[GerardW]

Rerouting the exhaust from a bathroom fan which was previously set up to vent through the joist bay rather than any ductwork. That joist bay is open and has a vent at the end (see photo). Now that we will not be using this I want to close it off so that it doesn't impede the performance of the new fan and let unconditioned air into the house. Two questions:

1) short term solution for this? I am guessing taking a piece of sheathing plywood and putting it over the space may work- but not sure the best way to attach it..
2) long term solution for this? My research has shown that I'd need to take off the gutter, fascia, then remove the portion of the vinyl soffit that is cut into, patch the hole with plywood, then replace with a new section of vinyl soffit. Right? Or other suggestions?

 

[joecaption]

Why would you want to seal it off, and not just replace it with a vented soffit?
There was suppost to be venting in the soffits and a ridge vent or some form of venting on the top of the roof.
Looks like you have no soffit vents now by just looking at that one picture.
No vents can cause the sheathing to mold up, shortens the life of the shingles, can cause ice dams, make the attic area much hotter in summer.

 

[GerardW]

Joe-


Absolutely. This particular section however is an eyebrow roof and not an attic overhang. The airflow through this section of the soffit will just pull unconditioned air into the space between floors, and not function to flow air around the roof. Does that make sense?

 

[joecaption]

Not really, just hard to picture from that angle.
There should be no reason to remove the gutter or the fashia.
Just use a flat bar to pop that J moulding loose, if there's face nailed trim nails anyplace use a nail set to drive them through the vinyl.
Should now be able to pull the soffit down far enough to see if there's any roofing nails in the nailing fins and pop them out.
Once there out the piece should just slide out toward the fashia.
I'd be more concerned with why that fashia is not covered with coil stock.

 

[GerardW]

Thanks for the ideas- I will have to take a look. Here is another photo to give you some context of where this vent is located. Now.. To look up. "Coil stock"....

 

[joecaption]

Not going to do much good to look it up because you do not have a brake to bend it.
Sometimes you can find prebent aluminum fashia at Lowes or HD.
DO NOT BUY THE PREFORMED VINYL!! It's just going to buckle up.
The gutters would have to come off to install it.
Any siding company could do that whole area in about an hour if you had the gutters off.
Whoever does it make sure they use PVC coil not painted. The finish will last longer.

 

[HomeSealed]

Painted coil is fine. PVC is nice as well and may last longer, but painted is fine. A lot of people complain about white PVC coated coil because the texture collects and shows dirt more... Other than that, Joe hit it on the head for the most part. If it is vinyl soffit, no need to disassemble everything as it is very forgiving (you can bend and twist etc. - within reason of course). If you can find the same profile, just rip out those cut pieces and install new pieces after you patch the wood hole.

 

[GerardW]

Ok- I have done Internet searching but I am now pleading ignorance- what is coil stock and what is it used for?

 

[HomeSealed]

It is a roll of aluminum that is cut and bent to clad various surfaces including fascias, window trim, etc.

 

[joecaption]

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...4B0CDB9068AD12A2F09D071FAC77&selectedIndex=62

 

[jagans]

Boy, talk about much ado about nothing. Disconnect the pipe and let the vent allow a little air into the trapped area through the screen, and wipe down your gutters and aluminum clad fascia with 409. I bet Tilex would work good too.

By the way, how is this going to affect the performance of your new fan if you run the new fan somewhere else through a separate line?????

:huh:

 

[joecaption]

May be right, that fashia is so nasty I thought it was unpainted wood.

 

[747]

Ok- I have done Internet searching but I am now pleading ignorance- what is coil stock and what is it used for?

Rollex aluminum coil stock its use on fascia and around windows during a vinyl siding job. You need a break to bend it. Also around door trim. Its purpose is basically making maintance free exterior when vinyl can't be used.

To original post. I like joe's ideal. Just pop those few sections out and replace with new.

 

[HomeSealed]

Boy, talk about much ado about nothing. Disconnect the pipe and let the vent allow a little air into the trapped area through the screen, and wipe down your gutters and aluminum clad fascia with 409. I bet Tilex would work good too.

By the way, how is this going to affect the performance of your new fan if you run the new fan somewhere else through a separate line?????

:huh:

Disconnect what pipe? He said in the first post that there was never any ductwork and it was vented through a joist bay...
Terrible, terrible idea in the first place, and now it needs to be closed up.

That does raise a valid question though: Gerard, what is the new plan for exhaust ducting?

 

[GerardW]

Thanks again for all the replies.


The original exhaust fan did not have any ducting at all- it was just blowing into the joist bay. That joist bay happened to have this vent at the end, but it was still impossible for it to create any pressure to actually vent anywhere except into the joist bay directly next to the fan.

To run ductwork through the same joist bay and down to that vent would have involved taking out the ceiling in a bedroom, as I'm not even certain that the joist bay has 4 inch clearance all the way through.

The new duct (installed yesterday) is a 5 foot rigid duct section connected to an insulated flexible duct. It moves in the same joist bay but the opposite way, which allowed me to run the ductwork through the attic instead of a ceiling. Final exhaust from the house is a backdraft protected gable vent.

 

[jagans]

Hi Again Joe.

I think his fascia is already cladded, as the return leg appears to be carrying the outer edge his current vinyl soffit, and the outer edge does not look like the sharp corner or checking you would generally see with pine.

Sorry Homesealed, I missed the fact that he was just running his fan into the overhang. Really not very smart.

 

[GerardW]

Hi Again Joe.


Sorry Homesealed, I missed the fact that he was just running his fan into the overhang. Really not very smart.

Blame the previous homeowner! It was like this when I got here.

 

[HomeSealed]

Did you have a home inspection?... I'm surprised that they would not have caught that.