Whether your project is a start-to-finish build or a renovation, choosing the perfect linear bar grille is an underrated and important task. A bar grille, which will cover the air vents in your space, blends into the room effortlessly when chosen well, but can cause problems without proper preparation. Not only can grilles look out of place with the wrong aesthetic, they can also allow too much or too little air in the room, causing discomfort. With four easy steps, you can make the right choice easily.
1. Choose the right style
Before you measure the wall, floor or ceiling opening for your grille, decide which type of grille you’d like. You’ve already decided on linear over perforated, but there’s one more stylistic choice to make: flanged or flangeless. If you’re new to linear bar grilles, a flanged grille is simply one with a lip around the outer edge, which hides any space between the wall and the grille. Flanged grilles are more popular in visible areas, as they blend the grille and wall seamlessly into one structure.
2. Measure your space
Now it’s time to measure. You’ll start by measuring the length and width of your grille, represented by X and Y respectively in the diagram. Your wall, floor or ceiling opening should equal X and Y with some added space depending on the frame type you’ve chosen. If you’re going with flanged, add an extra 1/8”, as the flanges will cover that space. With the flangeless, your grille will be mostly flush with the surface onto which it’s installed, so you’ll only add 1/16”.
If you’re unsure about your measurements, don’t worry. Send our team the rough opening dimensions and we can deduct the proper clearance for your project.
3. Get the perfect air flow
Next, settle on the proper air flow for the room in which you’re installing the grille(s). A variety of factors determine this, from the size of the grille and the opening to the degree of deflection. It all depends on where your grille will be and in what kind of room. For a larger space, a greater air flow might be ideal, whereas a smaller room may require a grille that can restrain some of the flow.
4. Make it personal
The final step is choosing a design of linear bar grille that fits your stylistic needs. This not only means choosing a color or metal, it also means deciding on the shape and size of your grilles. At Coco Metalcraft, we have several types of metals—aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel and steel—as well as finishing variations on those options. We also offer L-Bead installation options to provide your linear bar grille with a flush finish, creating the illusion that the grill was built into the wall. It’s important that your linear bar grille matches the room it’s in and blends into the aesthetics of your space.
No matter the scale of your project, our sales team and craftsmen are ready and willing to help you pick the perfect linear bar grilles. Make sure to view our product catalog for a full, detailed list of our products. For a consultation or to order your bar grilles today contact us at 631.482.9449 or sales@cocometalcraft.com.