Flush Vent Covers And Flush Transitions are Not Only Upgrades for Hardwood Floors, They are Clean, Useful and Safer

There is no doubt that installing either a flush vent cover or a flush transition is a nice  an upgrade to a floor. The look is much nicer and more custom, and certainly safer. But before we talk about them it makes sense to discuss why they are preferred and suggested and when are they appropriate.

Flush “HVAC” Vent Covers Are Equally Ideal but Not Always A Good Fit

Flush transitions are a beautiful and useful upgrade when they are a good fit. But depending on the flooring you have you may not be able to have them installed. Typically hardwood floors come in 5/8’s” and 3/4.” The thickness of the floor makes a difference. If you have 3/4″ hardwood floors you can upgrade to the flush vent covers. If you have 5/8″ hardwood you cannot. They can not manufacture a 5/8″s tread, it is too thin so it will not work.

Flush Vent Covers Withstand Foot Traffic Better Than the Drop Ins or Metal Variety

Drop in vent covers sit on top of the floor, not recessed and installed into the floor. So they tend to be vulnerable. First they too can be a trip hazard. If walked on the louvers tend to break. While cleaning the floor it can be a nuisance to clean up and around. Sometimes they move. And finally if you have metal vent covers they can get bent from foot traffic.

When Considering Flush Vent Covers You May Want to Upgrade all of Them or Maybe Certain Ones

Some folks get really excited when given the opportunity to convert their vent covers to the recessed flush types. They automatically want all the vents done, which is time consuming and costly. Others have particular covers which are vulnerable which switching to a recessed cover eliminates a problem are and are happy with that. Still others may prefer the recessed vents in formal areas and drop in types in other others. And that would also include vents which are exposed in general versus those that are visibly noticeable. Whichever your comfort level we can get you a free estimate along with the refinishing project.

Being a Definite Upgrade, Custom Vent Covers Cost More Because of their Installation

And finally, each vent cover takes approximately two hours to install. So in addition to purchasing the vent cover, the wood technician must lightly sand each one, install it in to the floor before the floors are sanded. And this is done before they along with the floors are stained, sealed or finished.

Flush Transitions Not Always Appropriate but Nice When They are a Good Fit

Flush transitions are useful in certain applications, but not useful in others. Not to be confused with other transitions, these transitions don’t bridge the gap from one floor level to the other. When there are two uneven floor surfaces it is often necessary to have the transition made to eliminate a potential trip and fall hazard from the edge of the floor from one height to the other.

Transitions that serve to make it safer can either be bought from a supplier and installed easily. Other transitions that solve unique situations may need to be custom made by being fashioned by transition material so it fits.  Stock transitions are pretty economical to have installed, however as to be expected custom fabrication and installation may cost a bit more.

Flush Transitions Are Useful For A Couple Reasons

• Safety— where suitable, changing a transition to a flush transition eliminates a existing trip hazard. Occasionally we find that a floor has a transition installed on top of the floor, mostly because it is a stock item that requires little work to install it. However, when it is in a high traffic area, or when there is concern for a disability or
• To Clean Up Damage— sometimes we see damage to a floor (as in this case) where a sheet rock knife was used to cut the wall to wall carpet in a hallway. The cut went across each board and was too deep to sand out. Simply installing the transition right at the entry to the hallway from the living room was the perfect solution.
• To Contain and limit the work area— there are situations where a client has an issue in an isolated area, but the hardwood runs across a much larger area. Sometimes you can’t strike a line to partially finish the problem area without it looking really noticeable where it meets the larger area. In that case we have to deliver the news that in order to fix the isolated area we have to include the whole floor (which can at times be out of the question or throws the budget way out of line.) Case in point—sometimes the hall is the problem area but it continues into the kitchen and family room. If we could insert a flush transition on a 45 degree angle it allows us to isolate the hallway and restore it without covering the much larger area.

If you are having your hardwood floors refinish you might want to upgrade your HVAC vent covers to flush vent covers. We can discuss whether your floor qualifies for them.  We will give you separate pricing along with your hardwood floor refinishing estimate.

Feel free to  Call us at 609.953.0472 or contact us online.