Vibration damping for central extractor unit?

[Joeliok]

Hi there,

First time poster so I hope this is in the right place!?

I've just moved into a new build house with a centralised extractor unit in the loft that powers the house's ventilation exhaust for the kitchen and bathrooms.

I think it's been fixed directly to a board in the loft, directly then to the rafters. Problem is that the constant hum is then very audible in the master bedroom which I think is caused by the vibrations.

Has anyone experiences something similar/have any suggestions for how to dampen the vibrations? I think it'll still need to be securely attached to the board in the loft, was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to do so in a more silent manner!!?

Thanks in advance,

Joel

 

[Joeliok]

Just looked up the extractor unit name and it's a Titon CME2 Q Plus with humidity sensor.

 

[John D v2.0]

You could Mount it on a heavy board eg ply, attach hooks to the ply and the rafters, then use some of those bungee cords with hooks on the ends to hang it up. Same principle as a washing machine drum.

 

[JohnD]

if it is light, it might be done by mounting it on a sturdy ply board, then mounting that on another sturdy board that is fixed to the rafters and covered with a thick layer of carpet underlay so you have a deadening sandwich.

Engine mountings are done with hard rubber moulded onto a metal fixing plate at each end, but that might be overkill.

Are you sure there is nothing vibrating up there?

 

[Joeliok]

Thanks both. Having been up in the loft yesterday to take a look, the unit is already installed on a heavy Plywood base, attached to the rafters. The ventilation tubes are fixed, so don't have much play in them to lift it too far off the ply.

I'm therefore thinking of mounting it onto a vibration-damping sheet (sorbothane) or using some anti-vibration feet for it (that way it won't need to be screwed into the timber directly at all, minimising vibration).

I'm also considering some form of vibration damping on the ventilation ducts immediately outside the unit to hopefully absorb the vibration at source. Any thoughts on this??

Thanks!

Joel

 

[John D v2.0]

Should really have a short length of semi flexible duct to connect the unit to avoid vibration. That's probably a good bet to fix.

 

[Joeliok]

Interesting, it's a new build so I might get on to the developer to sort that! A bit of a shoddy finish overall to be honest, noticed up in the loft that some joints weren't properly sealed in the ducting which could let damp air into the loft. Not ideal!!!