I had a contractor run some new flex ducts in the basement I'm finishing. The installed boots are a bit misshapen (see photos). Does that really matter once the drywall goes up and the registers are installed? Wondering whether I should push back or if this is not a big deal.

 

That's not unusual. Until the register is installed there is nothing to keep it square. If it was mine, I would cut a piece of plywood or osb the right size, drill a big hole in the middle as a pull handle and stick it in there to keep it the correct shape for the drywallers. Because they will just go around what's there.

 

Yes.... you should square them up.
Adding an additional support would be a good idea too.

You need the flange to be flat so that your register screws have a place to go.

I like to use a piece of wood (1x2, 1x3) on either side of the boot from joist to joist.

 

Good point about the backing Pete. There's nothing to screw the register to otherwise.

 

Ok, I've got some scraps of OSB lying around that I can cut to size as temporary inserts.

Don't mind framing around them with 1x2 as well to provide something for the screws to bite into.

Great suggestions, thanks.

And lastly... $1,300 for roughly 60 linear feet of insulated flex duct across five registers. Is that a decent price these days, given material costs? I priced it out to roughly $300 in materials from HD. Doing as much as I can myself, but this was one of those situations where I felt more comfortable letting someone else cut holes in the duct trunks than risk slicing a forearm open, etc. So any price is worth the price, I suppose. Just curious.

 

Sounds a little on the high side....
In most markets trade prices are higher now then they've been.
Basically a shortage of trades people which means labor prices are on the higher side.

 

jayboy75.

I recently pulled out about 100ft of flex duct, and 5 registers in my suspended ceiling basement and replaced with metal pipe and new registers. The flex was put in at least 20 years ago. I saw it enter all kinds of crevices, bends, narrow space below floor joists etc. I wasn't getting any air out of any of the registers. My journey started when I started to "wonder why" there is no air from those registers. One of the registers had a 20ft flex duct but it stopped 5 ft short of the trunk duct where it was supposed to be connected. The registers were all misshaped like the one you posted. One of them even had the collar separated from the body. It seemed they installed what they had on hand.

Based on my experience, and understanding where you are on your project, I think there is still an opportunity here to do some diligence.

1) Registers normally screw into a flange on the short sides on the boots. If left as is the registers can only screw into drywall that is next to the short side. When I installed registers, I bent 1" on all four sides and formed a flange
2) I would walk along each flex duct run to make sure each run is connected to the trunk or branch line and not spliced off another register. Inspect for tears and any bends to make sure the duct is not pinched. Ideally bends should use metal elbows. It also helps to visualize future installations below the duct path (like closets) to help understand if the duct will get squished when that installation is done.
3) Inspect places where the flex duct goes across floor joists and crosses over from one room with joists running in one direction to the next with joists running perpendicular
3) I would run my hand inside each register to make sure there are no gaps in joints and collars have not separated. I would recommend leather sheet metal gloves that extend over the forearms
4) check to make sure flex duct butt joints are done using metal flex connectors