The original post: /r/diy by /u/RUSS0LINI on 2024-12-22 21:56:21.
I just purchased a small house that was newly remodeled. The old furnace was replaced but the two air returns were left for some reason. They are no longer used but instead of filling them in with something or even just putting the new baseboard over them they went with covering them with metal grates. So now they are basically open holes that go right into the crawlspace. So the wonderful 1955 crawlspace air comes up through them. Its a combo of dusty, musty, rusty and crusty. All the yee’s pretty much. I’m going to replace the whole piece of baseboard in the hallway and half of it in the living room, but i feel like i should plug them up with something too right? Try to patch a piece of plywood in there? Squirt a bunch of expanding foam in there? Stuff it with cut up pool noodles? I googled but couldn’t find anything like this. Thanks for any help or ideas. Also, that is my dog’s nose in the photo. He was zero help btw.
