# Basement heating vents



## atilla137 (Jun 20, 2006)

I am about to drywall my basement ceiling and I have a question about the heat vents. Do I just remove the grill covers, put the drywall up and then screw the covers into the drywall? Does the duct just sit on top of the drywall or do I secure it to the joists? And if so, howRight now the covers are all atached to metal strips that run parallel to the joists.
I hope this question is clearer than mud!


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## Justin1635 (Nov 2, 2006)

usually you have some kind of support for your ducting inbetween your joists and boards in the ceiling. depending on what kind of duct it is too.

is it square, or is it round and flexible?


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi atilla137

The proper way to do what you are wanting to do. First you want to attach the boot portion to the floor joist. It does not matter in any way what kind of duct is attached. The boot is the metal piece that attaches to the back of the register. Remove the resgister and you will see a metal flange under where the register sets. Cut the openings in your sheetrock to fit around the outsides of the flange and your done, move to the next one. One thing you will want to do before hanging the sheetrock is to insulate the duct, some areas do not do this if its not a finished basement. Let us know if we can help any further.

Good Luck
Rusty


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## atilla137 (Jun 20, 2006)

Thanks Rusty
The basement will be finished so what do I insulate the duct with? The silver stuff from home depot?
Thanks Again:thumbsup:


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi atilla137

Some of the insulation you can get has an aluminum backing or a vinyl backing. The stuff you will want to use is called duct wrap. Not sure if you can get it from Home Depot or not. Just ask them when you get there. Let me know if I can help any further.

Good luck
Rusty


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

insulate the heating duct?...do you mean just insulate the area around the vent opening? or all the ducts... if it is all the ducts... there is a lot of work... if you want to insulate just around the vent opening of the ducts... what is the purpose of doing that?


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi KUIPORNG

You definatley want to insulate the runs off of the main trunk, if the trunk is not insulated it will need to be insulated also. The reason being is air inside the cavity will change with the pipe temperature, as that happens in the summer time it will creat moisture on the back of the sheetrock. This leaves a wonderful breeding ground for black mold, and if you have had anything at all to do with this stuff you will now how toxic it is. Its always best to do it right the first time, and not have to have a remediation company come in and cost you twice as much as just doing it right. Hope this helps, let me know if I can help further

Rusty


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

Thanks Rusty,,, but I do not understand this, as the builder didn't insulated the first floor, second floor, why should I insulated the basement heating duct..., if I insulated the basement, it only solve 1/3 of the problem of the whole house if there is a problem...

or you think the builder did insulate all ducts in the house just I didn't see it as it is now all cover up... 

can anyone else give some opinion here... it is kind of still not too late for my case as I have not cover the heat duct with the rock yet...

After doing some reading in the net, it looks like insulating duct is recommended only for unconditioned space... but if the basement is insulated well in all outside walls, and has heat vent output... it becomes conditioned, then insulation become not necessary, of course, it is still better I assume, but not a real need.... I will check the cost at HD to decide if it is worth to insulate the ducts... others please advice...


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi KUIPORNG

I am not sure what you have in your house. The reason for insulating duct in an unconditioned space is moisture. The air around the duct in the summer time is typically warmer than the air going through the duct. This temperature differential causes the moisture, humidity or whatever it's refered to in your area to condense on the duct. When this happens the duct will start sweating, the moisture at this point has only one place to go, if the area is finished around the duct it will fall onto the back of the sheetrock giving mold a breeding ground. Thats about all there is to it. Let me know if this is as clear as mudd and I'll try again.


Rusty


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

Hi Charrierman, Thanks, in my case I think I don't need it. because my basement is so "Conditioned" that I even bring down my heat vent from the ceiling down to the floor level... i.e. it is designed to be like a living space like first floor, and I insulated the floor (using dricore type similar) and insulated all outside wall and vapour barrier.... so I think my basement is considered "Conditioned" and do not need to extra insulated the heat duct and there is no such requirment from the inspector... Thanks...


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## atilla137 (Jun 20, 2006)

Hi Rusty
I have attached the boots to the joists and the openings are flush with the "face" {that make sense?) of the joists. It seems to me that the registers will not be deep enough once the half inch of drywall is up. Do I have to buy different ones? Longer?
Thanks Again for all your help Rusty
PS I think you better define "unconditioned space" for K.
:yes:


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi atilla137

Does your boots still have the flange around the opening for the register? If they do, this is all you will need protruding through the sheetrock. The boots should be against the back of the sheetrock when you are done. If you put the boots up inside the joists they will be too deep for the register to mount. I hope I did not steer you wrong in my first post to you. Let me know if you need any further help.

Good luck
Rusty


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## atilla137 (Jun 20, 2006)

*O Oh!*

Hiya Rusty
I think I misunderstood you. As (I hope) you can see from my attachment, the flanges on my boots are bent out from the boot. The flanges were in between two pieces of metal with the register and that's how the ducts were attached to my unfinished basement ceiling.
Do I straighten these flanges out so that they go through the drywall and are flush with the face of the drywall?
Thanks for your patience.
:huh:


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi atilla137

I got it, what you have there is fine. It also looks good by the way, just dont forget to insulate it. Your doing a good job. Let me know if I can help any further. Forgot to put this in there. When you get done all you will have to do is sandwhich the sheetrock between the register and the boot.

Good luck 
Rusty


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## atilla137 (Jun 20, 2006)

Thanks for all your help AGAIN Rusty. And thanks for the compliments. I will definitely be insulating all my ductwork before I close it in ( I don't want any mold, black or otherwise).
Cheers
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

I am also going to insulated the heat trunk as suggested by Carrierman... I check the trunk this morning... it is real hot... I check one of the outlet pipe, it is not as hot... so I think insulating the heat trunk does make sense... Thanks for the info Carrierman... it is going to be a tricky job for me as I have framed around the trunk already... although luckily, I haven't drywall them yet...


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