Sealing return air duct

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
SpartanEpoxies
House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
drw158

drw158

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
46
Reaction score
6
I have a 1930s home with a floor return air grill. It's not the best installation I've seen. I want to pay someone to do it right but in the meantime what can I do to do it right? As you can see the in photos, the filter sits below floor level up against the duct opening. It's very loud, and not good airflow. There is no aluminum enclosure shoe, just unsealed in between floor joists.

I want to move the filter up against the grill ar floor level by constructing some braces., but then some air would be pulled in from the basement since it is not air tight.

What could I do to seal the enclosure? Just paint everything with mastic? I don't want to fabricate a shoe or anything like that.

image.jpg
 
Last edited:
It could be as simple as a couple of blocks of wood fitted into that space. it won't be airtight, but air leakage would be minimal for this purpose.
 
I think the filter is upside down.
You could just dap the joints in the wood work below the floor.
 
Thanks all, I have some mastic in a tube so maybe I'll just do that and seal it best I can. I'll make some braces out of some scrap wood
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top