One of my favourite things in the house are the old grates. In the middle of the photo, you can see one of the old metal grates built into the baseboards. In the top right corner of the image, the black rectangle in the floor is another one of our old grates. I really wanted to reuse these as they are part of the character of the house. I pushed hard to reuse them but it comes down to a good practical reason. It isn't an issue of cost or being easier not to reuse them but how forced air duct systems are laid out. Since we had to replace the old duct work (a topic for another blog entry), it means that the grates have to be replaced too.
These big grates were used in the past because the hot air supply was in the center of the house. Now all supply air are in the perimeter (under windows). These grates are also not very effective for cold air return. I might keep the big rectangular ones and use them in the garden and then try and sell the other ones to be used by someone else who is not replacing their entire system. I saw cleaned up ones at an antique store so finding them a new home looks like a possibility.
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