shower fan soffits or roof

[danielr4889]

Hi All

So i would like to add a shower fan to our bathroom with the autal fan being put in the loft and then run the flexi ducting out through the eves and soffits i have looked in the loft to see if i can see the soffits from the inside but i cant does this mean that i cant do it this way?

If i cant i take it i would need to get a vented tile and go out throught the roof if so what tile would i need? the tiles on my roof are very very slighty curved flat-ish clay tiles no grooves or anything like that

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Chri5]

Might be easier to core drill out a lump of wall?

 

[danielr4889]

thanks for your post, is that allowed i mean that would mean drilling quite a large hole in the ouside wall right at the very top which the rafters for the roof sit on would it not compromise the strenght of the wall[/code]

 

[RF Lighting]

If you have access to a near by gable end, then you could drill a 4¼" hole in it, and vent your fan through there. There will be no strucural issues assuming you don't drill immediately below a load bearing beam etc.

It might be easier to get a roofer to install a vent tile for you roughly above where your fan will be so you can keep the ducting runs as short as possible.

Also warm moist air rises, so it will vent upwards easier. You should use insulated ducting in the loft to prevent condensation forming which can cause trouble with damp and cause premature failure of the fan.

 

[danielr4889]

I do have a gable end but thats at the other end of the house so no good, but if i take say the top brick off that i can see in the loft which is not supporting any beams and try and get the ducting out that way, that should be ok?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It might be easier to get a roofer to install a vent tile for you roughly above where your fan will be so you can keep the ducting runs as short as possible.

Also warm moist air rises, so it will vent upwards easier. You should use insulated ducting in the loft to prevent condensation forming which can cause trouble with damp and cause premature failure of the fan.

Might you not still get condensation courtesy of the cold roof-tile terminal, and the ducting being chilled by cold air entering from outside?

 

[RF Lighting]

If the brick is not supporting any of the roof beams, then you should be OK to remove it.

You can duct through the soffit if you can a clear run to it. Using oblong ducting might make it easier.

You will need to cut a hole in the soffit board and fit a vent to it for the exhaust air.

How old is your house? Some houses built between 1900 and 1980 may have asbestos soffit boards.

 

[sparkwright]

You say you can't see the soffit from the loft.

It MAY be the case that the soffit board is lower than the ceiling level. In which case you may be able to push some flexi duct down from the loft, and pull it out through the soffit.

Remember there will be rafters above the soffit, so be aware if you cut a 4 inch hole in the soffit.

 

[Taylortwocities]

thanks for your post, is that allowed i mean that would mean drilling quite a large hole in the ouside wall right at the very top which the rafters for the roof sit on would it not compromise the strenght of the wall[/code]

Now, I'm an electrician, not a builder. But, to my understanding, the rafters do not sit on the brickwork. Around the top of the wall is a bit of wood called a wall-plate. The rafters sit on this. The wall plate will spread the load of the roof over the brickwork. So core drilling just under this will not "compromise the strength of the wall".

 

[danielr4889]

Thank you all very much for your replies, what i plan to do is take the top brick off and see if i can get some ducting down in to the soffit, sparkwright - the soffits are at the tops of the widow and the cellings are about a foot or so higher, but the cellings are angled along external walls which i think is to give them abit more height if that makes any sense.
Taylor - you are right there is what i now know to be called a wallplate thanks to you, just before the brick work, so when looking from the loft i see the top of the wall plate then brick then black felt so am i right in thinking if i take a brick out i should then find the cavity then another row of bricks take one of them out and should be able to drop down in to the soffit?

 

[Aunsh]

Have you tried feeding something like a broom shank down along the line of the rafter, to check the relative dimensions to the fascia and the brick line? I would expect there to be a reasonable difference, something like a foot. If that difference exists, it will be the gap that you can use to take the ducting down to the soffit. The next step will be locating your rafter outside, possibly by locating fixings on the fascia.