How to Purchase a Correctly Sized Floor Register

By Samuel Crasnick

There is often some great confusion when it comes to floor registers. There happen to be plenty of synonyms for them. Here’s a list of some other common terms you may have heard floor registers referred to as:

Vent Covers
Air Return Grills
Air Registers
Wall Registers
Floor Vents
Heat Vents
And Many More

Floor Registers are the grates you often see that are attached to the end of an air duct. Their purpose is to control the amount of air flow into a room. Most commonly, floor registers are found on the floor, toward the wall. However, there are variations that can be installed on the wall or ceiling. These are known as wall registers and ceiling registers respectively.

How a Floor Register Works

There are two main components to a floor register. The grate is the first part, which serves mostly as decoration. It also keeps things from falling into an air duct. The damper box is the second part of a floor register. The function of the damper box is to control the air flow. This is done using a lever that connects to the damper box and extends out to the grate. For wall or ceiling registers, there will be small holes on the grate to keep it secure.

Floor Register Measurement

Measuring your opening size is your first step. The opening size is the hole in the floor (or wall/ceiling, etc.) in which you will fit the floor register. You will use this measurement for the size of the damper box. The grate itself overlaps with the damper box slightly, so it becomes flush with the floor. Usually, the grate will extend about 1.25 ” past the opening. The grate size varies, but the opening size is the more crucial measurement. So, for instance, if your opening size is 6″ x 10″, you’re grille size will be around 7.25″ x 11.25″.

Where to Get Floor Registers

There are plenty of online sources to pick up a few floor registers for your home decoration project. Hopefully, after reading this guide you’ll be able to confidently order the correct size. Sometimes you’ll find that you can not find your particular size floor register. Luckily, many manufacturers offer custom floor registers to match your size.