was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite warm
in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there had to be a
leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it. Where the main
supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it connects to a plenum, and
along the top of the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped piece of
metal. Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some point was
flexed and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was completely outside
the "Z" making a massive leak, and it was only (partially) held together
with duct tape. I ripped all the tape off, disassembled enough stuff to
get the "Z" piece out, and went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty
badly getting it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who have
messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able to
mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back together, but
if I need to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I
can call around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole
mess of different stores and be disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Nate Nagel wrote:
....

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who have
messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able to
mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back together, but
if I need to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I
can call around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole
mess of different stores and be disappointed?

Straps are generally made on site by any tin shop I've seen...stuff like
that's why they bring their mobile tinshop in the trailer w/ 'em to
installations...

--

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite warm
in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there had to be a
leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it. Where the main
supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it connects to a plenum, and
along the top of the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped piece of metal.
Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some point was flexed
and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was completely outside the "Z"
making a massive leak, and it was only (partially) held together with duct
tape. I ripped all the tape off, disassembled enough stuff to get the "Z"
piece out, and went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty badly getting
it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who have
messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able to mangle
those back into shape enough to put the duct back together, but if I need
to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I can call
around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole mess of
different stores and be disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Drive cleat..

Rick wrote:

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite
warm in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there had
to be a leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it. Where
the main supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it connects to a
plenum, and along the top of the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped
piece of metal. Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some
point was flexed and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was
completely outside the "Z" making a massive leak, and it was only
(partially) held together with duct tape. I ripped all the tape off,
disassembled enough stuff to get the "Z" piece out, and went to the
store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty badly getting it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who
have messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able
to mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back together,
but if I need to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask
for, so I can call around and see if anyone has them rather than drive
to a whole mess of different stores and be disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Drive cleat..


Thank you! What's the other bit called, just out of curiosity?

nate

(now I just need to find a store that sells them)

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
Rick wrote:

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite warm
in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there had to be a
leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it. Where the main
supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it connects to a plenum, and
along the top of the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped piece of
metal. Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some point was
flexed and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was completely outside
the "Z" making a massive leak, and it was only (partially) held together
with duct tape. I ripped all the tape off, disassembled enough stuff to
get the "Z" piece out, and went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty
badly getting it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who have
messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able to
mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back together, but
if I need to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I
can call around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole
mess of different stores and be disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Drive cleat..


Thank you! What's the other bit called, just out of curiosity?

nate

(now I just need to find a store that sells them)

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

S cleat...home centers should have both...

In article , says...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite warm
in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there had to be a
leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it. Where the main
supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it connects to a plenum, and
along the top of the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped piece of
metal. Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some point was
flexed and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was completely outside
the "Z" making a massive leak, and it was only (partially) held together
with duct tape. I ripped all the tape off, disassembled enough stuff to
get the "Z" piece out, and went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty
badly getting it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the other
pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are like a "U"
that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct have the
sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of you who have
messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I was able to
mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back together, but
if I need to buy any of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I
can call around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole
mess of different stores and be disappointed?


They are cleats. HD has short ones in bags and 4 or 5 foot lengths that
you cut as required.

--
Dennis

Rick wrote:

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
Rick wrote:

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically quite
warm in the winter despite not having a heat vent. Figured there
had to be a leaky duct joint somewhere, sure enough, I found it.
Where the main supply trunk makes a 90 up by the ceiling, it
connects to a plenum, and along the top of the duct it was connected
with a Z-shaped piece of metal. Apparently it'd either been
assembled wrong or at some point was flexed and put back wrong; the
one piece of duct was completely outside the "Z" making a massive
leak, and it was only (partially) held together with duct tape. I
ripped all the tape off, disassembled enough stuff to get the "Z"
piece out, and went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty badly
getting it out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the
other pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those are
like a "U" that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces of duct
have the sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm sure those of
you who have messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm talking about. I
was able to mangle those back into shape enough to put the duct back
together, but if I need to buy any of these in the future, what
should I ask for, so I can call around and see if anyone has them
rather than drive to a whole mess of different stores and be
disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Drive cleat..


Thank you! What's the other bit called, just out of curiosity?

nate

(now I just need to find a store that sells them)

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

S cleat...home centers should have both...


I agree with you, however, Home Despot does not.

Of course, the fact that the Despot sucks big hairy goat balls is Not
News. I chose my location badly; there are literally three Despots more
convenient to me than any other store save for one small mom 'n' pop.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
S cleat...home centers should have both...


I agree with you, however, Home Despot does not.

Of course, the fact that the Despot sucks big hairy goat balls is Not
News. I chose my location badly; there are literally three Despots more
convenient to me than any other store save for one small mom 'n' pop.


You could probably save yourself a lot of grief and time if you found a
sheet metal
shop and walked in with the mangled part or a dimensioned drawing of what
you needed.


--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.

Roger Shoaf wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
S cleat...home centers should have both...

I agree with you, however, Home Despot does not.

Of course, the fact that the Despot sucks big hairy goat balls is Not
News. I chose my location badly; there are literally three Despots more
convenient to me than any other store save for one small mom 'n' pop.


You could probably save yourself a lot of grief and time if you found a
sheet metal
shop and walked in with the mangled part or a dimensioned drawing of what
you needed.


Well, there's the problem... all that stuff is miles away.

Like I said, I managed to mangle it back together, although my original
plan, which was to clean off the ducts and tape the joints, is somewhat
stalled due to running out of clean shop rags and lack of motivation. I
did get the whole plenum properly assembled and taped however; we'll see
if the bedroom stays warmer tonight. My original problem was poor
airflow to the upstairs ducts; I'm sure the misassembled joint between
the two big pieces of ductwork didn't help. Now if I'd slept in the
laundry room, I'd have been nice and toasty

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Jan 9, 8:24*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
Roger Shoaf wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
S cleat...home centers should have both...

I agree with you, however, Home Despot does not.

Of course, the fact that the Despot sucks big hairy goat balls is Not
News. *I chose my location badly; there are literally three Despots more
convenient to me than any other store save for one small mom 'n' pop.

You could probably save yourself a lot of grief and time if you found a
sheet metal
shop and walked in with the mangled part or a dimensioned drawing of what
you needed.

Well, there's the problem... *all that stuff is miles away.

Like I said, I managed to mangle it back together, although my original
plan, which was to clean off the ducts and tape the joints, is somewhat
stalled due to running out of clean shop rags and lack of motivation. *I
did get the whole plenum properly assembled and taped however; we'll see
if the bedroom stays warmer tonight. *My original problem was poor
airflow to the upstairs ducts; I'm sure the misassembled joint between
the two big pieces of ductwork didn't help. *Now if I'd slept in the
laundry room, I'd have been nice and toasty

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You can always buy aluminum flashing material and cut it to whatever
you need and then use pop rivets to hold evrything together. Once you
are happy with how that works, then you can use high-quality duct tape
(metal covered) to seal any remaining leaks. ALso, if you run the
blower continuously, you can even out the heating in various rooms in
the house.

If you want to seal up the ducts so they stay sealed from now on, use
the mastic sealer made for ducts. Unfortunatly, the stuff HD/Lowes has
is in quarts and costs about the same as a gallon costs at an a/c supply
house. If you have access to an a/c supply houe that will sell to the
public, there is a sealer that is actually made for outdoor use (like
the ductwork on rooftop units). It costs a lot more, but IMO it is worth
it, and a gallon does seem to go a little further than the regular
sealer, so that evens it out a little. One name of the outdoor stuff is
"AirSeal 11" Sealing straight, flat seams/joints with tape is easy and
works ok, but this is the way to go with the kind of seams you are
talking about. Good luck Larry

Lp1331 1p1331 wrote:

If you want to seal up the ducts so they stay sealed from now on, use
the mastic sealer made for ducts. Unfortunatly, the stuff HD/Lowes has
is in quarts and costs about the same as a gallon costs at an a/c supply
house. If you have access to an a/c supply houe that will sell to the
public, there is a sealer that is actually made for outdoor use (like
the ductwork on rooftop units). It costs a lot more, but IMO it is worth
it, and a gallon does seem to go a little further than the regular
sealer, so that evens it out a little. One name of the outdoor stuff is
"AirSeal 11" Sealing straight, flat seams/joints with tape is easy and
works ok, but this is the way to go with the kind of seams you are
talking about. Good luck Larry

The foil duct seal tape that has a black sticky layer works quite well
and is a bit easier to handle than a paste product.

Slips and drives. Any good tin shop will have them. You can also
seal all joints with "hard cast" - you paint it on with a throw
away paint brush, one good brand is Childers:

http://www.fosterproducts.com/defaul...168&cat_id=167

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
was in my basement today because my laundry room is typically
quite warm in the winter despite not having a heat vent.
Figured there had to be a leaky duct joint somewhere, sure
enough, I found it. Where the main supply trunk makes a 90 up
by the ceiling, it connects to a plenum, and along the top of
the duct it was connected with a Z-shaped piece of metal.
Apparently it'd either been assembled wrong or at some point was
flexed and put back wrong; the one piece of duct was completely
outside the "Z" making a massive leak, and it was only
(partially) held together with duct tape. I ripped all the tape
off, disassembled enough stuff to get the "Z" piece out, and
went to the store (I'd mangled the "Z" pretty badly getting it
out.)

I was able to find a new "Z" piece but not replacements for the
other pieces that hold the sides of the duct together. Those
are like a "U" that's been flattened and closed, and the pieces
of duct have the sheetmetal ends bent back on themselves. I'm
sure those of you who have messed with HVAC stuff know what I'm
talking about. I was able to mangle those back into shape
enough to put the duct back together, but if I need to buy any
of these in the future, what should I ask for, so I can call
around and see if anyone has them rather than drive to a whole
mess of different stores and be disappointed?

thanks

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel