move to a house with bath fan vent to attic
Jeffrey
Just moved to a house with the exhaust bath fan venting into the attic
and not in a soffit or roof/wall. The Home Inspector checked the
electricals and mechanicals but did miss the vent hose venting to the
attic.
Is this a norm when the houses were built in 1980? I bet some of the
neighbors have the same setup. Not good ventilation I say, this invites
molds.
On a ballpark, how much is installation of a bath exhaust fan anyway?
Thanks.
Jeffrey
Jonathan Kamens
>Is this a norm when the houses were built in 1980?
It's still the norm for bad or crooked builders. It's a common
shortcut taken by builders who want to crank out new houses as fast as
possible without regard for actually doing quality work. Most of the
time, the people buying the houses don't notice, and it usually takes
long enough for problems to develop as a result of venting humid air
into the attic that the new-home warranty has expired and/or the
builder and his company have disappeared.
>Not good ventilation I say, this invites molds.
Yes, it's a singularly bad idea.
>On a ballpark, how much is installation of a bath exhaust fan anyway?
If I understand correctly, you're saying that the bathroom is right
below the attic and the fan vents directly into the attic. If that's
correct, then you don't need to install a new fan; you just need to run
a duct in the attic from the outlet of the existing fan to a one-way
vent installed in the wall of the attic. Shouldn't cost more than a
few hundred dollars, if you can find a competent handyman willing to
take the job. Or you can just do it yourself if you're handy enough.
v
>On a ballpark, how much is installation of a bath exhaust fan anyway?
What league are we playing in? The cost when a house has been framed
but before finishes? The cost to change out the guts of an already
installed unit with an identical one? The cost to cut out an existing
unit and re-install a different unit which may need a larger or
smaller hole than the old one? The cost to run ducts and are they
open in an accessible attic or closed up in finished walls and
ceilings?
What do you mean by "installation" - what it cost originally when the
house was built, or what it would cost now to extend ducting to the
exterior?
Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.
Jeffrey
wrote:
>
> What do you mean by "installation" - what it cost originally when the
> house was built, or what it would cost now to extend ducting to the
> exterior?
>
The answer is the latter. I had it done today actually to have a roofer
installed a gas base and bonnet for the fan in the roof. Cost for labor
and parts is $200.00