Extractor Fan....??!

[oOrachelOo]

Hi,

Sorry if this is in the wrong place - its my 1st post on this site.

I have recently bought a house (small 2bed end link) and we have had LOADS of problems, we have sorted most of these however we have noticed that our extractor fan isnt quite up to scratch!

Our bathroom is approx 1.8m x 1.65m and has NO window in therefore an extractor is essential. The fan in situated in the ceiling. My partner went in the loft the other day to find that the extractor is only a boxed fan in the bathroom and has no ventilation tube taking it outside or anything.

I have spoken to a few people who suggest we just need to put a tube onto the back of the fan and take this out through the external wall or soffit (not a big job I understand) however since reading various posts I have noticed some people advising that an extra part is needed a centre fan (sorry im useless with technical terms).

Is this so? Out house is only 4m wide and the tube needs to travel less than 1/2m to be on external wall so i am unsure as to what we would need.

I also found that if we do not do this we are likely to get damp problems in the loft, if this is so why are there no signs of damp if there has never been an external vent when the house is approx 35yr old?

Thanks for your help - sorry its not very technical!!

Rachel xox

 

[Taylortwocities]

You must vent that to the outside.

The weather is warm right now so condensation may not form, but as the weather gets colder, all of that steam will collect and drip onto the loft insulation. It will seep into the roof timbers and this will do them no good at all. They will eventually rot.

I guess the existing fan works? If so all you need is to add some 100m ducting and an outlet plate of some sort with a non-return flap to stop winter's icy blast from getting in.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And put the ducting under the loft insulation (buy another roll if necessary) or you'll get condensation inside it in the winter.

Is this a new house? How long has the fan been like that?

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

...house is approx 35yr old?...

Is this a new house?

I have recently bought a house

How long has the fan been like that?

Untitled

• mikhailfaradayski
• 20 Jul 2011
• 1

As TTC has said, you really should get the ducting installed. Just because you haven't seen any evidence of damp today, doesn't mean that it won't be a (very expensive) problem in the future.

Look here for ducting and grilles to get an idea of material costs:-
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Ventilation_Index/Ducting_Round/index.html

One thing TTC didn't mention is you may need to cut a large hole through your brickwork (if going through the soffit isn't an option) to get the duct through.

You may find a friendly plumber or electrician can help with this and not have your pants down just to 'core-out' a single hole

 

[sparkybird]

If you've got space in the loft an 'in line fan' (one which sits in the loft in the ducting between the bathroom ceiling and the outside vent) will be more effective than one that just fits on the ceiling.
best to get an electrician in to give you a price

SB