Traditional Style
This was a quick and simple answer to the original, and very boring, air vent cover. See the before & after post here >>
The few simple steps it takes to make this are posted below.
But I warn you, don’t look at them unless you plan on upgrading all of your home’s air vents — it’s hard to stop at just one!
Below Here’s the complete room after I gave it a total molding makeover.
You can see that the stock air vent would have been a complete eyesore when compared with the new door surround, crown molding and archway.
Materials Needed to Make this Vent Cover
All you need are two identical compo grates from the Decorator’s Supply Corp. That’s it.
I don’t have the item number for the grates that I bought for this project handy, but I’ve already contacted Decorators Supply and asked them to look up the number for me. I’ll post it as soon as I get it.
How to Install the Vent Covers
The reason I made my own grate cover is because I couldn’t find a pre-made cover that was ornate enough and fit the opening in this dining room.
After digging around in my Decorators Supply Catalog 124, I eventually settled on using two grates to fill the space.
But I still had to alter the opening just a bit so that they both lines up centered on the 2×4 stud in the middle of the duct.
Above The right side needed to be shortened just a bit, so I used a small piece of 1/2″ drywall to fill the space.
Above & Below You don’t want jagged edges to show behind your beautiful new vent, so take a few minutes to clean them up with a saw.
Below I painted the inside of the ducting with the deep red color we painted on the walls, but you could also paint it flat black as well.
You certainly don’t want to leave it unfinished, however.
Below Installation of the compo grates is as simple as adding a little Liquid Nails to the perimeter and then holding them in place with a few 23g pin nails.
I bought my Senco 23 gauge pin nailer from Rockler Woodworking on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan. It was money well-spent.
Below With one side in place, all I have to do is install the other side and I’m close to being done.
Below Add a little painter’s caulk to fill the gap between the two sides, then a little caulk to fill the gaps between the compo grate and the walls, and you’re all finished.
Now I ask you; isn’t this a lot better than the generic vent cover that the builder installed in the home?
These are the small things that matter in a home. The upgraded hardware, the quality paint job, the beautiful moldings.
The attention to detail that goes way beyond the budget-busting granite counter tops, the over-priced plantation blinds; the six-figure cabinet upgrades we’ve been told will satisfy our home-improvement needs.
These are all good things, I’m not knocking them, but in my view they are completely subordinate to these other, smaller, details.
More of this Room to Come
In the next few weeks I’ll be publishing the installation sequences and material lists you’ll need to make the crown molding and archway in this dining room and parlor.
If you want to stay up date you can subscribe to The Joy of Moldings.
Until then,
Cheers from Ken!
