We’ve all been there. You turn on the exhaust fan in the bathroom and hear it rattle to life. If you’re lucky, eventually, the rattling will turn into a loud hum and do its job. If luck eludes you, the rattling will get louder as the motor gets up to speed. Often the shower will be loud enough to mask the fan’s cries of mercy. Otherwise, your time on the throne is bombarded with the bellowing of yet another construction grade piece of junk. In this video, I’ll be replacing a combination exhaust fan and light with the ceiling joists exposed. There was no attic or crawl space access to the top of the fan otherwise and I was going to reframe/rebuild the ceiling anyway. If you have access and only want to change the fan/light, wear a mask and get ready to sweat. Good luck.
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Hello ToolTutor,
Great tutorial. I live in a condo in a 100 yr old brick building in Boston, and we would like to install some kind of ventilation in the bathroom. We do not have any false ceilings or access to vents out the roof. We’ve been leaving the windows open a smidge, but can’t do that when the cruel winter rears its ugly head ;0
The wooden window frame is in direct range of the shower head, so we’ve been covering the entire window+frame with a shower curtain, but we are still concerned about rot and mold.
Any ideas on how we can provide ventilation to the bathroom despite the ancient infrastructure? Thanks!!!
Hi Kat,
Here are some options to consider (from a California native where nothing lasts 100+ yrs)
1. If you’re on the top floor and are allowed to modify the roof, installing a vent to the roof is very straightforward. Probably not a DIY project (for safety reasons) but easy enough for someone to put in for you along with running electrical. Once you cut out an opening in the ceiling for the fan, the rest of the fan install would be the same as in the video.
2. If there’s another floor above you, you may be able to run a duct horizontally through the joists in your ceiling so long as they’re already running in the right direction out to an external wall.
3. It messing with the ceiling is not an option, the only other way is to build down a soffit, run the duct work through the soffit and out to the external wall.
4. Exhaust fan in your window: I listed this one last since running power to a window over a shower is probably not the greatest idea and will still expose you to winter air but maybe something you can run after you finish. These thin fans may or may not fit your window. You may even be able to get an electrician to run permanent power and switch to the window fan. The drawback is you’ll lose daytime light and still require your window to be open in operation. This option requires the least amount of work on your part. http://glassblockfan.com/
Good luck. Let me know what you end up doing.
I just Retweeted your post excellent tutorial. I will be replacing my exhaust fans very soon (two bathrooms) in a 50 year old house. Very nice finish; I really like the Bamboo and Crown moulding touch.
Thank’s for the tutorial.
Lee
Thanks for the tweet Lee. Good luck on your project.