Buying my first house and in the bathroom the vent fan just blows into the attic. It was disconnected so I have no mold up there. I would like to run the vent pipe to exhaust under the eve. Is this okay? Thanks
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Under the eave is not the best place because the moisture could get drawn into the soffit vents and return to the attic. Preferred is to run it through the roof.
If you don't get many answers, try posting in Breaktime. That's where the contractors hang out.
Wayne is exactly correct, and Id like to add. Soffit vents can cause huge repair bills. The moist air returns and creates a fan shaped mold/ mildew area up the inside layer of the roof. The tear out and replacement cost can be staggering over this seemingly small mistake.
I have had many people concerned with going through the roof, if this is an issue, you can run hose, like dryer venting to the closest gable end. The trick is that you need a bath fan strong enough to handle the length of the run, as it can easily be 20 ft of hose. I cant give you a scientific equation, but if its a quality fan, you wont have a problem. A quality fan will be quieter as well. I also add some screen in the vent damper.... you dont want bees in the bath.
-zen
We have tried to fix a some bad installations by running them to a soffit vent. That is an improvement but the heat and steam just float against the soffit plywood and flake the paint and turn to ice. Just put it in a roof jack and forget it. Or out a gable vent if you can do that
Wallrat,
Wayne and zendo know their stuff, so I always sit up and pay attention to thems guys.
and, i, too, am looking at a bathroom vent. try clicking on this here link: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=53073.1
you'll be glad you did!
there are a whole host of right smart fellers there who will give you plenty to read about on this subject.
I am on the verge of deciding to go with a horizontal vent out the side, mostly cause one day we hope to raise the roof, and any venting ducts going up would be right where the new master bedroom would be.
good luck!
Megan
Ok, how is hector more than one person?
ok hector explain your tricks, identify yourself and send me a pic! lol
-zen
zen,
i might have imagined that you'd be the one to suss that out!!!
i have been reading FHB and Breaktime for years (decades?), mostly as a lurker, trying to figure out how in the heck to build/design a house on 15 acres we bought in Oregon (so beautiful, it takes your breath away, that place is!)
well, life has its own plans sometimes, and we have ended up here in IN in an old farmhouse (which you may or may not have read about! )
so, all those years of reading have come in real handy (even if i was focusing more on pouring foundations, metal roofs and new windows!! -- won't be using much of that knowledge here, but, every little bit helps).
now to the part that answers your question:
the screen name is mine, but i let my other half use it sometimes!!! LOL (Hector was the patriarch of our feline group -- but now he has a holly to mark his place. he used to sit with me every single time i was on the computer, interfering with my already poor typing skills.)
it all started with an arguement over how to do something in our house.
now, i've been reading Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking since i was a youngster (used to read my dad's) and have been following the boards here since they very first came on line (remember the old style boards??) and sort of kind of had a reason for my position.
i challeneged him to post the question on Breaktime, he did, and (you can guess what's coming) i was right. hahaa! no surprise there!! LOL.
so, he's hooked and comes here quite often for advice -- which is fine by me! it is a marriage-saver, and our house is slowly but surely gettin' to be a nice place! (I'm focusing on the bathroom now and will be installing a new faucet this week! yipee)
i reckon i could get him to get his own screen name, but, i duuno. it's kind of cozy for us like this!
and, again, (laughing), i ain't surprised at all that you noticed!!
Megan
Northeast Indiana, dreaming of Southwestern Oregon and the firs (ain't no native evergreens here!)
Thank you for the compliments.
I figured that was the answer.
I have only been to 2 places on the west coast. San Diego and Medford/ Ashland Oregon... I would assume it is within reach of where you mean. I would agree. I was there in the dead of summer, 110 degrees, and loved every minute of it. I only feel comfortably warm here for about a month, then the shakin sets in. I guess we all have our dreams.
Is your stint in IN just a delay or did you get rid of the property? Hope I havent festered an old wound.
-zen
Weighing in on this one. Ditto the nix on the soffit vent route. Depending on your climate, roof jacks may not function real well (snow, ice: I'm in VT). I would opt for the gable alternative; be cautious with the aforementioned 4" expandable coiled dryer type vent hose. It can sag and puddle up with vented moisture. This can leak through your ceilings or back through the fan unit. I've seen it freeze up solid with hoarfrost (ice crystals). Make sure you have plenty of support for the vent hose and a pitch to outside. Better yet, use rigid vent for the horizontal run (may cause more noise/vibration - but there are ways to deal with that too!) Good luck.
I agree with the caution for a long run to a gable end-wall. I am in the process of repairing damage to drywall ceiling(s) and gable sheet goods for a customer, due to substantial moisture and rot.
The issue was uninsulated dryer vent hose (pitched somewhat), that caused the moisture laden air to condense and puddle. In addition, there was an extremely poor (nonexistent) method of flashing the vent through the vinyl soffit.
When installing any type of duct runs and venting, "think like water" and install the proper safeguards.
I usually figure an approximate 1.25 cfms/ft2. Hard piping a run of any length really cuts down on the friction and the need for oversized fans.
This is all pretty interesting. I just installed a bath fan last October. Everything I've
heard or read said don't go thru the roof. Another hole is a potential leak. I used an
oversized fan, insulated duct and vented thru the eve. The duct vents down to the
eve. The vent directs air away from the house-I can see it on these cold Boston
mornings. (house rule-fan stays on for 10 mins after shower) I hope this is ok.
Thanks, something new to worry about !
Sounds like you did fine. We always try to go through roof unless we have a vertical gable end. We also add a little angled piece of metal under the flapper vent before screwing it to the house. That deflects drips and keeps ice off the siding.