Cut ceiling joist to make room for fan?
I want to put a bath fan inside my shower. The tub/shower is 32″ deep x 60″ wide x 8ft high (ceiling cbu is flush with ceiling drywall). There is a joist that runs straight down the middle of the shower length.
- Second floor bath
- Only unfinished attic above
- One shower wall is a supporting wall
Joists do not go all the way from front to back of house. Joist goes from back of house and overlaps the supporting wall by a few inches. Another joist then takes the load to the front of the house.
Can I safely cut the middle joist, frame a box out big enough for the bath fan/light, and cross brace the cut joist with the two joists next to it?
If yes, can I use #9 deck screws to install the cross bracing? I read a thread here somewhere where many of you use screws in renovation versus nailing (where space is tight). I think it was #9 screws that was recommended given the shear strength needed.
The reason I want to put a bath fan/light in the shower (vs outside) is to allow more light in the shower. It’s a small bathroom and the shower is quite dark once you draw the curtain.
Another option is to have only a bath fan vent off center…wouldn’t really bother me much. I could then install 4 small recessed lights.
Any recommendations for the 4 small lights? I know I need a shower rated bulb, housing, and trim kit.
Replies
More than likely-yes.
We do not know the span nor size of said joists nor any real loads other than attic floor.
but for a fan, there's surely a way to center it and not #### up the works.
Best of luck
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Most likely you can do what you describe - or, you could use a remote fan in the attic. You should be doubling joists and nailing.
Here's a great LV shower light:
http://www.contrastlighting.com/en/prod.htm#312inchesshower
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Jeff
Edited 9/10/2009 1:21 am ET by Jeff_Clarke
if there are no point loads involved, cut out and head off the cut joist to the adjacent joists, then double up the adjacent joists ..
Use structural screws (like GRK brand) -- deck screws (since many now come from China) are unreliable in strength.
Hi all,
Sorry for not responding sooner. The span of the joist is approximately 7-8 feet. After examining the joists in my attic, I don't think I will be able to properly carry a new joist into the attic, push it toward the soffits and nail/screw it in properly. I'm a 1 man crew for the most part.
Plan B will be to put a 4 or 6 inch vent outside but near the shower.
Thanks for the advice. It is always greatly appreciated...and in this case also taught me to know what my limits are.
By the way you can't put a bathroom fan within a shower by code. You can put a grille, duct and remote fan, but not an electrical device.
<eta - unless the fan is specifically approved for such a location and on a GFCI circuit and if Bill Hartmann says it's OK ;o) >
Jeff
Edited 9/16/2009 7:44 am ET by Jeff_Clarke
"By the way you can't put a bathroom fan within a shower by code."
Really? Izzat new? I've had several I installed inspected and approved. So long as the fixture is rated for shower install, the inspector is cool with it.Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
"So long as the fixture is rated for shower install"
Can you post an example of a non-remote fan rated for mounting (UL wet location) in a shower where you could touch the fixture?
Thanks,
Jeff
I know I've used Broans and Nutones on shower ceilings. The only issue I know of with the inspector was that the glass for the light had to have a water resistant seal -- usually a foam gasket. And as for the GFCI, my inspector only requires them if the switch is reachable from the tub/shower. If not, it's optional, IIRC.
That said, I have no idea what the code call for. (I just smile and do whatever my inspector says.)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
Yep, that's what I plan on doing regardless of where it's located. I like the fact that the remote fans are much more powerful and quieter.
Hunh?My master electricians have been doing that for the past twenty years.Just finished the sheetrock around one on this job. I gotta take it out now?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Seems that there are units approved for such location so long as they are on a GFCI circuit ... I'd like to know which models are for my own information. Now you have a fan load on a GFCI circuit with all *those* issues.
Jeff
All the Nutones, (broans b/4 and after) panasonics have been suitable for wet locations for a long long time. I have never purchased a bath exhaust fan that hasn't been so labeled.
I suppose with all the current warning labeling we've seen come up, there was that one guy that tried to change out a light bulb or putz with the fan motor while taking a shower. Stranger things have happened.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I don't know the models. I just tell them, "I want a fanlight there"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You're probably better off with it outside of the shower door. It will catch the vapor just as well and double as a fart fan too.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
the easiest way to get long joists into the attic (hope its a bungalow) is to insert then through the soffit! .. between the roof deck and the wall top plates .. easy, even for us 1 man bands
Do you have access to the ceiling? Consider using steel. On the bottom of the joist, use strap steel screwed to the joists to transfer load. On the top, you could use angle iron screwed to either/both side of the joist to take care of that load. Seems much easier than bracing and inserting additional joists, etc. Just thinking out loud, not sure if this fits w/ your situation, but maybe it will give you more ideas.
I'd get a brighter shower curtain.
Can you simply improve the existing light-fan?
Edited 9/16/2009 11:17 am ET by MrJalapeno
Edited 9/16/2009 11:22 am ET by MrJalapeno