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.

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 3

Beginning work to hide the wiring to the light in the clothes closet...

Here's the finished trim ready to install.

And installed.

Final round piece installed.

Below is the wiring to the light in the narrow storage closet.

First parts of the trim installed.

All done!

While I was working on that last closet light, I noticed that there were some more exposed wires that I needed to cover. From inside the bed alcove, looking towards the rest of the house, there were exposed wires running along the ceiling joist closest to the living room.

First, I installed boards above and below the wires.

And, then, finished trimming out the joist. Voilà! Wires hidden.

Installing all of this trim required using lots of small pieces of wood. I have been teased about the wood scraps I save. Those scraps came in handy! Here is what is left over. No, I won't be saving these.

I took out a couple of light fixtures to hold them up to the trim I installed--to see how they would look.

Here is one of the closet lights.

Here is one of the kitchen lights.

Also see:

Hiding Wires 1
Hiding Wires 2


Today was eclipse day. I ended up being glad I decided not to purchase special glasses. Even though I kept looking outside the JayBee all afternoon, there was not the slightest difference in the amount of daylight or the quality of the light during the entire time the eclipse was occurring. Guess I need to wait until 2024 when the path of a solar eclipse will bisect Maine!

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 2

Step one to cover the exposed electrical wires that power the second ceiling light in the kitchen--boards attached to the joist, above and below the wires.

Trim board covering the wires and a half-octagon wrapping the electrical box.

Final piece of trim covering the protruding edge of the electrical box.

Half-octagons and circular trim pieces already made for the last three ceiling lights.

On to the third ceiling light in the kitchen...

Trim board cut and ready for stain.

All three kitchen ceiling lights now trimmed out!

On to the last two lights with exposed electrical wires and boxes--both located in closets.

Also see:

Hiding Wires 1
Hiding Wires 3


George--still here, still enjoying his summer, still deaf as a post, turned 18 this month. My sweetie!

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 1

I was having a hard time finishing up the vapor barrier in the bathroom end of the JayBee because I was spending so much time debating the merits of installing a fan in the bathroom. My original plan was not to have a fan in the bathroom because the room has a window and there will be two other fans in the house (over the stove, and the air exchanger in the living room). I mean, really, just how many fans does a tiny house need? But... then I started thinking that it would be unlikely that I would relish the idea of opening the bathroom window after a shower in the middle of winter. And the bathroom is so small, I imagine it could get quite steamy... I ended up deciding that I would rather install a fan now than try to retrofit one later. While the parts were on order...

I moved on to thinking I could start hiding some of the exposed electrical wires. Since the ceiling joists that hold up the two lofts will be exposed, the wires that run along them will be exposed as well, unless I do something to hide them.

I guess it had been awhile since I last used my table saw. Ahem!

I began by ripping some pieces of pine to install above and below the wires on each joist.

Then came the tricky part--figuring out how to enclose the electrical boxes. I began with one that is close to a wall and does not require a full 8-foot piece of trim. I made a half octagon, attached it to a straight board...

...stained it, and installed it.

Then, the final piece--cut...

...stained, and installed.

My goal was to end up with something that would blend in with the joists and not draw attention to itself. I think I accomplished that!

Four more to go!

Also see:

Hiding Wires 2
Hiding Wires 3

For those of you who follow my cats more than my housebuilding: I am very sad to report that Bear appears to be gone--as of ten days ago. There are many possible explanations for his disappearance, but I fear the most likely is that a predator snatched him. While I was working in the JayBee this last week, I was listening to the podcast Criminal; the episode about attacks by great horned owls (Animal Instincts) really had me thinking... Anyway, if he miraculously turns up, I will post an update. If he remains gone, I will probably post a memorial gallery of photos at some point. Meanwhile, George is enjoying his summer.

Some mornings, the Kennebec is so fogged in, it looks like the world ends out there. This was one of those mornings.

I looked up from my desk at work one morning this week...and saw this mama deer, and her baby (camouflaged on the right).

I wonder just how much I miss by keeping my nose to the grindstone most of the time!