Replacing air vent cover

[Dave097097]

Hi.

We've removed a plaster air vent cover in the living room of our newly purchased 1930s ex-council flat, as the original cover was slightly damaged and covered with unsightly layers of caked on paint. We would like to replace the cover with a new one, but it looks like the opening to the vent will need some work.

It is currently framed by a brown material (looks to me like a kind of plaster - I am a DIY newbie so can't identify), which is very messy and jagged, with some bits missing, and in many places sitting proud of the wall around it. I don't know if this would best be removed entirely, or repaired/filled in somehow. There is also some paper stuffed in the hole and it appears this may have been put there to support one side of the cover.

Any suggestions for how to go about this? Is it a reasonable DIY job or would it be better to get a builder?

Thanks

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Hi and welcome


That looks like plaster.
You could square it off with say a 2" wide chisel and a hammer. You won't have to hit it very hard. You can see at the top where the edge of the vent met the wal. The edge of the brickwork or breeze block will be below that, so chisel it away a bit at a time.


The original cover was probably plastered in.

The easiest way would be to buy an air vent slightly bigger than the aperture and just tidy up around the outside of the hole and screw it to the wall.

Here's a selection.

wall air vents for sale | eBay

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www.ebay.co.uk

Failing that if you think you're up to it, after removing the plaster you could make a frame out of say 2" X 1" timber and screw that flush to the inside edges of the hole and then screw the same size vent to the wood. You'd probably have to do a bit of touching up to the edges with some Polyfiller.

 

[Dave097097]

Thanks, really helpful advice. I am going to chisel it off and then take the simpler option as you suggested and cover with a slightly bigger grille.