This is the easiest job in the catalogue. No tools, no fasteners, no sealant. The register drops into the hole and gravity does the rest.
Why there are no screws
A floor register is held by its own weight and by the faceplate overlapping the duct opening. That overlap is about three-quarters of an inch on each side, which is enough to keep it centred and to hide the cut edge of the sheet metal.
It also means the register has to be stiff enough to stay flat on its own. Thin stock bows in the middle once someone stands on it, and once it bows it rattles. Our registers are heavy-gauge steel with an edge-folded faceplate for that reason.
The part people get wrong
Prying. The old register has been sitting in that hole for years and sometimes paint has sealed the edge. The instinct is to get a flat-head screwdriver under the lip and lever it up, which puts all the force into whatever flooring surrounds the opening. On hardwood that leaves a dent. On tile it can chip a glaze.
Pull straight up instead. If paint has it stuck, score the perimeter with a utility knife first and then lift.
Carpet, tile and wood
Same register, slightly different behaviour. On carpet the faceplate beds into the pile and any small unevenness disappears. On tile or hardwood it sits on a hard surface, so a warped faceplate shows up immediately as a corner you can rock with your foot.
If you are installing onto a hard floor, that is the case for heavier gauge. There is nothing forgiving underneath it.
Setting the damper
The lever opens and closes a pair of blades under the face. Leave it fully open until the whole system is running the way you want, then use it to throttle rooms that run hot.
One caution: do not close more than a few registers in a house. Supply dampers balance a system, they are not a way to shut rooms off. Closing too many raises static pressure and makes the blower work harder than it was sized for.
If the size is wrong
Stop before you force anything. Go and measure the duct opening, send the two numbers to support@brycehardware.com, and we will tell you which of the six standard sizes fits, or tell you plainly that we do not make it.
Step by step
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Pull the old register straight up
Hook a finger through the louvers or lift by the damper lever and pull vertically. Do not pry against the floor. These sit loose in the duct and levering a screwdriver under the edge will chip whatever flooring you have.
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Clear the duct lip
Reach in and sweep the metal ledge the register rests on. Paint flecks, grit and carpet fibre collect there over the years, and a single chip under one corner is what makes a new register rock.
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Check the size before you commit
Measure the metal opening if you have not already. Width first, the shorter dimension. A 4x10 register fits a 4in x 9.75in opening, and the faceplate it covers with is 5.5in x 11.5in.
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Set it in flat
Lower it straight down. Sliding it in at an angle is what catches a corner. The edge-folded faceplate should sit flush on the floor all the way round, with the damper lever reachable.
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Set the damper and walk on it
Open the damper fully to start. Then step on the register. If it rocks, lift it and check the lip again, because the usual cause is nearly always debris, not the size.