Bathroom Exhaust Fan Venting Options
Bathroom exhaust fan venting options. Bathroom exhaust fans are one of the most important aspects to consider when upgrading your bathroom.
They’re often overlooked, but these things are essential as they help to keep your home clean and tidy. The bathroom is also an area where we spend much of our time showering, brushing our teeth, or simply getting ready for bed.
It’s crucial to know the size of fan you need before you decide where you want it installed since some limitations go along with it. You may need to consult with a professional if you’re unsure what kind or how many fans you need.
Bathroom Exhaust Fan Venting Options
There are a few different methods for servicing your bathroom fan. It can be serviced in three ways: through the roof, out of a sidewall with ventilation ducts between the wall studs, or through the eaves of your house by installing an elbow towards the eaves and drilling two small holes for venting.
To pick which venting method will work best for you, you should consider how much area has been allocated for this purpose on your roof, what type of roof you have, how easy it is to drill into wood frame versus non-wood frame structures, and more.
There are instances when all three options are possible, but you only have one or two options many times.
In this article, we’ll be examining the advantages of each option and hopefully give you enough information to let you make the best decision for your situation without wasting any time.
Roof Vent Installation
One of the easiest ways to remove vapor from a bathroom is to vent it through an exhaust fan. Typically, they are vented outside through an average wall-mounted vent or sometimes even a cheap vent cover that sits overtop your toilet.
Many homeowners often neglect to insulate the duct hose as it passes through the attic area, leading to moisture problems and rot in years to come!
Usually made out of stainless steel, a roof vent is more complicated than cheaper plastic wall vent covers, and it’s naturally insulated, so you don’t have to worry about this problem.
Wall Installation
Bathroom vents provide a powerful means for clearing out freshening or stale air in bathrooms, especially when conventional windows and doors are scarce.
You will find venting options from ceiling-mounted blowers – all the way to the vertical drain pipe and wall-mounted hoods. Note that two bath fans are installed on walls: through-the-wall bathroom exhaust fans and low-profile fans.
Through-the-wall exhaust fans are commonly found in bathrooms, kitchens, and mudrooms, among other places.
These fans do not need to be mounted inside the house’s exterior wall – they go straight through a gap in the drywall and into the attic.
The blades are typically 6 inches or less in diameter, making them ideal for use in spaces with limited floor space. The duct is usually no longer than 8 feet.
If needed, you can use flexible metal ducting that you can bend to connect to your existing heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
In addition to through-the-wall exhaust fans, bathroom enthusiasts can install low-profile bathroom fans on a vertical wall.
These low-profile fans are not as thick as regular bathroom fans, but they still provide complete ventilation. Many of these low-profile bathroom exhaust fans are slim enough to fit between wall studs for convenient installation easily.
Soffit Vent Installation
Probably one of the least common ways to vent your exhaust fan is through the soffit. Some municipalities do not allow this type of venting option, depending on local codes.
The soffit is a space just below the ceiling that allows fresh air to flow between a house’s top and interior walls where there may be no other openings except for glass doors.
Most soffits are vented for attic or garage access or bathroom ventilation. You would want to make sure that you don’t block any vents in your soffit before adding an exhaust fan.
Because it will only make things hotter inside the bathroom and potentially affect air circulation throughout your home when the attic gets too hot from lack of proper ventilation.
Ceiling to Wall
The most typical bathroom venting application is when the fan is installed in the ceiling, and the vent goes to an exterior wall.
It would go straight across the bathroom ceiling and immediately exit through an outer wall. However, it may also have one or two additional turns before making its way out—but eventually, it will all lead out to an exterior wall.
The vent hose has a cover that keeps rain from entering and excludes rodents from gaining access to your house through the ductwork.
Perhaps the biggest downside of the ceiling-to-wall venting option is that it is vulnerable to animal intrusion.
The most common animal that causes vent clogs is birds that nest inside the vent and therefore obstruct airflow – which will make your bathroom exhaust fan ineffective.
Conclusion
Bathroom exhaust fan venting options. So all of this information would be good to know whether you or someone in your family is dealing with a problem related to the amount of moisture produced within their bathroom due to using the shower, bathtub, or sink.
The most important lesson here is that one should always exhaust water vapor from the bathroom by way of an outlet that has been adequately vented outside to avoid common ailments known as adverse side effects like wood rot and mold growth.
Of all the options presented here, the most popular is ceiling wall venting, followed closely by roof venting and vertical wall venting, which comes in third place.
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