Vent Makes Noise

Kathy Burke now lives in a noisy house in Chatham, Ontario, Canada.

She caused the problem, but didn't mean to.

A cold-air return vent makes noise.

Here's her full report:

"We have a small 950 sq. ft home with two return vents.

We have never covered this one vent since living here as it was behind a cabinet.

I purchased a cover and when it is put over the vent, the pull of air is so strong the vent whistles loudly.

The cover just fits the hole.

Would it whistle less if I buy a larger cover?

The hole originally had large pieces of foam stuck in it which I removed. The hole is 8" x 14". Thanks so much."

Here's the noise maker. What do you think is the answer? Photo credit: Kathy Burke

Here's my solution to the problem:

Kathy, the vent is now making noise because the opening is being restricted too much by the vent cover.

You're on the right track to the solution!

You need to make the opening bigger to stop the noise.

I'm sure the return air is between two wall studs, so to make this easy you need to enlarge the hole by going up.

Your challenge is going to be locating a vent cover that is twice as tall but the same width.

Report back after you complete the job.

Tim Carter

Tim built custom homes and did ultra-custom remodeling for 20+ years before launching his Ask the Builder media presence. He was selected as one of the Big 50 by Remodeling magazine in 1993. This award gave birth to Ask the Builder in October 1993. Tim also operates https://DrawPlumbingPlans.com. His @askthebuilder YouTube channel was the first home improvement channel on YouTube.