When we moved into our house, the things I was really looking for in home updates were limited to things like the kitchen counter tops, newer appliances, new bathroom fixtures, etc. Things I didn't even remotely consider include things like the return vent for our HVAC system.
The longer we were in our house the more I noticed the smaller parts of our home that needed some attention. Our house was a flip, so the sellers put a lot of effort into the bigger updates like the kitchen and bathrooms, polishing up the hardwood floors, and replacing windows. But even with a newly renovated home there are always small things that get glossed over and need some love!
When our oldest child was crawling, he would always get into things around the house that were within reach (see our earlier post about how this inspired a project). Our return vents are in the hallway at ground level making them prime real estate for tiny hands. Honestly, I guess I have my son to thank for this project. If not for him, I'm not sure I would have noticed the poor condition of these vents. While functional, they were not attractive in the least. Updating the return vent was super simple and cheap!
We did this entire project while our son was napping! This is the perfect nap time project. You don't want your kiddos crawling around with open vents nearby and you can complete it from start to finish before they wake up. Oh, and it's quiet. It's a win-win...win.
JP and I talked about a few different ways of updating the vent cover, including repainting or replacing the entire cover. Both of which would have required more work than we wanted to put into it. To paint we'd have to sand the paint and rust off of every slat, and because our house was built in the 1950s, finding the right size frame would have been a challenge. So we opted for an alternative that was fast, easy, cheap, and matched our aesthetic! For this project we used: * Decorative Sheet Metal - there is a wide variety to choose from and you can buy it anywhere from hardware stores to craft stores or online. We decided to go with this one. * Five-Minute Epoxy
* Screwdriver
* Hammer
* Tin Snips
Step 1: Remove the vents from the wall. All you'll need for this one is your screwdriver.
Step 2: Remove the vent slats from the frame. Be sure to break the slats at the weld points so you remove the entire slat. We did this using a hammer and screwdriver, but some of them were weak enough to break off by hand. The most important thing to remember is to be careful not bend the frame since it'll be going back on the wall.
Step 3: Cut the new sheet metal to size. Working with metal was pretty new to us at the time, so we proceeded cautiously here, but there is no need to feel intimidated by this step. Use tin snips for this. Hold the sheet metal to the frame to get the sizing right, then cut slightly larger than is visible from the front so that you can epoxy it to the frame.
Step 4: Epoxy the sheet metal to the frame. This step is pretty straight forward. Follow the directions that come with your epoxy and you're good to go!
Step 5: Reinstall! Once the epoxy has dried (45 minutes - 1 hour for functional cure), reinstall the vent using the original screws.
**Optional Step** Paint the vent/frame. We originally planned on painting the whole vent, but once the sheet metal was in place, we realized how much more it popped against the white frame. We did paint a fresh coat on the frame to match the baseboard and molding.
There you have it!
Here's a before and after to give you a better idea of what we were working with.
Let us know if you try this at home, or if you have other great nap time projects!
- Karly
It's worth mentioning, like all of our projects, when we're talking cost we don't include the tools since they are investments that many homeowners have on hand.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!👇