Baseboard heaters and radiator heaters are becoming common in older houses nowadays. Ventilation has changed as many other things in our homes have changed. Vents are the more modern way to heat and cool your home.
When it comes to carpets and tiled floors, the style of floor vents you choose are not as important because they will blend in. Besides, if you are going to spend the money on a solid hardwood floor, using a standard HVAC will make the floor look less elegant.
Today, floor vent covers can be a designer item. They no longer only have a utilitarian purpose. For example, some feel that if you have a hardwood floor, it is more elegant to use a vent cover that is wooden.
Types of Floor Vent Covers
There are different styles of floor vent covers. They matter for aesthetics and practicality. Not all ventilation covers are designed for high foot traffic areas. It matters what style of floor ventilation cover you get depending on where it is going to be placed.
Self-Rimming Floor Vent Cover
Self-rimming floor vent covers sit on the surface of the installed floor. These are common in most modern homes with wood or tiled floors. It is called self-rimming because it rims the floor. It is very much like what you would see on a metal vent. They are made by many different manufacturers and come in a variety of styles and sizes.
Most of the time the air vent is a standard size and the vent cover is a standard size to go over top it. Almost always, any self-rimming floor vent should be able to fit on any size hole. Manufacturers make a one size fits all self-rimming floor vent. Usually, they are available in both prefinished and unfinished wood. They also come in a variety of colors. They also come in a variety of different wood species like mahogany and oak. Often they have metal and wood in a self-rimming floor vent cover.
They typically start at 2″ by 10″ and go to as large as 6″ by 14″. They are available in almost every sizes in between. The ones that are as big as 6″ by 14″ are designed for large industrial buildings. Some manufacturers will even make custom sized self-rimming floor vent covers.
The specifications are pretty simple. For example, Air Wood Vents is a company that manufactures floor vent covers for wood floors. The requirement is that you need three quarters of an inch wood floors for their covers to lay flush.
Flush Mount (Flushmount) Floor Vent Cover
The requirements for flush mount is similar to self-rimming floor vents. Most manufacturers, like Fretworks Wood Products, design flush mount vent covers to go on hardwood floors that are three quarters of an inch. This guarantees that the vent cover will lay flush.
They are also commonly available in both prefinished and unfinished. Flush mount floor vents covers are recommended to be installed when the floors are being laid. They come in a variety of colors in prefinished and in a variety of unfinished wood species like fir and hickory.
Styles of Vent Covers
Egg Crate (Eggcrate) is a type of floor vent is the one that looks like a grid or an egg crate. Eggcrate vent covers come in both prefinished and unfinished. They come in a variety of different wood species. Louver vent covers are amongst the most common. They are the ones that have the pattern that looks similar to window blinds. Slotted vents look similar to the louver style but have long, thin slots.
Most vent covers come in wood or metal. The wood varieties are quite extensive and can make your vents really blend in. Floor vents also come in metal. If you choose to get a metal one for a wood floor, it is easy to drop in after the floor is installed and finished. There are varieties of metal ones that are painted to look like wood. Most floor vents are easy to find at your local home building center.