For a Bathroom Exhaust Fan to Be Efficient Does a Window Need to Be Open?

Insertion: How to Supervene upon a Toilet Exhaust Sports fan

They order nothing is dependable merely death and taxes, merely I'd equivalent to add a third: repairs! In indefinite week alone, three things broke down on us that had to be repaired. When you're a do-information technology-your-selfer and a blogger, you have to look on the bright side and call that a close week: repairs uncomparable can yield you a ton of things to write virtually!

For the Plate Melioration contest, I'm share-out a DIY on how to supplant a bathroom fan. 'Hidden' repairs are ones that go unremarked, but they can atomic number 4 the most epoch-making DIYs you'll do because they protect the investiture in your home - and your health. A well running (and installed) bath exhaust buff will help prevent mold growth which can trigger asthma and allergies. If you notice moisture stains connected your walls or ceilings, metallic element corrosion, seeable mold, peeling blusher or wall paper, cloudy windows and high levels of humidity, IT's time to change that fan. Other than the tight and awkward living quarters you have to function in, it's a fairly unambiguous repair - and well worth the effort to know that it's done right.

We weren't sorry to get a line our sexagenarian rooter go; It was so loud that my married woman could hardly hear Maine musical rubber pet to her only outside the can threshold. We really should have replaced it long before it conked out though: American Samoa (bad) luck would bear information technology, ours stopped working when the hottest and most humid dilute of brave out hit the States. Ironically, that was the same morning that our air conditioner broke down too, so past the afternoon our house was As hot A you know what and the attic was even hotter! Talk about sweat equity!!

Mistreat 1: You Will Need

  • replacement fan
  • ducting (different lengths and configurations)
  • tyvek coverall
  • safety mask
  • pucker tape
  • channel insularism (lonesome if you can't reuse the old stuff)
  • gloves (to wear piece moving insulation)
  • drill
  • drill bits
  • flat solid silver screws
  • tin snips
  • electrical bushing
  • cardboard loge to help transport supplies all immediately
  • portable light (and extension cord to pass to nearest electrical outlet)
  • ladder
  • plyboard (to put between the joists to help you walk around the attic)

Step 2: Remove the Old Fan

To start, I cut the office to the bathroom so I could disconnect the wiring safely without risk of electrocution! I then distant the old fan so I could find a replacement that would able-bodied without having to cut a big hole into the drywall. I temporarily taped a plastic bag over the hole later on removing the fan.

Since the fan is also connected to the light, and there isn't a window in the bathroom, I set up a work light outside the door.

I bastioned all the surfaces in the bathroom by taping plastic to the walls and on the stun to becharm whatsoever insulation/mess that might drop-off down when I was working in the Attic later.

Step 3: Inspect What You Have So You John Leverage Accordingly

I inspected the condition of the gaga ducting in the attic and discovered that the original 4″ pipe attached to the vent was poorly installed and there were a lot of gaps. I also discovered that the detergent builder cut too big a hole into the roof – which further explained the gaps. The picture shows what the middle-aged duct (and fan) looked like.

I found a specialty winnow store that sells to the building industry, but is open to the public. I took the old rooter with me to get the equivalent dimensions to well the hole in the ceiling, but I upgraded to a rustle quiet fan (only 1 sone). Any fan under 1.5 sones is considered to be quiet sol keep that in mind when shopping.

Another thing to keep in take care is the diam of the duct connective on the revolutionary housing. To maximize performance, try to match your duct diameter to the new fan. Our duct was in the beginning 4″ wide but because of the larger hole in the roof left by our builder, I opted to use a 5″ gasket ready to bridge the gaps at the roof air out and replace the 4″ ductwork with 5″ fittings. However, the replacement fan was 4" so I bought a duct reducer (installing the 4″ finish onto the fan and the 5″ end onto the new ductwork). There's nothing wrong with multiplicative the size of the ductwork, but don't ever act up the opposite or you wish restrict the exhaust from the fan!

All-in, it cost about $125 for the fan and supplies.

Step 4: Determine Your CFM Rating

With respect to carrying out, a fan's ability to move air is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM), thusly look to a CFM rating that will meet your necessarily by moving enough melodic line for the size of it of your bathroom. To determine your CFM evaluation, use the following formula:

Length x width x height of way x .13 = the tokenish CFM rating

In addition to the fan, I purchased a variety of new fittings. Get more than you think you need and return what you don't practice; there's nothing worsened than being stuck in the attic and past realizing that you sustain to expire to buy something you didn't get!.

Step 5: The Real Work Begins

I suited astir in a white Tyvek coverall, like the one envisioned, to protect against the scratchy insulation. I also wore a heavy duty mask: if you've ever had mice in the district, breathing in small particles from the mess they leave behind can throw you sick. You need to take the guard of wear a block out so you don't take a breather in any toxins.

This is off topic, but if you do find signs of mouse bodily function when you set about up there, you hind end toss out bags of warfarin pellets (if you can still buy in them) some the circumference of the attic to get rid of them (that's all extermination companies do). If you don't wont it completely up be secure to lock information technology away where kids and animals posterior't gain access to it for obvious reasons.

Step 6: Gather Supplies

I placed a ravel below our attic access and removed the panel (ours is in the bedchamber wardrobe). I took all my equipment up in a loge to keep it all together and do the trip only once. This included a drill, screws, nookie driver, tin snips, duct fittings, fan, electrical cylindrical lining, silver tuck tape, etc. I too took a buttony light connected an extension corduroy up with me to see (the light was run to another electrical power supply that was allay working).

If you haven't previously done work in the attic, you should place any runner strips of plywood crossways the joists so you can walk around without jeopardy of falling through the drywall! I had already ripped down whatsoever plywood for this purpose a few years agone so I was good to go out. Once in the attic, I pushed aside all the blown in insulation so I could site the electrical wiring and hole in the ceiling of our bathroom (this is where masking the hole with a brightly covered bag came in handy; it was abundant to spot). Don some gloves when manipulation the insulation - it can be itchy.

Step 7: Initiation

I removed the plastic grip, positioned the current fan dead body over the hole out in the ceiling and past screwed it into the joists. A metal denude (shown in the first picture) was attached to the back to help secure it foster to the joist (information technology lav reduce sidelong to side vibration). Depending on where your hole is positioned 'tween the joists, you may have to install anywhere from cardinal to 4 of these strips to secure it.

Our fan was positioned right beside the joist so I only needed same new strip at the hindmost.

Next, I installed the electrical bushing onto the fan (it protects the wire) and then FRS the wire through and connected it. I used pucker tape to seal all along the edges of the fan.

Gradation 8: Connect Gasket and Sugarless Healthy

At the roof line, I old a 5" gasket with a cachet around information technology for the connection to the roof vent. This is a practically better solution than the straight endure with free cuts the constructor previously installed because it seals any gaps. I used tin snips to cut away one side of the gasket to conniption it flush against the joist in order to line information technology up with the roof vent. Once fit, I in the raw the tape recording off the gasket and pressed IT aweigh onto the bottom of the roof. I pre-drilled and inserted screws complete around the gasket.

I dry fit the gold-bearing ducting, starting with the reducer at the sports fan, until I eventually got it all to line up with the roof vent.

As you can see in the last picture, one of the pieces of ducting is jointed sol it lav be twisted into just about any position to line the duct work rising with the roof vent.

Step 9: Connect to the Roof and Seal

With all the dry fitting all, I pre-drilled a hole into each epithelial duct joint and installed a few 8 x 1/2"screws to hold the sections into position. And so I wrapped all joint with silver tuck tape to seal IT.

Step 10: Test Electrical Connection and Isolate

Ahead finishing the insulation, I upset the world power back on to make surely everything was running smoothly. Then I wrong-side-out the superpowe hinder off again as a precaution and went back into the territory to wrap the pipe with insulation and tie IT on with cord (I reused the old insulation that was originally there).

The last footprint is to return all the blown-in insulation to its original position between the joists.

Step 11: You're Done

I brought every my tools back off and closed the attic access panel.

The worst step is to install the plastic cap cover over the fan to finish it turned; it attaches with alloy clips. Now the fan purrs like a kitten; bring connected the rubber dearie!

Step 12: Please Voter turnout

If you found this Instructable helpful, please vote for IT in the home melioration repugn!

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For a Bathroom Exhaust Fan to Be Efficient Does a Window Need to Be Open?

Source: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Replace-a-Bathroom-Exhaust-Fan/

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