The Bathroom has become a Priority for Spring Projects.. New Window and Install an Exhaust Fan... The debate with the exhaust fan is whether to go up through the roof or out an Outside wall? The other debate with the E Fan is , just how much Heat Loss is there with it running during Winter Months when you can only rely on an open window for some of the Condinsation to disipate in the Warmer Weather.. I've been told the Fan should run for at least 20 minutes after one steps out of the shower and of course no leasurely showers... lol... The Bathroom is a 3 piece 12ft X 7ft room.. The Toilet & Tub (length wise) are along a 7ft side (Outside Wall).. The other (Outside Wall) is along a 12ft side.. Thinking if we could run the Exhaust Fan somewhere along that wall? The Heat Register comes up from the floor closer to the Entrance way along this wall as well.. Thoughts Ideas Appreciated.. Cheers Thanks

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The debate with the exhaust fan is whether to go up through the roof or out an Outside wall

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Outside wall. No point in going through the roof where you have to make sure not to create a roof leak. And being in Canada, possibly blocked by snow.

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at least 20 minutes after one steps out of the shower

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You run the fan until the steam from the shower is exhausted. Which will be until you are comfortable and the mirrors are clear. Which won't be long because you just got out of the shower and are acclimated to the humidity.

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just how much Heat Loss is there

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Not enough to be concerned with. You will run it more in the summer to get rid of the humidity than in the winter. In the winter it will dissipate quicker and you will want the humidity because the house heating system produces a dry heat unless you have a humidifier.


With toilet and tub on exterior wall plan out you piping. You don't want pipes in exterior wall.

2 years ago I noticed huge icicles outside my bathroom, so I taped over the ceiling exhaust and don't use it (just leave the door open to get the much needed humidity through the rest of the house).
The icicles stopped. However, my fan exhausts through the soffit. Never seen that before. Strikes me as not a good idea.
(I then went around and found other icicles and dealt with those spots too. Just locking the French doors made a difference in heat loss. Had some other places too, such as a warped casement window that needed to be hammered shut from the outside. Now only get tiny little icicles outside those doors. Now I have to work on places where the snow melts first on the roof, such as the folding attic stairs.)

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

With toilet and tub on exterior wall plan out you piping. You don't want pipes in exterior wall.

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Oh.. Not going to Relocate Toilet or Tub, I used them as a point of reference / location as per size of room.. The Waste Pipe & Plumping to the Tub are both well inside running through the Floor Joice.. lol... Just changing out a Window and Planning the least Evasive Exhaust Fan Installation is all.. lol...

In our neighborhood, metro Atlanta, first floor baths vent through the sidewall rim joist, second floor through the soffits. We typically don't worry about icicles, it's going to be 78 here today. Just to make you jealous, I can post pics of the daffodils and forsythia in bloom!

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

Not enough to be concerned with. You will run it more in the summer to get rid of the humidity than in the winter. In the winter it will dissipate quicker and you will want the humidity because the house heating system produces a dry heat unless you have a humidifier.

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Hydro One.. Is Nobody's Friend here in Ontario... The Mrs. was concerned thinking the Exhaust Fan would be sucking a Generous Amount of the Furnace Generated Heat out the Exhaust Pipe..

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

Outside wall. No point in going through the roof where you have to make sure not to create a roof leak. And being in Canada, possibly blocked by snow.

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That being said to go through an Outside Wall.. Have gone on the Home Depot / Lowe's Website trying To figure out if the Fan Housing & an Inline Ball Trap to block the cold air would fit handily without having to build an extra frame of sorts... Thoughts & Ideas Appreciated.. Cheers Thanks

The Mrs. is right. Leave the door open.

And you didn't ask, but NO clothes dryer exhaust outside. No dryer, if you're a real energy saver! Clothesline in summer, hangers and drying racks in winter. Or use the dryer in winter but exhaust it indoors with cheesecloth over the end to catch lint.

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Originally Posted by joypulv

The Mrs. is right. Leave the door open.

And you didn't ask, but NO clothes dryer exhaust outside. No dryer, if you're a real energy saver! Clothesline in summer, hangers and drying racks in winter. Or use the dryer in winter but exhaust it indoors with cheesecloth over the end to catch lint.

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The Overriding Joy of All This is Dampness is a Big Issue.. Especially in the Basement.. We have Ground Water Issues Every Spring... lol...

Uh oh. Trench drains around the house first. Also called French drains, same thing. The real ones, wrapped in landscape cloth filled with gravel, 2 feet deep.

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Originally Posted by joypulv

Uh oh. Trench drains around the house first. Also called French drains, same thing. The real ones, wrapped in landscape cloth filled with gravel, 2 feet deep.

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Absolutely The Weeping Bed / Tiles or Irrated Wrapped 6" Plastic Tubing Collects and Drains into the Ditch by the Road.. lol.. Well into Summer if one were to Dig Down in the Backyard 2.5/3ft You Hit Water.. lol... Believe Me the Sump Pump has a real workout , once the ground freezes then the Sump Pump only goes off on Wash Day....lol...

Joypulv said,

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Or use the dryer in winter but exhaust it indoors with cheesecloth over the end to catch lint

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I'm confident that Joy didn't mean a gas dryer here, but some people reading this in the future may not be the brightest bulb and it could lead to a dangerous situation! Here, Gas dryers exhaust CO (carbon monoxide) and must NEVER be exhausted to inside a building. Further, exhausting an electric dryer into the home, especially homes built in the 80s or later is also not a good idea... can/will lead to mold growth in places you will never see.

Norplan, any vent hood or soffit vent for an exhaust fan has a damper lid that flaps back (falls down) or springs back (spring loaded) AND all exhaust fans come with an additional damper so you should not have to worry about cold air coming back into the house through the vent. I would also not worry about heat loss with these bathroom exhaust fans... it really is negligible in terms of heat loss to the home. It really isn't much different than opening a door a few times... totally negligible in the whole scope of things!

Mark

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

Norplan, any vent hood or soffit vent for an exhaust fan has a damper lid that flaps back (falls down) or springs back (spring loaded) AND all exhaust fans come with an additional damper so you should not have to worry about cold air coming back into the house through the vent. I would also not worry about heat loss with these bathroom exhaust fans... it really is negligible in terms of heat loss to the home. It really isn't much different than opening a door a few times... totally negligible in the whole scope of things!
Mark

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The One Appliance (Clothes Dryer)in the House that CREATES Condensation was Vented Properly to the Outside and from the Basement... lol... If Only.. lol... We're about 90% Sure the Mrs. understands the concept of Totally Negligible.. lol...

Oops, my dryer is electric, not in the basement, and I can aim the moisture out into a short hall... but don't use it anymore.
My bathroom fan is in the ceiling and vents into the soffit and created huge icicles, so I taped over the whole fan, and don't use it. No more icicles.
I enjoy being cheap.