Bath fan

[barnaby33]

I remodeled my master bathroom a year ago april. I did almost all the work myself. One thing I neglected to do was replace the original fan. It works, but it’s loud so I don’t use it often. This has led to my new laminate cabinet de-laminating and mold growing. The original fan is wall mounted in the bath/shower area about 6 feet up. I have two questions.

Are wall mounted fans out of fashion or are they simply inferior? If they are inferior what kind of contractor or handy man should I look to for estimates?

It seems that the ducting to which the fan is connected is 3″ and most of the fans are 5″ How badly will this smaller duct restrict airflow and increase noise?

Josh

[spdrun]

3″ duct’s area is about 2 1/2 times smaller than a 5″ duct.

But you have what you have, and you can run it longer to compensate for less airflow if you don’t want to replace the duct.

Don’t replace the fan yet. See what kind of motor is in there. If it’s noisy, the bearings are likely shot. You can buy replacement motors for about $10.

[FlyerInHi]

Mold and cabinet laminate de-laminating? that some serious humidity. Do you have a window?

Different localities have different codes. My friend said that in NJ, his mom’s bathroom fan always runs slowly by law.

In Vegas, my fan is so loud that I have to setup a separate switch. That’s only re fan located in the toilet, in the open master bathroom. The other bathroom’s fan is quiet.

One of my condos has wallmounted fan. It was built in 2000.

I think that spd is right, you can just replace with a higher airflow motor.

I like to run the AC before I take a shower, even in San Diego, to dry out the air.

Incidentally, I have an older condo built in the 1970s. The bathroom fan doesn’t have an exhaust. It just blows air on a deodorizing charcoal.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-Duct-Free-0-CFM-Ceiling-Exhaust-Fan-682/202905939

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Mold and cabinet laminate de-laminating? that some serious humidity. Do you have a window?
[/quote]

This isn’t that unusual west of the I-5. We looked at some apartments that definitely had humidity damage issues in the bathrooms.

[bewildering]

I discovered my Master Bath fan exhaust just goes into the attic. Apparently this is common in San Diego.

I now open both window before taking a shower.

[bewildering]

[quote=poorgradstudent][quote=FlyerInHi]Mold and cabinet laminate de-laminating? that some serious humidity. Do you have a window?
[/quote]

This isn’t that unusual west of the I-5. We looked at some apartments that definitely had humidity damage issues in the bathrooms.[/quote]

All of the places I lived in west of the 5 did not have a fan. But i never had a problem with mold as long as i opened the window.

[FlyerInHi]

I don’t know is anyone noticed but the newer leases have mold and humidity provisions. Tenants must aerate and not to let moisture build up.

[The-Shoveler]

Being a few blocks from the beach this summer has been like being in a steam room (or on a Florida beach) LOL.

hot and humid.

I wonder if it will be like that from now on during September etc.. in Socal

[barnaby33]

I’m in Mission Valley, the west end below USD. I never thought that my location was super humid. However the bathroom doesn’t have a window, it’s in the interior of the house. I did just add a new fan in the ceiling. Personally I think the cabinet was just defective. It was less than 1.5 years old and I always shower with the bathroom door open.

Josh

[barnaby33]

On another note, I installed a humidity switch along with the fan. My concern is that the switch is down lower and that it’s by the door, so may not trigger easily. Does anyone here have experience with them?
Josh

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