bathroom vent not properly vented?

Question

so I went into the attic to see what the problem with the bathroom vent was and found out that the builder had cut some corners.
The vent pipe was there but not connected to the vent. and the other end of the pipe was just lying about 4 feet away.
- The nearest place (5 feet) I can vent out to is the ridge vent- is this acceptable?
- The nearest soffitt vent is about 25 feet away- is this preferable
- house was built in 1997. Builder is still around- are they responsible for the costs?

Answer 1

Your bath vent needs to be vented with a 636 or similar hood. It is a hood that is attached and mounted on your roof. This is a specific vent designed for small exhaust fans such as your bath fan. The moisture has to be vented out the roof and not in the attic space. It you simply vent it out the ridge, you will have residual moisture in your attic and you will have ice in your attic. Not good because ice eventually melts.....the water from the ice will cause mold and mildew when it settles on your insulation.

You need to purchase some insulated duct from Home Depot or Lowe's, etc. and vent the bath fan properly. It is best to use R-8 flex as R-4 flex, depending on where you live, can condensate in cold weather and the moisture will run back down onto your ceiling. DO NOT USE METAL pipe to vent your bath fan unless you insulate it properly. The metal will condensate when you run the fan. The warm moist air venting from the bathroom will come in contact with the cold unconditioned pipe in the attic space air and you will have moisture on your ceiling. Your builder cut corners and if you don't vent the bath properly, it could result in more expensive repairs in the future.

You don't need a "P" trap because your bath vent has a back draft damper. If you put a P trap in then you once again risk traping warm air in an unconditioned space. If you leave any sag in the flex then you risk warm air trappage....which leads to moisture.... Don't listen to amateurs unless you like spending time in your attic, because if you don't do it right the first time, you'll be back.....

Running the pipe out the soffit is a great idea if you like insulation diving. Plan on breaking out in a rash for 3 days and coughing up insulation. Not to mention blowing it out your nostrils, very attractive. VENT IT THROUGH THE ROOF. Very easy, very simple and very effective.

Commerical/Residential HVAC Tech - 10 years.

Answer 2

We just had a new bathroom installed on the first floor. Code required that they vent all of the new fixtures. They had to zig zag the vent pipe through the existing walls and up through the second floor into the attic. Once in the attic, they ran the pipe up through the roof and put on flashing under the shingles. That's how it should be done. It can pop out anywhere on the roof, but you'd probably want it in the back so it can't be seen from the street.

Answer 3

The bathroom vent must vent to the outside otherwise it will create an environment conducive to mold growth. Extending that out over the years, it may attack the structure itself and would be very expensive and invasive to correct.

You wrote that the vent pipe is there, but not connected to the vent. You don't need to run that out to the ridge or soffit vents then, you just need a small replacement section to connect them.

The builder may have had a warranty on the house, but it has likely expired. It would be difficult and costly to you to pursue this in court even if you did win, but in the meantime, every shower you take is dumping moisture into the attic.

It is frustrating, but the fix is quick and easy. Measure the diameter of the vent so you buy the right size.

Answer 4

The bath fan is listed to be vent one of two ways.
1. out through the roof with a roof vent with a damper inside to keep it from drafting the heat out (more likely to condensate and create problem unless insulated duct work use)
2. Out through a gable end of the house with a listed gable vent which also has a damper to help prevent drafting. when using this option not only should the duct work be insulated but you can cover it with attic insulation.

You do not want to vent out the soffit as the moist air will be drawn back into the attic through the soffit vents. this would create an environment for possible mold, moist for termites and can break down the roof decking glue properties.

Answer 5

Running the pipe to the soffitt is your best bet. Weather you use rigid PVC (cheap) or flex, stay below any insulation in the attic as to prevent condensation of water during the colder months. Also be sure to buy a horizontal vent as apposed to a standard wall vent. In any case your talking about well under 100 dollars so it's not worth going after the builder (you could ask him, but prepare yourself for the worst).

Answer 6

A ridge vent is made to vent your attic space. If you attach your vent hose to the ridge vent, you're effectively blocking the attic space from venting in order to use it for your bathroom vent.

It was my understanding that the bathroom vent, like a kitchen exhaust fan, should have its OWN outlet.

Answer 7

In UK most houses have a 10 year warranty underwritten by insurers. This omission would be covered. Try ringing the builder first, he might come to sort it.

Answer 8

From what it sounds like, you will just have to connect the two ends of the "pvc" together. It's not hard. Get you two regular 2" 45, primer, glue and a small segment of 2" pvc. Dry fit your fittings and then figure out the proper lenght of your 2" pvc with a tape measure, go from socket to socket. I hope I didn't confuse ya'll. Good luck.

Answer 9

i can say that you should add a p-trap, you make it by bending the Flex so that the warm air in your bathroom doesn't escape out .
and you should look into going out the roof or sidewall.
as far as the getting the builder involved he'll see you sometime never.

Answer 10

Does yor crap smell that bad? Can't you just let it go into your attic?