Manly Task #27

Today I took on tough challenge.  For a long time I knew that something wasn't right with our master bathroom heater duct.  About a  3 years ago I removed the vent covering underneath the sink cabinet to discover that the jerk hole who built this house decided to not finish the vent ductwork.  There is a full 4" of space between the heater duct and the edge of the cabinet where the duct cover was.  What the hell!  The result is a freezing cold bathroom in the summer and a sauna during the winter with no control at all.  The heavily effected the temperature in the master bedroom (currently a spare bedroom) as well.  When I first discovered this issue I was working on the basement so it was put to the wayside and has sat until now.

I first removed the front wood panel from the underside of the cabinet.  It had cracked in the middle at some point so I needed to also figure out how to fix this as well.  I measured it up, and penciled up the measuring on the new tin vent.  Pulled out my trusty jigsaw, did some cutting and put the two pieces together.  I fitted the front vent cover and bent the tin to it would hold snugly.  The length was correct so I started figuring out how to put it back together.  A difficult task considering I was working with a 5" high space.  I ended up making a wood L bracket to put back together the wood front panel.  It seemed to me that it would be easier to assemble everything if I place the three pieces separately instead of 1 big part and the duct.  I also decided to pre-drill all the holes so there would be no pressure put on the board since it would just be sitting and I wouldn't be able to hold it from the inside since it was going into an enclosed space.  I took the support block off the left side of the front panel and nailed it to the inside of the cabinet so I could attach the front panel to that support block.  The right side of the panel I would screw in from the side.  I attached the new duct to the existing one and put in two screws (this sucked).  I placed the left panel, worked the vent over it and then put the right on.  The right one was really difficult.  I couldn't reach in to pull it forward so I used a wire hanger as a hook and pulled.  I attached the broken piece and then finished screwing in the end of the right side.  I put the vent cover on and sunk in the two final screws to hold it in place.

The temperature in both rooms is perfect.  I didn't think it would change things that much but it really did!  Really happy with this home repair since eventually M and I will move into this room.


Heater duct - $5.69
Screws - Free (already had a bunch laying around)
Spare Wood - Free (from other old projects)

Time spent: 4 hours