsman home like we do and you find something great from a company that makes replacement parts for these old homes at a reasonable cost, pass it on.

Not all of us can afford the costs of shopping at Rejuvenation where the prices, to be honest are just not compatible with my budget. If you are looking for quality vents, you can't beat Air Rite.

1 comment:

Scrappy quilter said...

With ours, I primed it with primer and then painted them white. They turned out beautifully. I like your new one though..very modern. Hugs