Undoing and re-doing duct work
BryanSayer
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I’m going to have to disconnect the duct work for the carriage house so that I can re-do the firex wallboard. The supplys are round and attached with tape and screws, so I see what to do there to disconnect them. The problem is the return which has those slide in connector things.
Can anyone direct me to a book or something that shows me how to disconnect and re-connect that stuff? Or a web link?
Replies
You kind of unfold the bent-over end, (screwdriver and pliers) and slide them back out - look at how it went together, and just reverse the order. Not a big deal.
Forrest
Like he said,
Usually the two shorter sides of the rectangle will have the slide on cleats (are they called drive cleats?) and the two longer sides will have S-cleats, which simply engage the flanges of the duct.
Unbend the top of the slide-on things and pull them down and off with vise grips. If there are no stray screws, the whole thing then falls apart in your hands.
Ron
I can always come up with ways to get things apart, it is the putting back that scares me. But I looked at them today and I think I've got a sense of what to do. I am a bit concerned about order though.
Brian,
It can be easy with a second set of hand to hold things in place. S-cleats first, you'll see why when you take it apart.
Ron
How do I recognize S cleats before I have them apart? Are they the ones with the tabs folded over on each end?
No, that's the drive cleats wh8ich have to be straightened to be removed. The S cleats look like they are made on the ducting, but they aren't. They are separate pieces. They are usually on the horizontal edges.
Ron
The drive cleats have bent edges to lock them in place. Sometimes a little spray oil helps them slide off easier. Save these. although they are available at most big boxes.
S locks are just that, they are bent in an "S" shape to facilitate the joining of 2 pieces of raw edge metal. You'll see when you take off the drive cleat.
The process is very simple once you see it, just joining 2 rectangular boxes at the ends. Just watch your knuckles!
My knuckles, my head, my feet, everything! This is a really tight space. It's going to be a pain. And I have to kill the mold.And then hope I've actually fixed the water problem.
I know the feeling. I have run miles of duct in some of the most unconventional residential spaces. That stuff can be nasty so check the interior when you have it apart.