22
First off, you misunderstand the intention of the extractor fan. It is not to remove hot air. It is to remove moisture from the air, and that's done to help protect against mold and mildew buildup. This is particularly important in bathrooms where the door is usually left shut.
(It still helps with open door bathrooms too but in those cases the ...
8
You can install a reducer, but you'll cut your flow volume by an equal proportion:
28.3in2 - 7.1in2 = 21.2in2 (an area reduction of 75% when going from 6" to 3" duct)
This will negate a significant amount of your fan upgrade, will make it work harder, and may shorten the motor's life due to reduced cooling.
You might ask yourself whether you really need ...
8
From the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) "Uniform Codes Spotlight" archive from February 2018:
The configuration of the return bend using 45 degree and 90 degree elbows purposes to maintain a vertical angle (see Section 224.0, Vertical Pipe). This is to protect the return bend from accumulating waste and to prevent ...
7
There is no reason you need the three sections vs one 180 degree return piece other than you have copied in one of the oldest and most used plumbing pictures on the internet.
I do my own plumbing and hire out plumbing for some jobs. I would only expect to see the 3-piece 180 turn (which is really 5 pieces) done by a hack - seriously. A good plumber ...
5
A vent isn't hard to extend. Any decent contractor could extend your current vent to closet wall. I am assuming this is the outside of the closet too - you don't ever put a vent in the inside of a closet and not even sure that is code. Anyway you need to part ways with this contractor if you can. If he even thinks about telling you something that dumb ...
5
Let's back up here for just a second and note something
You almost certainly don't need a 150CFM fan.
So your original fan was a stock 50CFM (probably NuTone or one of its predecessors) that's a 4-sone fan, meaning it sounds like it's been cleared for takeoff when you flip that switch. So you went out and bought this bad boy and though "I'll solve this ...
5
The proper answer for this, and certainly the one the building was built for, is to use a condensing dryer. This is a special dryer with a dehumidifier built in, which then overboards the recovered moisture into the drain intended for the washer.
I suppose you could do the same thing with an actual dehumdifier. If you can find a way to install it above ...
answered Nov 7 '19 at 0:55
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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4
If you check the dryer installation instructions, you likely will not find any specifications for venting thru the roof. It is generally not recommended. I know my dryer blows a decent amount of lint out the vent. I can't imagine the dryer being able to push the lint out of a 30 foot chimney. I would vent it with rigid duct thru the closest wall.
4
I see no problem with using the old furnace flue for the bathroom vent as long as that vent has no other connections such as off to a gas water heater.
The 16' rise of the old furnace flue can represent a challenge for a small bathroom fan to push air through. The column of air presents a back pressure that the fan must overcome in order to be able to ...
4
If you're talking about the seam (circled in red). Then yes, foil tape is appropriate.
However, if you're talking about sealing around the pipe (circled in orange). You'll want to use Duct Seal, or an equivalent product.
4
The furnace has the intake and exhaust of a sealed unit but the water heater is an old style open burner. The water heater requires the outside vent. The size of the vent is based on the BTU rating of the water heater. I would not close off the vent because this provides the fresh air for the water heater.
4
A bathroom exhaust fan needs to be vented outside the home!. This sewer pipe is where the waste goes and will not provide a good or safe vent. Vents on the waste pipes prevent the water from being sucked out of the traps, or u bends, if the gasses can come back into the home there can be bad smells and at the worst methane explosions.
4
This old house has an excellent video on why the soffit location is bad, and how to vent through a common shingle roof.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqrZWd_CQIE
How to Vent a Bath Fan Through the Roof, August 2014. The homeowner installed the same way your contractor did, and in just one season there was mold under the roof.
Your contractor should pay ...
3
According to this reference:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/community/forum/building-code-questions/27872/stud-spaces-air-ducts
using stud space as a supply duct is not permitted.
3
This is an acceptable solution for multi-tenant buildings where the exhaust fans from multiple units vent in to a common duct. The booster fan in the floor vent makes sure that the air pressure in the room being vented is higher than the common duct. The booster fan can pull air through the central AC/hear air handler even if it's not running. This lightens ...
3
All gas furnaces require a flue to exhaust carbon monoxide outdoors, the reason modern units require a fan to do it is due to the circuitous design of modern heat exchangers that extract more heat from the unit before exhausting it outdoors, natural venting will no longer happen if the induced draft motor is not running, So much heat is removed these days ...
3
Searching online using the phrase ""Transite flue pipe" leads to a large number of hits that indicate this type of pipe is for sure an asbestos cement pipe. It does need to be handled as a hazardous material when working with it and removing it.
Transite piping was commonly used as a flue pipe and chimney liner for gas appliance venting. It has had to be ...
3
If you are referring to a vent for an exhaust fan in the bathroom, then the answer is yes. I recently purchased a new home and the bathroom needed a full remodel due to mold and water damage. There was not an exhaust fan and we wanted one in the bathroom to help pull moisture out and keep the bathroom well ventilated. Previously I had helped a friend ...
3
The number of seams is really not the issue. The length is, but this is probably a better solution than alternatives.
When you put the pieces together, you should arrange that the downstream sections fit over the upstream, so the interior transition doesn't have an edge that lint catches on.
Another subtle thing, would be to try to put a slope down from ...
3
Chances are good that there was still enough airflow happening with the vented soffit panel in place. I'd try it out with the new fan and see how well it works before cutting the soffit up.
Since the vinyl soffit was applied directly over the plywood soffit, you could install J-channel around the vent and cut the soffit to fit.
You could also replace the ...
3
There are those that still maintain that a toilet needs a vent.
Take a look at this question here for one such opinion: Do I need to add a vent when moving a toilet drain across the bathroom?
However, the IRC has an exception for toilets (water closets).
From the 2009 International Residential Building Code
SECTION P3105 FIXTURE VENTS
P3105.1 ...
3
It's not a concern. Dryer exhaust might hit 200 degrees, but most have thermal fuses far below that. You'd need twice that and then some to start a fire. Heck, many dryers are vented through cheap vinyl hose. If it was a concern building codes would require double-wall flues akin to those used for gas appliance exhaust.
I do recommend against the ...
3
You would want to use a bi metal hole saw. You are right to not want to use a wood only hole saw, the teeth tend to grab, not cut.
Try something like this:
Good luck.
2
You are correct: this is a bad idea. Hire an AC contractor to re-do the vent, then your contractor can build a wall around it.
2
Venting should be 1/300 of insulated ceiling area, distributed uniformly on opposite sides of the building. (1/150 if slope is less than 1 in 6)
So whether you go with your 1/150 number mentioned in your question, or 1/300: using any vent larger than 8" x 8" at each gable end you are already going well above and beyond either requirement, so like sherlock ...
2
Does your jurisdiction allow Air-Admittance Valves (aka AAVs or Studor vents)? If it does, this would eliminate the need for an external vent.
2
In the UK, the term I'd associate is "bleeding the radiators", and there will be a little valve at the top of each radiator to release trapped air, something a little like:
These are typically operated with a "bleed key" (the brass object resting on the fins of that radiator), or sometimes the valves are also slotted for use with a screwdriver - they ...
2
The washing machine sends water into that drain under quite a bit of pressure and you want air moving freely through the pipe. You would be better off if you could run a new vent pipe up that wall and out the roof, or you could go as high as possible then out through the wall, presuming it isn't too close to a door or window that opens (since sewer gases ...
2
For a similar situation, I'm considering an unvented cathedral ceiling (see references).
The main reason to vent an attic is to prevent warm moist indoor air from contacting the roof framing and decking. When the decking is below the dew point, the moisture condenses, the wood wets, and then an assortment of bad things happen.
There's another solution to ...
2
I did this and had no issues at all, I just open the garage window to let the heat out, also my bud who owns a heat and air company said he has done it many times on jobs. One being a fire station where they put 5 units that vent into engine bays..with no problems or issues.
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