Moving Return air vent over joist possible??

10 years ago

Hello,

I have a question for you, we are remodeling our kitchen and wanted to make it bigger by moving a wall and making a wider opening, now here is the problem... There is a return air on that wall (facing the dining room) and if we were going to leave the return air on the floor it would be on the pathway to the kitchen( wife not happy about that. Would it be possible to make an opening on the return air in the basement and reroute the return air one or two joists over to the new wall?
If so what size of ductwork would i need? Is this even possible??
So sorry if i am not being clear.. i posted a picture just in case.

Thank so much!
Dan

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Comments (2)

kevin1900
10 years ago
I'm just a homeowner like yourself. I'll tell you what I've learned.

The picture seems to indicate the furnace is behind the viewer. Does the circle show where the existing grille is?

The galvanized steel shown makes the joist cavity into a plenum. If that plenum runs straight back to the furnace, you could consider crossing over at the furnace to the preferred cavity. Sheet metal work would be required to create the crossover. Were there any past or any planned future modifications that make this a good choice, or is it overkill.

Your mechanical contractor will probably tell you that he can create a single crossover where the circle is. Sheet metal is best but they can also seal off that part of the cavity and run flexible duct across. The expert will ensure the draw is balanced. The limiting factors on any install in addition to cost are appearance and headroom. Appearance and headroom are the reason for suggesting the first option.

The expert may also surprise you and say "hey, since you're moving this wall, I can just enlarge the grille over here, results just as good for less money" or something else we would not have considered.

If you're tackling this yourself be sure to read up on codes. Duct work is influenced by electrical and plumbing. For example wiring inside that cavity cannot just be Romex. A DIY-er could probably seal the cavity and run two elbows across from one to another, and not violate any code.

Again, I'm just a homeowner. Good luck.
gpraceman55
10 years ago
Is there any other wall under that return run that you could relocate the vent to? That might be the easiest solution.

We also had a return vent issue in our kitchen remodel. It was in a pony wall that we were going to remove and it would have been too hard to move it elsewhere. Our solution was to build it into our island. An extra tall base for a bookshelf, on the end of the island, was fitted with a decorative vent cover.

Another possibility might be to put the return vent in the floor. We have one in fitted into our hardwoods, in one of our hallways.

{{!gwi}}