Best Floor Registers - HVAC
June 26, 2018 1:59 PM Subscribe
New air conditioning! New furnace! Same ugly, rattling floor registers. Help me find better ones?
Do you have any brands or models you'd recommend as being particularly non-rattling? Or that would look great with my "red hickory" flooring?
It seems a bit silly to disassemble the damper to try to add padding or something to make them stop rattling when there isn't that much variation in how these things work or what people do with them. They ought to just work, right? I'm not sure it matters much whether they're plastic or metal (existing ones are metal or metal-and-plastic and rattle, so I tried a plastic one and it rattled, too.)
I'm not all that picky about appearance, but would like it to not look more tacky than my luxury vinyl plank flooring (it looks plausibly like real wood, especially if I don't have my glasses on.) Good-looking is good, but I have to replace six of these and don't want to spend a lot on something that I'm mostly hoping will be unobtrusive and functional.
What I'm looking for:
Do you have any brands or models you'd recommend as being particularly non-rattling? Or that would look great with my "red hickory" flooring?
It seems a bit silly to disassemble the damper to try to add padding or something to make them stop rattling when there isn't that much variation in how these things work or what people do with them. They ought to just work, right? I'm not sure it matters much whether they're plastic or metal (existing ones are metal or metal-and-plastic and rattle, so I tried a plastic one and it rattled, too.)
I'm not all that picky about appearance, but would like it to not look more tacky than my luxury vinyl plank flooring (it looks plausibly like real wood, especially if I don't have my glasses on.) Good-looking is good, but I have to replace six of these and don't want to spend a lot on something that I'm mostly hoping will be unobtrusive and functional.
What I'm looking for:
- Floor register with damper
- 4 in. x 10 in. size
- Doesn't rattle
- Looks OK with fake wood flooring
- Reasonably priced
- Easy to clean
It is possible that the rattling is from them moving against the floor rather than internal pieces moving? You could test by pressing one with a finger tight to the floor to see if the rattling stops. If so, then if they fit more snugly with the floor they should stop rattling. I would try something like cloth tape (for sports equipment grip or medical use) around the contact area between the grills and the floors. If you place it carefully and trim the excess, it shouldn't be visible. I guess caulking would work too, but could make a mess.
posted by exogenous at 5:32 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 5:32 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I just had LVP flooring installed andchanged my registers out. I got the new ones at Lowe's in an oil rubbed bronze finish. They look fantastic, if I do say so myself. No idea if they rattle or not as we haven't turned on the furnace yet. But if they do, I will try putting some silicone bumpers under them.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:28 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by SLC Mom at 6:28 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
You could buy one, test it out, then get the rest if it works well for you. They are not that expensive.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:29 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by SLC Mom at 6:29 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I too replaced about 20 registers which I picked up from Lowes. They had plenty of choices and prices. There was one clunker in the bunch which I had to get replaced. Search Lowes, you can refine the search on the left.
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 5:22 AM on June 27, 2018
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 5:22 AM on June 27, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'm fairly sure it's the dampers rattling, since I've tried the hold-it-still technique with a couple of them (good idea to check!)
I am hoping to avoid continuing to buy and return registers by having a better idea what specific models and materials will work well. I already did that once, and am aware that large home improvement stores exist and have many options. Ideally I'll be able to avoid doing aftermarket mods to something that, if I pick the right one, should already work correctly.
If anyone's got more specific ideas, I'm still looking for the perfect floor register. It's useful to know that apparently Lowe's has better options than Home Depot, but it has way too many 4x10 floor registers for me to try them all...
posted by asperity at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2018
I am hoping to avoid continuing to buy and return registers by having a better idea what specific models and materials will work well. I already did that once, and am aware that large home improvement stores exist and have many options. Ideally I'll be able to avoid doing aftermarket mods to something that, if I pick the right one, should already work correctly.
If anyone's got more specific ideas, I'm still looking for the perfect floor register. It's useful to know that apparently Lowe's has better options than Home Depot, but it has way too many 4x10 floor registers for me to try them all...
posted by asperity at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
SandPine
posted by sandpine at 2:27 PM on June 26, 2018 [1 favorite]