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Anonymous08/16/26, 00:33No.3004587Antique Register Replacement
Working on my house which was built in 1910. Not sure if this is original to the house or not but i'd like to replace it since i'm doing a lot of work to this wall anyways. I'm assuming i'd have to make the hole smaller since its 14 inches by 11 inches and that's not a size they make. Any tips on how to go about converting this to a modern size?
It's 1 of 2 of this style vent left in the house. The other is in the front bedroom which is the next room on the rehab list.
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Anon08/16/26, 01:54No.3004599
It is almost certainly 14x10. The size is based on the actual opening in the wall, not the dimensions of the grate itself. It is either going to be cast iron or brass/bronze. Can you get the jizz out of the screwheads and get it off the wall without destroying it/the wall? If so, check the opening size and that is the size grate you need. They still make 14x10s.A magnet will tell you if it is iron. If so, strip it and repaint it. If it is brass or bronze strip it back down to the bare metal and polish it up. If you like it shiny, clearcoat it. If you don't you'll want to look into patinas. You can make brass and bronze looks like a bunch of different colors by applying the right chemicals.
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Anon08/18/26, 03:10No.3004880
Dude I live in a 106 year old house. What I did was buy a cheap sandblaster from harbor freight and take them off the wall sand blast the paint off and paint them with hammered black rustoleum spray paint they look decent compared to the 8 layers of paint that were on them before.
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Anon08/18/26, 03:30No.3004881
My house was built in 1904. I've been slowly going around and refurbing it. For old hardware like that, I also vote you take take it off and strip the paint. I've used a wirewheel on smaller pieces and a sand blaster on larger pieces. The other option is liquid paint stripper, but I spent a summer stripping a boat as a teen and can't bear to use it again..
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Anon08/23/26, 02:48No.3005436
Anon, that does not appear to be a cold air return since it has the adjustment.