Bathroom Fan & Vent

Oh, my goodness--what a  l o n g  day! What I thought was going to be a relatively simple project ended up giving me fits and taking all day long to finish.

I had finished insulating this bathroom wall and installing the vapor barrier--but, I finally decided I should have a fan in the bathroom. So, I had to tear into what was already done.

The light is going to go here. (I didn't have to install the trim here that I installed on ceiling joists elsewhere in the house because the bathroom is going to have a ceiling installed on the bottom of these joists.)

The bathroom fan will be installed closer to the wall behind the light, on the other side of the ceiling joist.

I peeled back the vapor barrier and pulled out the insulation in the top part of this bay.

Then I drilled a hole all the way through the wall. It was well worth buying a three-inch hole saw to do this. I can't imagine how long I would have taken on this step without that specialized tool.

Here is the vent I planned to install.

I had read in reviews that it was a great little vent but that it didn't stop bees and hornets from nesting in it, so I added a piece of screen inside it.

I had to pound and pound and pound on the vent to get it installed in the wall. The hole was three inches in diameter, and so was the vent pipe, so it was a very snug fit. (Of course it would have been much better to have drilled a hole slightly larger than the vent, but I had purchased the largest hole saw available at the store I visited.)

I had started the four screws before pounding so I could keep the wedge pieces behind the vent aligned correctly. I cut the wedge pieces to give the vent a solid surface in one plane to butt up against, instead of trying to snug the vent up against the uneven shingles. The screws were loose, of course, and they kept falling out as I pounded--and getting lost in the foliage below.

Eventually, all the pounding split the wedge pieces. Aargh!

I had to hand screw at least the upper two screws because they were up under the overhanging eave, but the only screwdriver handle I had that was short enough to fit has lost something (magnetism? a ball bearing?)--whatever should hold in the screw bit, so the screw bit kept falling out and getting lost in the foliage below.

What a never-ending pain in the ...

Finally, it was installed.

I cut a short piece of duct and installed that on the vent. This duct will expand/telescope, so it is more than long enough to reach the fan once it is installed.

Then I re-installed the insulation...

...and the vapor barrier.

I am going to wait until later to install the fan so I have more maneuverability in this space for now. I will also have to drill a hole in the joist so the fan can draw power from the light fixture. The light and the fan will be controlled by the same switch.

Phew! Long day, but the bathroom wall is back to being done.