Bathroom vent
Since there is no window in the basement bathroom, I’m adding an exhaust vent to it. I’m using a 90 CFM fan which is rated at 0.5 somes (which is almost silent) - although I’m putting it through 3″ duct instead of 4″, which I believe drops the rating to 80 CFM (still more than enough) and makes it slightly louder.
Of course the exhaust air needs a place to go, so that meant adding a new vent. One thing I learned: big drill + putting a hole in the side of the house; not something girlfriends like to be involved with. I used a 3.25″ hole saw, which did the job nicely.
I used flexible duct, and some foil tape and clamps to keep everything together. It’s starting to get crowded in the electrical closet as you can see.
The outside vent and the fan itself both have dampers built-in, so I’m hoping I won’t have any issues with cold air coming down. I’ve checked on a couple of cold, windy day’s we’ve had lately, and can’t feel anything so it looks promising. In my old apartment, the exhaust fan either had no damper (or it was broken), and it was quite awful during the winter to feel the -20 degree air blowing on you first thing in the morning.
January 27th, 2009 11:06
1. How much fun was it using that drill bit and cutting that hole through the wall? Man that must have been fun :D
2. Good call getting the quiet exhaust vent… I *hate* loud vent fans.
January 27th, 2009 11:53
Nice job! The dual dampers (plus the fact the outside vent is low on the wall, so the wind can’t catch it as easily) should handle drafts nicely.
January 27th, 2009 17:47
Thanks.
I hate loud fans as well. It is quite a bit more expensive though - I think this one was $130 or $140, while you can get a cheap (loud) one for under $40.
I’ll also be using one of these: http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=6534§ion=10834 to control it, which avoids the problem of it being on for too long.
January 29th, 2009 10:58
Really - Joce didn’t want to be involved? I’d have asked to be the one who drills!