Replacing Bathroom Exhaust Fan
#1
08-19-09, 01:14 PM
Replacing Bathroom Exhaust Fan
I have considered replacing the exhaust fan in my bathrooms to something a lot quieter. The house has sheetrock. I could do it one of two ways, from the attic or cut a bigger hole in the sheetrock and then replace the hole with a new piece of sheetrock. This would be more work, but what I’m concerned about is the insulation in the attic. It is the blown in stuff, a 1 yr old house and if I go walking up there, I will be stepping on it, pushing it down, making it less effective….
Any advice?
Curtis
Any advice?
Curtis
#2
08-19-09, 01:36 PM
and if I go walking up there, I will be stepping on it,
#3
08-19-09, 01:39 PM
This fan is bigger, which you will be replacing the whole thing, so you need room to nail it to the studs, etc. That's why you must cut a bigger hole, much bigger to be able to do all of that, if you don't come the top.
#4
08-19-09, 01:50 PM
A couple of screws through the case of the fan into the ceiling joist should hold. Screws are a lot easier to use and hold a lot better. Nails are almost never a good solution.You may be able to remove the old fan when you enlarge for the new one. If not just be careful to step only on the joists. I would certainly never make the hole larger then the fan.
#5
08-19-09, 04:06 PM
For this one reason alone, you really need to go in the attic: To be able to insulate above and around the bath fan. How you going to pull that off, properly, from below?
I try to walk on truss crotches when up in the attic (it kinda hurts though), to keep from squashing that cotton candy-like blown in fluff, up in attics, any more than I have to. Then I refluff insulation on my way back out. And hopefully you choose a cooler cloudy day to be up there.
The newer larger squirrel cage fans turn slower, make way less noise because of that, and move a lot more air. Very surprising when you see the thing spin, how that much air can be made, compared to the high velocity loud tiny fanbladed jobbies.
I try to walk on truss crotches when up in the attic (it kinda hurts though), to keep from squashing that cotton candy-like blown in fluff, up in attics, any more than I have to. Then I refluff insulation on my way back out. And hopefully you choose a cooler cloudy day to be up there.
The newer larger squirrel cage fans turn slower, make way less noise because of that, and move a lot more air. Very surprising when you see the thing spin, how that much air can be made, compared to the high velocity loud tiny fanbladed jobbies.
