Cold Air Return in Basement

Here on this page you can learn one of the cases of the cold air return working for the
finished basement:

List of materials needed for the project:

Single sheeting 14 x 6 cold air frame

Round elbow 6 pipe
6 damper zip screws
Sheeting nails

List of the tools needed for the project:

Cordless drill with magnetic sockets Hammer

Red snips Replaceable-blade snips
Tape measure Magic marker
Flat screwdriver Scratch awl

When people are finishing their basements off, they are usually creating a mechanical
room. This room is serving not only the purpose of separating noisy heating equipment
such as furnace, water heater and so on, but also serves as a storage room. From the
ductwork installation point of view, it makes easier to install a cold air return.

In order to better organize an explanation of the execution of this project I would like to
divide it in several steps:

Step # 1 14 x 6 frame installation:

As you see it in the P. 1 14 x 6 frame is installed on the face side of the wall 8 above
the floor. A frame on the picture is made on the field from 2 x x 26 sheet metal
angle. If you have this kind of material you have to do following:

Take a sheet metal angle in the left hand folded side

up with the tape measure hooked up to the right end of it
and by using the red aviation snips make a short cut at the
6 mark on the wide side
Make the next cut at the 20 mark
Cut the angle all the way down to the folded side in
both spots
Bend 6 pieces up at 90 degrees angle the frame is
ready for installation.

P. 1
In order to install the frame you should do following:

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 Put a mark on the studs 8 off the floor by using a tape measure, magic marker or
pencil
Set frames right lateral side on the studs pencil mark and drive the first sheeting
nail to the top. Before you do that, make sure that the frames left lateral side
reaches the stud to your left
Straighten up 6 piece of the frame and drive a second nail
Do the same on the left hand side
In some places you can buy 14 x 6 plastic frames, they are even easer to install.

Step # 2 Single sheeting installation:

On the most of the finished basement

mechanical rooms interior walls, the drywall
would be never installed. It is why you should
use a single sheeting to make a cold air duct. In
order to do that you have to do following:
Place a piece of single sheeting on the
studs so its bottom touch the floor, seam
up and the open part of it out make it
flush with the stud to your right and
drive a sheeting nail close to the top.
While doing that you can hold a piece in
place by using your left knee. Make
sure that a piece still flush with
P. 2 the stud and drive another nail to the
stud to your left
Drive as many sheeting nails as necessary considering that the distance between
them should be 6
Open Pittsburg seam with a screwdriver (P. 2) and stick the next piece of single
sheeting in (this is a double sheeting you are seeing in the P. 2)
Nail it the same way to the studs as the previous one, but start from the middle
Make a measurement for the last piece and cut it to length with the Replaceable-
blade snips
Before the last piece installation, cut a 6 round opening in it as it shown in P. 1.
Nail a piece on its place

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Step # 3 6 pipe installation:

As you see it in the P. 3, you have to hook up a 6 pipe to the cold air duct. In order to do
that you have to do following:

Line up opening in the sheeting with the

duct and trace crimped part of the 6
elbow around or use 6 template
Cut an opening in the duct with the red
aviation snips following inside of the line
Check out the opening by sticking in a 6
elbow: it must come in very tight
Leave the 6 elbow in the opening and
take a measurement between sheeting and
an elbow, add 2 to the result
P. 3
Step # 4 Cut a piece of pipe:

All the pipes you can buy at the box store are in the opened kind in bundles. It is because,
first, this way it is easier for their transportation pipes are united by ten pieces at once,
secondly, this way it is easier to cut them out.

To make a pipe ready for a cut, pipe should be separated from the others, for this purpose
grab both edges of a pipe at the same time and harshly pull it towards yourself, then grab
rest of the bundle with your left hand and use right hand to separate a pipe from the
others.

P. 4 P. 5
Put a pipe on the floor so the crimped part of it has appeared on the right hand
side
Take a tape measure in the left hand and replaceable-blades snips in the right hand
and hook up the tape measures blade to the pipes edge to the right

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 Stretch a tape measure out from the right to the left on a distance just a little bit
longer than you need for a cut (P. 4)

P. 6 P. 7
Put a replaceable-blades snips on the pipe under the necessary mark on the tape
measure and cut. Let tape measure to wind and put it back in the pouch
Keep cutting at a right angle to the seam of the pipe. At the same time, lift the
pipe up with your left hand to allow yourself to cut it to the halfway of the pipe
(P. 5)
Then reach to the lower seam with your left hand and grab it there. Put pipe on
your left thigh and keep cutting until you cut through another seam (P. 6)
If your grip is not strong enough, or the metal gauge is heavy, or you are cutting 3 or 4
pipes, you can start the cut through the seam with a pair of aviation snips or compound
leverage bulldog nose snips. Small sizes of pipe such as 3 4 you can keep cutting
with the aviation snips (P. 9).

Sometimes there is a necessity to cut a pipe from another hand side, it happens, when you
need a short piece of pipe or you need very precise cut and you are starting to cut the pipe
through both seams. In this case, match a mark on the tape measure with the edge of the
pipe, put replaceable-blades snips at the hook of the tape measure, and start your cut (P.
6).

How to cut a pipe straight:

In the other manuals, you can find very weird instructions for making a straight cut! They
are recommending mark the pipe to length on each side of the seam and once half way
around.
However, in the real live you should do following:
Once you started to cut follow the thin scratches, which you may see on the surface of the
pipe. Usually there are hundreds of them. They have occurred when pipes were flatted in
the machine.
In addition, when you cut with the straight-cut snips those snips has big flat surface,
which will help you to make a cut straight.
However, if you think that you need a really straight cut you can start cutting from the
both parts of the seam (see P.8) and after you started cutting aim snips to the second cut
through the seam.

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If you are cutting short piece of pipe just next to the crimp you have to do it with the red
aviation snips (see P. 9).

P. 8 P. 9
Step # 5 Damper installation:

Normally no one bother to install any dampers in the cold air return pipes. However, for
the finished basement it is necessary to do because in the summer time it is better to close
them off and draw more cold air return from upstairs. So, in order to do that you have to
do following:
Put one edge of the pipe on the floor and hold another in your left hand
Hit the pipe with the scratch awl in the place where you are planning to install a
damper (usually at 160* angle from the seam), turn it back and forth to make the
hole bigger
Insert a damper with the washer on in the pipe, run the bolt through the hole, put a
handle on and screw it down with the wing nut

Step # 6 Pipe, elbow installation:

Put an elbow on the pipe (elbow up,

damper down) and fasten it with three
zip screws
Shove the pipe in the opening in the
sheeting and stick the elbow into the
duct. If a hole in the duct was done right
the pipe will stay in place
Make a hanger from a piece of pipe or
from the 12 drive and fasten it to the
duct and to the pipe as it is shown in P.
10
P. 10
Go around the wall and make some cuts on the pipe sticking out inside of the
panned stud space
Bend pieces of pipe (tabs) out as it shown in the P. 1

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 Fill all gaps with the silicone sealant
Installation is complete.