Bathroom renovation is coming to a close and this week I installed a bathroom vent fan in the original ceiling hole where original fan was. I still need to run the duct pipe but am running into some questions.
Bathroom is on the second floor and I can run a duct pretty easily since I have attic access. The attic has attic windows on the gable ends of the house, the one nearest to the bathroom (where the previous fan was ducted to) had the window removed, a big plywood board installed where the window previously sat with a gable vent also installed in this plywood. The previous owner just aimed a flexible metal duct as far into the gable vent as possible and hoped the fan had enough power to push the exhaust outside. Of course, ignoring that the gas being expelled would just be sucked back into the attic via the gable vent...
So I'd like to drill a hole into the plywood board under and to the side of the gable vent (try to keep it from re-entering the attic). Gable vent is installed more or less in the center of previous window opening and the bathroom vent would go in the lowest corner. The problem is that I need to screw/nail the outdoor hood vent cap (one of those with a flapper and animal screen you can buy anywhere) from the outside. The problem is that this side of the house is more or less on the fourth floor up. Exposed basement wall, 2 floors and then attic. The idea of getting all the way up to the other side of this plywood/gable vent is pretty undesirable. I don't even own a ladder that tall.
Anything I can do to install this vent from the inside that doesn't require me to do it from the outside?
The only thing I can think of is from the attic, to remove the plywood board from the window framing, install the vent hood on the outside side of it and then reinstall the plywood.
But at that point, I might as well do the job correctly and seal the opening properly. When the window was removed, the plywood to seal up the opening should have had some house wrap and then siding. Pretty sure the only barrier between th attic and outside is plywood. At the very least, the previous owner did paint it. I also have soffit and ridge vents so Im thinking I dont need this extra gable vent; this is probably messing with normal roof venting. Im kinda loath to mess with this; go to install a fan duct and it also turns into a gable vent removal lol.
Second issue, how do you secure/hang the pipe when it needs to run above the ceiling joists? If I had to suspend the pipe under the joists, there are plenty of hangers I could use. But running above the joists of the second floor ceiling in the attic, that's upside down from typical. I need to run the duct horizontally to reach the gable end of the house about a foot above the joists. If I had to, I have enough scrap wood to build up a platform every 2 feet or so. Is there something a little quicker or even a little elegant? If its expensive, then I'll chop up a few 2x4s and screw them all together to the desired height to get the job done.
I can supply pics if needed...
Bathroom is on the second floor and I can run a duct pretty easily since I have attic access. The attic has attic windows on the gable ends of the house, the one nearest to the bathroom (where the previous fan was ducted to) had the window removed, a big plywood board installed where the window previously sat with a gable vent also installed in this plywood. The previous owner just aimed a flexible metal duct as far into the gable vent as possible and hoped the fan had enough power to push the exhaust outside. Of course, ignoring that the gas being expelled would just be sucked back into the attic via the gable vent...
So I'd like to drill a hole into the plywood board under and to the side of the gable vent (try to keep it from re-entering the attic). Gable vent is installed more or less in the center of previous window opening and the bathroom vent would go in the lowest corner. The problem is that I need to screw/nail the outdoor hood vent cap (one of those with a flapper and animal screen you can buy anywhere) from the outside. The problem is that this side of the house is more or less on the fourth floor up. Exposed basement wall, 2 floors and then attic. The idea of getting all the way up to the other side of this plywood/gable vent is pretty undesirable. I don't even own a ladder that tall.
Anything I can do to install this vent from the inside that doesn't require me to do it from the outside?
The only thing I can think of is from the attic, to remove the plywood board from the window framing, install the vent hood on the outside side of it and then reinstall the plywood.
But at that point, I might as well do the job correctly and seal the opening properly. When the window was removed, the plywood to seal up the opening should have had some house wrap and then siding. Pretty sure the only barrier between th attic and outside is plywood. At the very least, the previous owner did paint it. I also have soffit and ridge vents so Im thinking I dont need this extra gable vent; this is probably messing with normal roof venting. Im kinda loath to mess with this; go to install a fan duct and it also turns into a gable vent removal lol.
Second issue, how do you secure/hang the pipe when it needs to run above the ceiling joists? If I had to suspend the pipe under the joists, there are plenty of hangers I could use. But running above the joists of the second floor ceiling in the attic, that's upside down from typical. I need to run the duct horizontally to reach the gable end of the house about a foot above the joists. If I had to, I have enough scrap wood to build up a platform every 2 feet or so. Is there something a little quicker or even a little elegant? If its expensive, then I'll chop up a few 2x4s and screw them all together to the desired height to get the job done.
I can supply pics if needed...
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