Sealing around pipes (through vents)

[Malcolm Hoar]

The outside of my home has numerous air vents to the crawl space. These are covered with a wire mesh/grill to keep out vermin etc. So far, so good.

However, a couple of these vents have some pipes passing through them (a/c line set, condensate drain). And they were not tidily installed. One was packed with steel wool which is now disintegrating.

Question: how can I tidily close up these gaps in the mesh, around the pipes?

If they were running through the walls, I'd use Great Stuff or caulk depending on the size of the gaps to be filled, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to work well here.

I feel there ought to be an obvious right answer but I just can't think of it :-(

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Our A/C line set pass thru tje wall and the gap is filled with caulking. The installer used a bigger size tube with gun to squeeze in eoungh to ecomplete the seal. Another idea matbe epnding spray foam? It'll fill the gap. tight. After curing can trim the excess with utility knife.

[DD_BobK]

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Gary Player. |

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0|

Luckily I only inherited two messed mesh vents and both sloppy penetrations were in the lower corner of each vent.

I just got come hardware cloth of the same mesh and cut another rectangular piece to match.

I cut a neat & tidy hole (corner notch) for the pipe and overlaid the piece. Secured with black zip ties & then some SS wire twisted with safety wire pliers.

Of course the mesh is doubled but large flower pots and shrubs hide most of the vents anyway.

Caulk is not vermin proof nor as permanent.

cheers Bob

[N8N]

Heavy rubber sheet (think conveyor belt scraps or truck mudflaps?) with holes punched in them for the lines? Then screwed to mesh with machine screws and fender washers?

just a thought

nate

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Heavy rubber sheet (think conveyor belt scraps or truck mudflaps?) with holes punched in them for the lines? Then screwed to mesh with machine screws and fender washers?

just a thought

nate ===============

Pond liner it pretty tough stuff, too. I'd slide some around the pipes, and then use a caulk which remains flexible, like aquarium sealer.

[Tony]

If I'm picturing it right, I'd remove the vents or covers, cover the whole vent hole with wire lathe cut nicely around the pipes. Then replace the vent/covers. Or it may be easier to just add a little wire lathe patch around the pipes and replace the vent.

[willshak]

Malcolm Hoar wrote the following:

You could replace the rusty steel wool with Stainless Steel wool.