How to Get Dryer Vents Close to a Wall

One problem you often run into when you install your dryer vent on vinyl or aluminum siding is the vent not sitting flat against your home. Instead of mounting the vent directly to your siding, mount your dryer vent on a surface mounting block, which has ridges on the back edge to accommodate the vinyl or aluminum siding. Purchase a surface mounting block at your local home builder's store or order one online in a special color to match your home's siding.

Scribe
Tin snips
1/8-inch drill bit
Drill
3-inch wood screws
Phillips driver bit

Instructions

- 1
  Center the surface mounting block's hole over the vent hole in your siding. Open a scribe to the largest gap between the siding and the mounting block. Trace this gap along the mounting block's side. Repeat on the mounting block's other side.
- 2
  Cut the surface mounting block's sides along the scribe lines with a tin snips. Center the mounting block over the siding's hole once again and check that it now fits tightly in place. Make any necessary adjustments. Use a pencil to mark the mounting block's screw holes onto the siding, then set the mounting block aside.
- 3
  Drill 1/8-inch pilot holes through each screw hole marking. Slide the short pipe, supplied with the vent, onto the vent's back side. Put the short pipe through the surface mounting block's center hole and line up the vent's screw holes with the mounting block's screw holes.
- 4
  Slide the short pipe through the hole in the siding and position the surface mounting block tight to the siding's surface, with the screw holes lined up. Drive 3-inch wood screws through the vent and mounting block's holes and into the house's side, through all four screw holes.

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