FAQ What resin vent cover size will fit my duct?
Formulas to help calculate duct size.
If there is no resin decorative grille covering the duct, then just measure the duct size. Convert any fractional numbers (such as 7-1/2, or 8-1/4) to the nearest even whole number (6″, 8″, 10″). Ducts tend to be irregular. Grilles, however, are standardized. If you measure a 5-7/8″ x 12-3/4″ duct, round the fractional number to the next even whole number, 6″ x 12″.
If the grille is attached over the duct, just measure the grille. Subtract the overlap, to determine the size of the duct. Generally, a stamped metal grille has a 1-1/2″ to 2″ overlap, over the duct size. If you measure your grille to be 7-1/2″ x 13-1/2″ than you have a 6″ x 12″ duct underneath that grille.
FAQ What resin decorative grille size will cover my random size duct?
Measure the height and width of the duct. HVAC ducts are handmade and then banged out on site. Therefore, there is no such thing as a perfect duct.
Ducts may be handmade and never the same size, but grilles are standard sizes. You must choose from a standardized grille size selection to fit your non-standard duct size. Grilles are standardized to the nearest even whole number in inches, like 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, etc. If your duct measures 7″ x 14″, you must determine if it will fit best with a grille made to fit a 6″ x 14″ duct or an 8″ x 14″ duct. Determine which size works best by the overall duct size and the proximity of any wall or baseboard molding which limits the size of the grille.
All grilles must be larger than the duct they cover.
There must be at least a 3/4″ border around each edge of the grille so that you can attach it to the wall or ceiling. Different manufacturers make slightly different size grilles. A grille made to cover a 6″ x 12″ duct may be 7-1/2″ x 13-1/2″ on the small side and 8″ x 14″ on the large side.
Decorative vent covers tend to be larger than stamped metal grilles. Many of our vent covers have a tapered edge, rather than the square edge of the stamped metal grille. The tapered edge improves the look of the grille. It has a look and taper typical of casing molding found around doors and windows. Use of the tapered edge, means a larger frame size around the grille. The tapered edge is not suitable for the pre-drilled screw hole. Since the last 5/8″ inch of our decorative grilles is tapered, they can tend to be 1-1/2″ wider and taller than the typical stamped metal grille.
A 6″ x 12″ duct is covered by a stamped metal grille which is 8″ x 14″. A French style Louis XIV decorative grille to fit the same size 6″ x 12″ duct, measures 8″ x 14″. In other words, these decorative grilles have a larger frame with a tapered edge, which adds to the width and height of the outer dimensions of the grilles’ frame. The larger tapered edge is helpful in two respects, first it has a larger area where the screws mount the grille securely. Secondly, the larger tapered edge helps by covering any old paint lines resulting from removing the old grille.
FAQ Why are your grilles cast in urethane resin?
Our cast resin decorative grilles are equal in surface quality to investment casting, but at a fraction of the cost. Resin is superior to the rough and grainy looking surfaces of cast iron or cast aluminum grilles. This image shows the grainy appearance of cast iron and the perfect quality of the cast resin.
Urethane resin vent covers are a maintenance free product. The grilles will not have to be re-finished, or have rust removed for the life of the product. Our urethane resin is exterior grade. They can be used in damp or wet locations. They are appropriate for exterior use, bathrooms, kitchens and indoor swimming pools. They can be used to replace unattractive exhaust fan covers in bathrooms.
Urethane resin vent covers will not vibrate and make noise like metal grilles do. Use our grilles to replace noisy high pitched metal return grilles.
FAQ Why Don’t We make our Resin Vent Covers from cast iron?
Iron is a terrible casting material. It is cast in temporary molds made from pressed sand. The finished product has a very grainy surface. It has air bubbles, and lots of flash where the two parts of the same mold fit together. Most iron sand casting requires lots of additional machining and finishing to remove the grain and flash. Superior casting metals such as bronze and brass are normally cast in the lost wax method. This is expensive today. It is now called investment casting. The lost wax method starts with a wax model or “plug” which is dipped repeatedly into a vat of plaster until thoroughly coated. Then it is heated until all the wax flows out of the one piece plaster mold. Then the bronze or brass is poured into the heated mold. To remove the bronze casting from the one piece plaster mold, a hammer is used to break away all the plaster. So each plaster mold makes only one casting, which is why it is so expensive. The castings also require lots of finishing and buffing before they can be sold. No wonder it is called investment casting, which is now almost exclusively used for bronze statues.
Why Do You make your Products from cheap Plastic?
First of all “plastic” is a nickname for elastomers, which comes from a Greek word meaning “can be shaped or molded”. Secondly, the elastomer we use is a pure Urethane Resin and it isn’t cheap. We pay over $50 per gallon. The reason we use plastic is because it gives us the end results we are looking for. The two-part Urethane we use gives us a perfect smooth casting every time. It is the greatest outdoor material for vent covers, since it will not rust, rot, corrode or grow mold. It is also impervious to water and UV rays. It is strong, but not brittle. We actually make our products stronger by “tempering” the resin like glass is tempered. Regular glass is fragile and can break easily. At a certain thickness tempered glass is strong enough to be walked on. Tempered glass is heat resistant and can be used on oven doors. Our grilles are with 70% open area. The larger sizes can’t be walked on. Our three-dimensional designs have some very delicate filigrees. Our resin decorative grilles are heat resistant to 200 degrees and can be used on radiator cabinets. Urethane resin is the right product for HVAC grilles because a by-product of air conditioning is moisture, which causes rust and mold growth. Our resin castings do not vibrate. They will not make the irritating high pitched sounds that the white louvered return grilles do. Urethane Resin is a perfect material for our functional works of art.
How Functional are Our Functional Works of Art
Performance Testing of Our Decorative HVAC Grilles for Static Pressure and CFMs – Read our Company Blog Post about the performance test results and what it means for the functioning of your HVAC.
FAQ Resin Vent Cover Finish Selections are dark colors?
Prior to the late 1950’s most grilles were considered hardware, such as stair railing, lighting fixtures, door and cabinet hardware (door knobs and hinges) and plumbing fixtures. Back then, hardware was usually cast in brass, bronze, black iron, pewter, nickel or copper; the same as it is today. The big difference was the introduction of the white louvered grille which was stamped from 24 gauge sheet metal. Since they weren’t cast like grilles in the past, the big HVAC companies decided to just paint them white to match the molding. Since we are not fans of the White Louvered Grilles, we decided to match popular hardware finishes instead. We currently offer 12 diferent finishes for our resin vent covers; Bright Gold, Burnished Gold, Umber Gold, Antique Brass, Aged Copper, Antique Cherry, Chinese Red, Dark Bronze, Rubbed Bronze, Black, Pewter and Nickel. First we should say that not all these finishes are dark. Bright Gold, Burnished Gold and Nickel are light finishes. Most of the big HVAC companies only offer their stamped metal louvered grilles in one finish, White, which is odd since the big return grilles collect dust which shows more on white than any other finish.
How come you put height first and length second on your decorative grille measurements?
We do understand that engineers always put length first, width (or depth) second, then height third. This worked for centuries until the internet insisted on listing all products by their length. We displayed all our grilles by length first, showing the 30×4, 30×6, 30×8, 30×10, 30×12, 30×14, 30×16, 30×20 and 30×34 together rather than showing all the grilles by height first 4×8, 4×10, 4×12, 4×14, 4×16 etcetera. For internet display purposes we switched the order to height, length and depth. Now our clients can look at 6″ tall supply decorative grilles together and 14″ tall return decorative grilles together. This is a better way to display our resin vent covers. The pictures of the grilles look similar in height but longer in length.
FAQ Why are your resin decorative grille part numbers (6×12 smaller than the actual decorative grille size (8×14)?
Before we started manufacturing our resin vent covers, the industrial louvered vent cover companies assigned part numbers to their grilles by the duct size they were designed to cover. They make “builders grade products”, and 90% of their business was for new construction. During the construction process the duct work is installed before the drywall. At some point someone has to walk through the building and measure the duct sizes to determine which grille is required to fit that duct. So the part number identifies the hole or duct that it is designed to cover. A 6″ x 12″ duct size is covered by a 6″ x 12″ vent cover that happens to be larger (8″ x 14″) so that it can be screwed into the wall. This is particularly confusing to homeowners who want to upgrade their builders grade vent covers to something more attractive. The white louvered grille is already installed over the duct. In this situation, they measure the existing grille’s outside measurement, 8×14 and order a grille with that part number, since they cannot see the duct size behind. This is a common problem with ordering vent covers for the homeowner who wishes to upgrade.
FAQ What’s With the Funny Company Name?
Our company name, Beaux-Arts Classic Products, was chosen because of the Beaux-Arts architectural style. The name comes from the first school of Fine Arts in the world, the Academie des Beaux-Arts or “Academy of Beautiful Arts. The school was established in Paris, France in 1648 during the reign of King Louis XIV. The school taught, painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts and musical composition. Decorative arts were defined as functional works of art. Our company mission is to create resin products that serve a function, such as heating and air conditioning grilles that are also works of art. Hence our name. The US Capital Building is an example of the Beaux-Arts architectural style.