Fitting an Extractor Fan

[chuckalicious]

I'm redecorating my bathroom and want to install an extractor fan.

The electrics isn't a problem, my neighbour is an electrician who will be happy to connect it all up (once I've asked him ), however, I need to know how to make the hole from the inside of the house to the outside.

The outside wall is brick, but I don't know what's between it and the bathroom internal wall. The house is a Victorian terraced, but the bathroom section is an extension (albeit still very old). I have drilled the wall before to hang things on it and it seems very similar to plasterboard, so I don't think getting through it will be a problem, but I'd like to make sure I do it right.

Once the hole is fitted, is there anything I should do to make sure I don't get any damp problems, ie use any kind of sealant?

Lastly, what is better for moisture control, an above shower extractor or a wall mounted extractor?

Thanks

 

[Richard C]

Assuming your bathroom is not on the ground floor of a 2 story house; rather than drill a hole through the wall, it’s much easier to fit the fan into the ceiling & run a duct through the eves terminating on a grill fitted into the soffit board; assuming you can find a way through of course!

It’s likely that the plasterboard stuff you’ve drilled into previously is probably dry lining but there will almost certainly be brickwork underneath; the wall may even be solid depending on its age. To easiest way to drill a hole through brickwork is to use a core drill but you can use, say, a 12mm masonry bit to drill a series of holes through the wall in the bit you want to remove & chisel it all out but it takes much longer.

The bathroom is classed as a special location under Building Regulations; check your Electrician neighbour is Part P certified or you will have to involve Building Control. An extractor directly over the shower area will be more efficient but the fan must be suitably rated for use in zone 1& most 240v fans are only rated for zone 2; in reality a ceiling fan in zone 2 is probably just as effective, mine copes easily.

 

[chuckalicious]

Now is the soffit board the horizontal board that sticks out from under the roof? If so the back of our house doesn't have one of the those, the roof just ends at the wall, so I either have to bring the extractor out via the wall or the roof, and I think the latter would be a bad idea

THe bathroom is on the first floor, so no worries about point 1, point 2, the exterior wall is definitely brick, but behind the plasterboard in the bathroom there is a springy layer (I know this because I felt it when I was drilling to put something on the wall).

Certainly everyone else in the area has a fan installed in the same way, and we all have identical builds, so I'd imagine it's okay, but want to check

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Richard C]

Now is the soffit board the horizontal board that sticks out from under the roof?

Yes; pity you don't have one as it would have made life a lot easier

behind the plasterboard in the bathroom there is a springy layer (I know this because I felt it when I was drilling to put something on the wall).

Probably some for of insulation & maybe even a damp proof barrier as well

 

[2scoops0406]

You can vent it from the roof, that's what I did, works fine