Investor · Lee's summit, MO · Member since 2016 · 75 posts · 45 votes
Hey everyone, got a weird flip project in working on. Pretty sure it was a grow house or something worse before I owned. Anyway, the previous occupants put spray foam(looks like Great Stuff) in 5 of the vents and I'm having he'll trying to remove it.
Has anyone ever seen something so bizarre and if so do you have any recommendations to remeduly
Investor · Douglasville, GA · Member since 2014 · 313 posts · 181 votes
9y
if the vents are completely full, you are probably better off replacing them than trying to clean them out. If it is just near the vents/registers, then you can probably cut it out as close to the inside edges of the vent as possible. that stuff cuts pretty easy with a serrated knife.
You wont get all the stuff out. Try a sawzall or a jabsaw to cut out as much as you can. Don't puncture the ductwork. If you have flexible ductwork then jut replace the ductwork. They have a hand scraper / planer for rigid insulation that you could use but that's a lot of elbow grease.
HVAC Tech · Fort Wayne, IN · Member since 2015 · 423 posts · 223 votes
9y
I would go in attic, or wherever vents originate from and verify that they are even attached to the ductwork before wasting your time. Is it possible mini splits or a boiler was put in. I've found "growers" like mini splits.
Stoneham, MA · Member since 2017 · 56 posts · 186 votes
9y
I saw a similar situation once in a house with a bad rodent problem. What a fantastic solution!..... Ugh.
If it's not too thick you can cut most of it out with a drywall knife. If they emptied an entire can in there... you may be looking at cutting the duct out and replacing