Bathroom exhaust fan..?
Question:First off, I'm a novice with home repair. I need to replace my bathroom exhaust fan because it is inop. In preparing to do the job I went up into the attic and the existing fan is not vented through the roff, but just into the attic space. Is this standard? Seems like the humidity would build up and cause some issues??
Answers:
can cause mold issues its best to vent through the roof with 4" insulated duct needs insulated duct else you will have condensation dripping back in your bathroom.
try to locate a Panasonic fan its almost silent and its the only energy star rated fan available. I have not found them at any home centers but a good plumbing or electrical supply house will have them E-bay has them also.
make sure you seal tight around the fan and the wall board , I seen a fan suck air from the attic through the tiny crack around the sheet rock.
IN the codes, it should go to the out side of the house. Do you have a whole house fan? Maybe whoever thought that would do the trick.NOT. Bye
actually no...the top (roof) of most homes is so hot all the water evaporates...if it's not vented by a tube, then don't cut holes in the roof (you'll be making a mistake if you don't know what you're doing...) Most roofs have ridge vents or roof fans that pull the hot air out and vent the roof/attic.
Just replace the fan, making sure you get the same size that will fit in the hole in the ceiling.
you are correct. it should be vented thru the roof. with a little ingenuity, you can do it. you can cut a hole in the roof to put the vent through, let it stick up above roof a couple of feet, get a roof flange at a lumber yard or Lowe's or wherever. they have a unit especially for bathroom vents,. it has a flapper in it. get a good one. it is a one time installation. ask a knowledgeable person what is involved. not hard to do. go not vent into attic. not dangerous, but unwise. go for it.
Needs to be vented out the roof. Maybe you can flexduct it to an existing roof vent.
Thats normal,,
Great question - we have the same thing in our house and always wondered about it. It hasn't caused us any problems in 5 years so I guess it's okay. It seems like it would cause more problems if you put a hole in your roof and don't know what you are doing.
this was commen in the 70s and early 80s but it is not good the best thing to do is to vent it outside you will have trouble in the winter if you live in a cold snow belt
Most vent fans are the same size. So the new one should fit into the old space. You can go to a home store or to the manufactures website and get a replacement motor if you don't want to replace the whole thing. As for the vent. It has to be vented outside and can't be combined with another vent. The water being vented into the attic will eventually rot the wood on the underside of the roof. It also makes the insulation damp. When its damp its less effective. Just go get some 4" insulated flex duct and two hose clamps. You can pick it up at any home store in the heating isle. If you don't want to go out the roof you can get a dryer vent and go out one of the gable end walls in the attic. You can use a jigsaw or sawsall to make the 4" hole.
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