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Bathroom extractor fan.
Danozeman - 10/2/08 at 03:04 PM

I want to fit an extractor in my bathroom. I was going to put it through the wall to outside but my roof comes down quite low and the fan would be kind of in the middle of the wall. The place i want it would be in the shower area where kind of at the same height as the shower head. Where im guessing it could get splashed and wouldnt be a good idea?

The other option is to put it in the ceiling venting it to the loft. If i put it in the loft would this make everything damp etc as the condensation would all be in there??

How splash proof are they if i put it in the shower?


nitram38 - 10/2/08 at 03:08 PM

You can buy ceiling fans and extension hose kits, but you still have to vent them outside (not into the loft space).
This means some roof work


Not a good idea to put anyfan too low either, better off as high as you can get it.
Have you got an airbrick in the bathroom?
You can always remove the inner one and put the fan there.


Mr Whippy - 10/2/08 at 03:09 PM

mains electricity and a shower, cool

In mine I fitted a vent in the ceiling, then a flexable plastic duct to the fan unit and then a duct to the roof eve where I had fitted another vent. That way the loft stays dry and the motor will not get wet.


billynomates - 10/2/08 at 03:17 PM

Depending on the construction of your roof, installing a fan in the loft is often easier. Does your house have soffits under the guttering? If so 4" hole into the soffit, ducting to a loft mounted fan, 4" ducting from fan to 4" hole in bathroom ceiling. (You'll need grilles on the holes obviously).
The wiring is all in the loft so saves chasing walls out. Buy a decent fan, the cheap ones aren't worth bothering with, and don't forget your new wiring will have to be installed by a Part P registered spark.


omega 24 v6 - 10/2/08 at 03:25 PM

You can get low voltage fans for shower installations.


eznfrank - 10/2/08 at 03:45 PM

Is it a terrace?? and is the bathroom at the gable end side of the house?? If so just run into the loft and out the gable end instead. Even on a long stretch those fans are usually fine.


Danozeman - 10/2/08 at 04:04 PM

Im in a semi and dont have a gable end. The roof is 3 sides if you get what i mean.

The roof comes lower than the ceilings of the house and theres not enough room to pipe fan to the soffits.. Iv got no vent bricks or anything...


JoelP - 10/2/08 at 05:18 PM

any possibility of having some rectangular ducting inside the bathroom to suck air from high and actually vent it a bit lower through the wall?

If ducting through the loft take utmost care that no air leaks out, its a funny thing but you can empty a bucket of water onto your floor and it does nothing, but a steady drip will ruin it eventually.

Regarding having the fan inside the shower cubicle, you need to familiarise yourself with the zones of a bathroom.

http://www.torbay-electric-light.co.uk/lightzoneguide.htm

key is LV or RCD in zone 1.

This work is notifyable, if you choose to do it yourself i would recommend an rcd for the fan. Bad wiring in bathrooms can be very bad news!


Macbeast - 10/2/08 at 06:40 PM

Ventaxia through the window ? (if you have a window )


billynomates - 10/2/08 at 07:06 PM

Another option is to go vertically through the roof tiles, but it starts getting costly and complicated, sounds like best option is low voltage fan or rcd protection for a fan in zone 1.


NS Dev - 10/2/08 at 09:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Danozeman
Im in a semi and dont have a gable end. The roof is 3 sides if you get what i mean.

The roof comes lower than the ceilings of the house and theres not enough room to pipe fan to the soffits.. Iv got no vent bricks or anything...


I have this exact same problem.

Bought a low voltage "in duct" fan to install in the loft and exit the ducting through the soffit, but there isn't enough clearance between the underside of the slate battens and the wallplate to get any sort of duct through.

You can buy kits quite cheaply to let into your slates that take the 4" ducting (screwfix or toolstation) with built in flashing etc.

I am thinking about one of these for fitting in the summer.

PS know I shouldn't but I ignore the legalities on electrics. As a "multiskilled engineer" I am perfectly competent, and yes, i have common sense to use RCD's (main board is all RCD protected on mine anyway, had to run new tails to a seperate isolator to sort nuisance trips from by big welders in the garage) and I strongly object to paying for the services of someone no more skilled than myself at basic tasks.

Sorry if any electrician offence caused, but sure, I don't have the £1500 Fluke insulation breakdown and earth path resistance tester, but I know plenty who do, and its hardly rocket science to borrow it to check my own work!!


DEAN C. - 11/2/08 at 07:54 PM

Hi,I have a similar problem to this .
You can now buy plastic vent pipe that is rectangular,roughly 4x2" if I remember.This can be fitted to the round flexible ducting pipe via an adaptor,so its a nice easy fit together job.
I was looking at some in the Screwfix catalogue recently,it solves a problem that I thought was going to be difficult.

Hope this helps.
Dean......

[Edited on 11/2/08 by DEAN C.]