26
votes
Accepted
What is this tube sticking out of my roof?
Almost certainly a vent for plumbing. It connects to the sewer, so it doesn't need a cap. It's highly likely there's a sink or other fixture nearly below it.
- 20.4k
19
votes
Vent kitchen hood vent to roof turbine vent?
TL;DR:
It is explicitly not to code to exhaust into the attic or to use foil pipe
It's a bad idea anyway because it puts smoke, grease and warm humid air into your attic which can cause mold growth
...
- 28.9k
19
votes
Accepted
How does ventilation help in a detached garage
You ask how ventilation helps with reducing humidity. Here's how:
An enclosed space, such as a garage, holds the air inside it fairly still. At the same time, it's warmed from the outside by the sun ...
- 374
13
votes
Bathroom fan fluctuates in power when using countdown timer switch
There are actually two problems, and they are related:
Low Power Fan
First I found a customer review on the Lowes web site that said:
I gave this only three stars as no where on packaging or ...
13
votes
Accepted
Insulating a wooden shed to provide strong heat rejection
Insulation works both ways, so it'll reduce the heat coming in from the sunlit outer walls as well. Small windows are also favourable in these conditions.
For warm but not over the top situations, you ...
- 2,379
10
votes
Vent kitchen hood vent to roof turbine vent?
I don't know where you live, but something to consider is that you're dumping warm, moist air into a potentially cold zone. So some of that air can/will condense in there in winter. Since attics tend ...
- 24.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Bathroom fan fluctuates in power when using countdown timer switch
Take it back and get a different timer
The stock Lutron MA-T51 does not need neutral; however, it accomplishes this by trickling power through the load. This is fine for large loads, but for low ...
- 81.8k
10
votes
What is this tube sticking out of my roof?
It's a vent pipe for the plumbing it connects eventually to the sewer.
It will catch a small amount of rain but the rain will stay inside the pipe and eventually reach the sewer.
You're probably not ...
- 19k
8
votes
Accepted
How to fit portable air conditioner hoses through a too small wall vent
You could investigate the rectangular panel that holds the two holes in the wall. Perhaps it can be removed, then you can replace it with a new panel with a suitable hole cut out.
You could search ...
- 34.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Should I install soffit or gable venting with a 3:12 pitch roof?
Code only determines how much ventilation, not what kind. There are different specifications of how much ventilation for the 2 most popular kinds which are considering.
With soffit and ridge vents, ...
- 34.4k
8
votes
How does ventilation help in a detached garage
Vents at top and bottom (you need both) will help. How much? That varies a bit. But even without any mechanical ventilation, air will flow naturally, particularly as it warms up.
However, this is ...
6
votes
Why do all shower cubicles have open tops, and does it have to be this way?
Simple technical reason - every house/bathroom ceiling has a different height. To make cubicles that accommodate most customers, they make panels that are roughly 2m tall and connect them to wall or ...
- 137
6
votes
Ventilating a cat box through the dryer exhaust duct
Sharing ducts in that way usually isn't allowed by code for health, comfort, energy efficiency, and fire reasons, among others. It's not a good idea, as you won't balance venting force without a ...
- 130k
6
votes
Accepted
CFM Required to Ventilate Room to Maintain Temperature
1 BTU is the amount of heat to raise 1 pound of water 1 °F (definition)
Specific heat of air is 0.24 (takes 0.24 BTU to raise 1 pound of air 1 °F)
A pound of air is about 13.9 cubic feet (at some ...
- 202k
6
votes
Accepted
Do I have the balance the ventilation to make the most of the stack effect?
Without a cross section, floorplans and whatnot it's difficult to go into great detail, but in general:
Any ventilation provides cooling, AS LONG AS the temperature outside is lower than inside.
The ...
- 2,379
5
votes
Open cell spray foam offgassing 2 years later. How to fix?
This answer was posted by the asker as an update to the question instead of an actual answer.
The problem fixed itself eventually. I followed the solution proposed by Wayfaring Stranger in the ...
5
votes
Why do all shower cubicles have open tops, and does it have to be this way?
Showers don't have to be open. I've seen and worked on many that had walls to the ceiling.
I had a customer who had an open shower and inquired about closing it in because they had a breathing ...
- 78.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Will I have trouble running a bathroom fan 10 CFM (25%) stronger than needed?
An extra 10 CFM won't hurt you at all.... If anything, it will get rid of the unwanted moisture faster. I'd wager that article was meant for much larger bathroom fans.
- 78.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Two countdown timers connected to one inline fan — Does it work?
This is the classic "DC electronics guy thinking schematic. Here, you need to think wiring diagram due to NEC 300.3(B) and the eddy currents induced by AC EMF. So wiring routes must be a "...
5
votes
Should I install soffit or gable venting with a 3:12 pitch roof?
You want soffit / ridge vents.
One of the main purposes of the attic ventilation on asphalt shingle roofs is to allow the roof sheathing to cool such that the shingles are not subjected to ...
- 13.5k
5
votes
CFM Required to Ventilate Room to Maintain Temperature
Excellent answer by Ecnerwal, who besides being one of the top experts on this site, knows more physics than I realized.
This question piqued my interest, so I worked through it myself. I get a ...
- 2,159
5
votes
Accepted
Do I need a new roof to install ridge vents?
Ridge vent requires a channel to be cut down the ridge. With plywood or OSB this usually isn't a problem. With shiplap it may result in very narrow strips being left behind, which could leave the ...
- 130k
5
votes
How can I ventilate my bomb shelter?
Rather than removing the plate, mounting a fan (either a duct fan or a computer fan) that fits in the duct, or mounting a box over the inner or outer end (with the outer end box covering, but not ...
- 202k
5
votes
Accepted
Can I use a basement oil tank vent pipe to vent a 3d printer enclosure?
I doubt the vent is much less or more grotty than the fill pipe. The fill pipe may even be cleaner, since oil washed the accumulated crud in it down into the tank regularly, while the vent just sat ...
- 202k
4
votes
What's the minimum safe distance from the back of a dryer to a wall?
The minimum recommended distance is one inch:
Additional spacing of 1" (25 mm) on all sides of the dryer is recommended to reduce noise transfer.
The allowable distance seems to be zero inches.
- 13.4k
4
votes
Should I add venting to my solid soffit, and how?
Most roofs have intake and exhaust vents. Soffit vents can be used for intake, but they are not the only means of intake. If you have a vented roof and already have adequate intake venting, you don't ...
- 1,664
4
votes
Accepted
Tips for building a soundproof room with ventilation
"Insulation" (in the ordinary construction sense) is essentially worthless for blocking sound. But if you need it for the conventional thermal reasons, then certainly go for it.
When it comes down to ...
- 756
4
votes
Accepted
Reason to Add A Soffit to a Shower
I think you would want the shower ceiling to be the same height as the rest of the bathroom especially with 8 ft ceilings. An average height man with raised arms would touch a 7 ft ceiling. Who wants ...
- 20.9k
4
votes
Reason to Add A Soffit to a Shower
No. In fact I removed the one in my previous home after years of dealing with peeling paint. I'm honestly not sure whether it was a fashion trend or whether folks felt like it kept the shower bay ...
- 130k
4
votes
Accepted
6" Ducting straight to in-wall rectangular ducting
I'd just get a length of rectangular 3-1/4 x 10 duct, capped on both ends, and connect to it low and high with starting collars. Seal things up nicely with silicone caulk or foil tape.
...
- 130k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible