The duct work for baseboard diffusers actually penetrates the floor space right next to the wall but not the wall itself. These registers are the most inconspicuous option since they tend to blend into the room well. In this how-to video, This Old House plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey gives a facelift to an old, banged-up baseboard heater. A baseboard diffuser is used in homes which have their duct openings at the edges of floors, or the bottoms of walls. These diffusers allow air to pass in and out of.

In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey explains how to replace a baseboard heating cover. Steps: 1 Slide wood shims behind the back plate of the baseboard heater. 2 Use reciprocating saw to cut nails or screws holding back plate to wall.

3 Pull the adjustable damper from the hangers, and discard. 4 Prop up heating element, then use slotted screwdriver to pry the back plate from the hangers.

5 Slip the back plate out from behind the finned heating element, and discard. Patch 2.4 New Badge Gear. 6 Vacuum the heating element clean of all dust and dirt. 7 Slide new hangers behind heating element.

8 Mark the locations of the wall studs. 9 Slip the new back plate behind the heating element. 10 Snap hangers into the back plate.

11 Screw the back plate to wall studs with 1 1/4-inch drywall screws. 12 Attach the damper to the new back plate. 13 Slide on the end caps, flip up the flaps. 14 Snap the front cover onto the hangers; close end-cap flaps.

Begin the process by determining your longest wall. If you have a piece of baseboard molding that is longer than the actual wall, you can do this first wall with just one baseboard. If this is the case, measure carefully and then cut each end of the baseboard at 90 degrees to run directly into each side's perpendicular wall. If you need two pieces for the first wall, join the two pieces with a scarf joint. A scarf joint marries two 45-degree cuts on different boards (Image 1). If possible, cut and situate the two boards so that the scarf joint can be secured to the wall at a stud location. Start with two pieces of baseboard that have 90-degree cuts at opposite ends.

To create the scarf joint in the middle, place the first board in place and mark a 45-degree cut at a stud location. Using the miter saw, cut this end of the first board at a 45-degree angle and sand it smooth.

Don't oversand. Hammer it in place with a few finish nails, keeping the heads exposed. Measure the other board, being very careful to draw exactly the 45-degree cut from the board already in place. Cut the end of the second board at the proscribed 45-degree cut and fit the two pieces together (Image 2).