For questions generally relating to the exhaust ventilation of air from inside the home, and/or methods to promote proper airflow thorough various spaces in a structure.
11
votes
5answers
457 views
Is it dangerous to run electrical cords through heating vents?
I'm living in old apartment and my roommate has fed electric cords through heating vent from living room into bathroom. I see this as a double hazard and illegal. The heating vent exits on wall behind ...
9
votes
4answers
9k views
What is the purpose of a bathroom exhaust fan?
Okay I actually do understand the purpose of the bathroom fan; it gets the steam out of the bathroom after a super hot shower, right? Well turns out I NEVER turn it on. I suppose I don't shower in ...
9
votes
5answers
3k views
What is the best way to clean your clothes dryer exhaust?
My dryer exhaust goes out of my laundry room, into my attic, and runs for about 15 feet before it gets outside. Over time the lent has built up quite a bit. What is the best way to clean this? The ...
8
votes
8answers
4k views
Do thermostat-controlled, auto-adjust HVAC vents exist?
The residential forced-air HVAC systems I have seen are controlled by a single thermostat in one room. One has to manually adjust the vents in order to adjust the temperature in other rooms. Is ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I install a sink in a room that doesn't have a drain vent?
I want to install a sink in my attached garage where there is no existing plumbing. I will be running new water supply and drain pipes to mains behind a nearby wall. I'm concerned I will need a ...
8
votes
2answers
4k views
What are my options for venting a bathroom exhaust fan?
I would like to install a fan in our bathroom which currently has none. However, I'm very confused regarding the best approach for this.
Above the bathroom is an attic space. I have read that ...
7
votes
2answers
6k views
What are the pros and cons of soffit vents vs. roof vents?
During my latest foray into the attic, I discovered that my bathroom exhaust fans vent directly into the attic. I'm worried about moisture buildup and I'm considering routing the exhaust to an ...
7
votes
1answer
198 views
How much vent fan throughput do I need for my bathroom?
What minimum size (CFM) vent fan do I need per cubic foot of bathroom?
Consider a bathroom that is 10ft. X 4ft. X 6ft(height). What is the minimum throughput rating for a vent fan? I want a vent fan ...
7
votes
1answer
766 views
How can I catch more lint in my dryer?
In the 3 story townhouse I'm currently in, the contractor originally built the (stackable) dryer vent to go straight up from it's location (top floor), then when it gets above the ceiling, it angles ...
7
votes
2answers
379 views
Is there any legitimate reason to have a direct vent between utility room and attic?
I've been doing some sealing and insulating in my attic, and discovered a purpose built vent directly from the utility room into the attic space. See most of these photos
The house is in a ...
7
votes
2answers
208 views
How to fit vents in a roof
The home we have just brought has no vents in its tiled roof; therefore it is getting a lot of condensation in the loft.
So how do I fit vents?
Do the vent you fix from the inside (rather than ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Can I vent my dryer into the crawl space without creating mold and moisture problems?
We have a crawl space with a combination of sandy and clay soil in it. The crawl space is about 3' deep. To eliminate a long dryer vent run, I'd like to vent the dryer directly into the crawl space. ...
6
votes
3answers
6k views
Why is one bedroom always colder than the rest of the house?
We have a two story home with 3 bedrooms upstairs. Home is 7 years old. One of the bedrooms is always around 5-6 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the rest of the house (when compared to the thermostat ...
6
votes
1answer
416 views
Venting the attic space during summer to cool the house
The air in my attic gets superheated during summer, from the sun baking the (clay? terracotta?) roof tiles (I live in Sydney, Australia).
I have good ceiling insulation, and even put in some sarking ...
5
votes
3answers
789 views
Can I close the garage vent on my furnace?
My furnace duct system has a vent in the garage, right over the furnace. Is it necessary for the proper operation of the furnace to keep that open? I'd hate to waste the money heating up my garage, ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Is it possible to use a dryer vent as a heat source in the winter?
Is it possible to attach a diverter to an electric clothes dryer vent so it can help heat my house in the winter? Seems like such a waste to blow it all outside. I imagine you'd need some sort of ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Do I need a rain\snow cover on this furnace vent?
Just bought a house that had a new furnace installed this summer. Vent number 1 in the image is for the furnace (2 is the water heater and 3 is sump). As you can see in the image, 2 and 3 both would ...
5
votes
2answers
913 views
Bathroom vent terminates to attic not outside.
Bathroom vents terminates to attic. The Inspector recommended that it terminates to the outside. What is the best way to do this. Should I just place the bathroom vent next to the roof vent opening.
...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What should I consider when cutting a dryer vent hole?
Our dryer has been taking forever to dry loads so, this morning, I disassembled the vent pipe and scrubbed out all the lint. However, before reassembling the vent, I had an idea.
The current vent run ...
5
votes
2answers
466 views
What kind of vent is pictured here and what are its uses?
While my roof was being replaced, I requested that they install two roof vents. One for laundry and one for bathroom fan. They installed two of these. I just tried connecting the bathroom fan to this ...
5
votes
2answers
7k views
Maximum run on drain?
I'm planning a reconfiguration of my basement and want to move both the powder room and w/d to new locations.
The powder room would be close enough to the stack not to worry me, but I'm looking at ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
HVAC vents - does wall or ceiling mount matter?
I'm going to add some crown moulding to some bedrooms. I've got HVAC vents mounted near the top of the wall and the moulding will cover part of the vent.
I want to move the vents out of the way. I ...
5
votes
2answers
555 views
Is the open grate in the ceiling between my garage and attic necessary?
I have a plastic grate in the ceiling of my garage that simply provides airflow between the garage and the attic. Due to the layout of my garage, my workbench is almost directly beneath this grate. ...
5
votes
1answer
106 views
Will combining roof venting systems cause short cycling?
I'm looking into buying a new house here in Wisconsin that has soffit vents, ridge vents and some additional static roof vents installed. However, when the home inspector came through he said that ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I lengthen my vent stack and are there any negative effects in doing so?
I have observed that when we receive a lot of snow here in Ontario, at least one of the drain vents on my roof is covered by snow. While after one winter in the house I have not yet observed any ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Do I need soffit vents when I have 2 gable vents and 5 normal peak vents?
We are in southeast Idaho, have a plain simple gable roof on a 1,050 square foot floor house; the roof's pitch is not great, probably 3 or 4/12 but normal for our area.
We have 1 vent at each gable ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Installing bathroom exhaust fan: what to do with vapour barrier and insulation?
I'm adding a bathroom exhaust fan, which is being mounted in the ceiling of the bathroom (in the attic) and venting out through a vent in the wall.
right now, there is a vapour barrier (paper) ...
5
votes
1answer
4k views
How can I properly vent a basement toilet & shower using an AAV?
When we bought our house the plumbing drains for a basement bathroom were roughed in but they did not install any vent lines for them.
We have the first floor plumbing draining into the main stack ...
4
votes
1answer
271 views
Can I attach a kitchen vent and a dryer vent to the same exhaust?
I currently have a dryer attached to an exhaust vent with flexible tubing; this flexible tubing is in severe need of repair. That is (I hope) easy enough, and is not the crux of my question.
The ...
4
votes
1answer
563 views
Can I use the white from one switch, but the black from another?
Some terminology, because I don't know any better:
light-fixture - An existing, separate, light fixture...currently with dedicated 14/2
vent-unit - A new vent just installed, has three ...
4
votes
2answers
249 views
Why does it take my dryer 3 hours to dry a load of clothes?
I have a Maytag model LD69806AAE clothes dryer. Since our tenants in our town home have moved in July 2012. They have pointed out that the dryer takes about 3 hours to dry a load of clothes. The dryer ...
4
votes
1answer
636 views
How can I vent this dryer?
I am installing a mini washer/dryer into a second story bathroom. I want it to be the safest and easiest installation that I can do myself. I understand the basics: minimum 4" diameter tube. Use ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
How do I add a quiet blower or fan to a gas fireplace?
I have beautiful fireplace in my family room, although it is gas rather than wood burning, and it vents strait outside. Due to the nature of how it is vented, I don't really get much heat from it, and ...
4
votes
1answer
679 views
Attic ventilation - intake:exhaust ratio vs total ventilation area?
I have decided to go ahead and install a ridge vent in my house. The only current attic ventilation is soffit venting on one side of the house.
As part of this project, I am attempting to determine ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Should I drill a large hole through a double paned window?
I have a laundry room in the basement. There is no exhaust vent for the dryer. Currently we just open the window when drying, but this is not the greatest solution. There is a window and it is ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Is installing a gable fan worth the investment?
We have 2 gable vents in our roof (approx 2' high or so), one at either end, and upon inspection it does not appear that there is really enough overhang in the roof for soffits. I still have to ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I close and seal an old external vent?
I was removing some ancient hanging cabinets in my small laundry room when I found an old vent of some kind. It had been completely hidden behind the old cabinetry. My dryer vents out through the roof ...
3
votes
2answers
635 views
Can I move the range hood but not the roof vent (angled “flue” pipe)?
I have a typical 30" stove installed in the center of a 20' wall with a standard overhead hood that looks a lot like this.
I want to redesign my kitchen with new cabinets so the stove becomes ...
3
votes
3answers
330 views
How to best clean the inlet vent screen on a microhood?
Over the years, my microhood has developed a greasy buildup in the inlet vent screens on the underside of the microhood. They're an aluminum mesh that comes out easily with a label near it saying not ...
3
votes
1answer
579 views
How can I reduce whistling due to wind across a gas fireplace vent?
We have a gas fireplace venting through the roof of our attic bedroom; there's a cap on a chimney up there. Double-wall construction, such that it pulls combustion air in from outside.
When the wind ...
3
votes
1answer
71 views
How do I install a bathroom exhaust system?
We are set to close on our house in about three weeks and one of the problems that the inspector noted was that the vent in the guest bath vents into the attic (never going outside) and the master ...
3
votes
1answer
206 views
Can you have different types of vents on a single roof?
The attic of my house has serious ventilation issue and the sheathing becomes rotten. The roofing contractor suggests me to replace the rotten sheathing and install some ridge vent. His plan will ...
3
votes
1answer
345 views
How should I go about fixing a holey laundry room?
When I removed some old elevated cabinetry in my laundry room, I discovered two holes in the wall. The first I documented here,
How do I close and seal an old external vent?
and the second can be ...
3
votes
1answer
371 views
What are some alternatives to a square ceiling air diffuser?
We recently bought a house that had an addition put on in the 80's. The addition is on the back of the house and has separate (electric) heating and cooling. In the ceiling are two square, 12.75" air ...
3
votes
1answer
288 views
Bathroom Vent is tied to ceiling vent in adjacent room
I live in a bungalow with a bathroom on both levels. The bathrooms both have exhaust vents. Outside of each bathroom is a ceiling vent. The previous owner stuck towels in these to block them off. ...
3
votes
1answer
430 views
Can I use a 1 1/2 vent for a toilet (3" drain) in CA (not a went vent, no other fixtures on it)?
Most of the info I have on code implies this would be OK, but one item I have says that a 1 1/2 vent can only serve 8 "non-WC" fixture units.
3
votes
1answer
225 views
How can I insulate kitchen vent to prevent cold air blowing through all the time?
Building code requires my kitchen to have a 15cmx15cm vent (besides the kitchen cook-top vent). This vent is basically a hole in the wall that reaches to the outside. The vent has grating on both ...
2
votes
3answers
752 views
Should I install an exhaust fan in a new garage?
I'm having a new garage built in my home and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to have some sort of ventilation/exhaust/fan system installed while they're at it? I'm thinking of doing some spray ...
2
votes
1answer
384 views
What can be done about this unattractive dryer vent?
The house I bought has dryer vent that runs from the dryer into the ceiling. Besides being an eyesore it is also loose/flimsy.
I'm redoing the laundry room and would like to make this more ...
2
votes
3answers
5k views
How to make a 6 inch hole through a brick wall for venting
I'd like to vent my range hood out through an exterior brick wall. How would I go about making a 6 inch hole for the vent?
I'd guess I'd use a masonry chisel to chip out the mortar and then pull ...
