How to Install Flush Mount Wood Floor Vents

Many of my students who I am teaching to install a wood floor want to install flush mount floor vents.,This is an option which looks much better than the drop in metal floor vent covers.

The vents at first glance may seem to very pricey but compared to the cost of the flooring are often a worthwhile investment. They definitely add a nice touch and leave nothing ot trip on.

A flush mount vent is made with the same wood as the floor. It consists of a 3/4 inch frame which is already grooved all the way around. This frame becomes a permanent part of the floor installation. Into this frame is an insert that is made much like a wood louvered door only smaller. This insert can easily be removed for cleaning and sits flush with the floor when it is in place.

Since vent holes vary in size it is important to measure each vent. It is sometimes better to get a flush mount vent that is a little larger than needed. The size of the opening should be the size of the insert and not the size of the frame. Using a flush mouns vent that is too small can restrict air flow which can effect your heating system.

If it is possible to adjust the vent so that it tongue and grooves with a fill board that can make your installation easier. Most vents are made so that the sides are equal to several standard size floor boards so if you start with the vent tongue and grooved into a full board you won't need to notch the flooring to make it fit. Notching the floor requires making perfectly straight cuts which although possible make the installation a little harder.

Where the groove mates up to a groove in the flooring a spline and carpenter's glue can be used to make this a stronger transition.

After the vent is installed you should sand it with the insert in place at the same time you sand the wood floor. I learned the hard way that you should never finish the insert in place. When it comes to finishing the inserts remove them and finishing them separately. The urethane is actually an adhesive and will find it's way down between the insert and the frame and glue it in place permanently.