Replacing bathroom exhaust fan

[Baboontyme 2865]

My fan is dying and I need to replace it. This is a small bathroom, but me being captain overkill I want the biggest best most powerful fan possible. The housing on this one is 7.5x7.5. I can only see the one 2x4 which would seem to indicate that I have some decent room to upgrade size-wise. But I don't know shit about fuck. Can I get something bigger safely? If so I will definitely hire a pro to do the job. If it's likely that it's going to create a bunch of additional issues by trying to fit something bigger up there and I need to stick with the 7.5x7.5 I may try the install myself. Any help appreciated. 

[Gil Bang 26164]

Do you have attic access?

Edited October 22, 2021 by Gil Bang

[Baboontyme 2865]

No this is in a basement and the kitchen is above. 

[Gil Bang 26164]

Meh.  Sure, you can upgrade, but the duct size really dictates how much air you can move. 

The reason I asked about attic access, is I'm a big proponent of the fans where the motor/fan assembly is up in the attic, not in the ceiling, because they are so, so much quieter.  

[Baboontyme 2865]

Thanks. Yeah we are not going to be altering any duct work and I have no idea what's up there. I care about moving out air and humidity and noise isn't a barrier. 

[deadshank 24653]

THD sells kits that can be installed into the metal frame / box of your existing unit.  
 

Cut the power, pull the guts out of the old unit and install the replacement kit with new plastic grill.  They’re designed to fit into the existing unit and avoids drywall / paint issues. 
 

Don’t forget to kill the power before you stick your pecker in it. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by deadshank

[William_Cannon 86]

I replaced all my fans with Panasonics. They work much better and are super quiet. I didn’t upgrade to a larger diameter vent pie and it still performed on the next level. I’m extraordinarily happy with this purchase even though it was an expensive upgrade.

[52-80 19363]

7 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

No this is in a basement and the kitchen is above. 

youre gonna funnel poop smells to yer kitchen?

[Judge Roybeanbag 11852]

5 hours ago, 52-80 said:

youre gonna funnel poop dead body smells to yer kitchen?

 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10690]

10 hours ago, William_Cannon said:

I replaced all my fans with Panasonics. They work much better and are super quiet. I didn’t upgrade to a larger diameter vent pie and it still performed on the next level. I’m extraordinarily happy with this purchase even though it was an expensive upgrade.

Came to say this as well. The new ones are much quieter and more efficient that you probably don't need a larger one... that said, depending where your bathroom is, some people might prefer a noisier fan to hide the "noise".. 😁

[Dr Fear 1286]

17 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

No this is in a basement and the kitchen is above. 

Where you at?  I don't have any experience with basements, but surely there is more than a 2x4 between the basement ceiling and the kitchen subfloor?  I think you need to pull the thing out (cutting the power first, of course) and see exactly the height of the space under the kitchen, where the next joist is and what the ducting look like.  Those Panasonics that William Cannon was talking about look great, I would use one of those.  I recently did one of these at my house, and I regret going cheap.  You also need to cap off the wires (individually, not connected to anything) after you are done, or wire the old one back in.  You ever done a ceiling fan?  If you can do that wiring, you can do this.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Dr Fear

[Jerry Callo 8917]

Install one of these.  Just make sure you're holding on when you flip the switch.

 

[Baboontyme 2865]

2 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

Where you at?  I don't have any experience with basements, but surely there is more than a 2x4 between the basement ceiling and the kitchen subfloor?  I think you need to pull the thing out (cutting the power first, of course) and see exactly the height of the space under the kitchen, where the next joist is and what the ducting look like.  Those Panasonics that William Cannon was talking about look great, I would use one of those.  I recently did one of these at my house, and I regret going cheap.  You also need to cap off the wires (individually, not connected to anything) after you are done, or wire the old one back in.  You ever done a ceiling fan?  If you can do that wiring, you can do this.

I'm sure there's more up there, but I'm more worried about the horizontal space than the vertical. I don't think any of the models require significant more depth based on the specs. I am looking at something maybe more like 10x10 or 12x12. I have never done a ceiling fan, but it's not the electrical that would have me reluctant to do this. It's the actual cutting of the drywall and the mounting. I fuck things like that up 10/10 (see thread about me drilling a hole through my Navigator's center console). I guess I could try to take the existing one down and feel around? 

My intention is basically to buy a fancy fan with a built in humidifier that is powerful enough to suck lines of coke off of the bathroom floor, plus has fancy disco lights and a bluetooth speaker so I can jam out to Ace of Base while dropping a deuce. Then to hire some drunk Albanian off of Nextdoor to come install it. What could go wrong. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Baboontyme

[Jkwellborn 6972]

They can’t be that hard to install. Kill the power, verify it’s off and put the other one back in its spot. It’s possible it’s hung with drywall anchors or toggle bolts. Realistically it’s attached to a junction box and it just screws to it. Get one the same size and don’t worry about it.

[deadshank 24653]

On 10/22/2021 at 1:33 PM, Jerry Callo said:

Install one of these.  Just make sure you're holding on when you flip the switch.

 

Who gave aggy milkman a job?  Better check his work. 

[NeverMarryAStripper 22192]

17 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

They can’t be that hard to install. Kill the power, verify it’s off and put the other one back in its spot. It’s possible it’s hung with drywall anchors or toggle bolts. Realistically it’s attached to a junction box and it just screws to it. Get one the same size and don’t worry about it.

I’ve done it before and it’s a pain in the ass. They’re designed to be installed to the joists prior to sheet rock.  Most of them have tabs that stick out and it makes it very difficult to maneuver through the hole and get fastened without enlarging the hole.  I ended up cutting off the tabs with a rotary tool and fastening it with screws through the inside of the housing.  Getting the duct hooked up and it wired was also not very easy working through a hole that’s only the size of the housing.  The new ones are very quiet though.  At first I thought I had fucked up the wiring because I couldn’t hear it.

[High Plains Drifter 11143]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:17 PM, Jkwellborn said:

They can’t be that hard to install. Kill the power, verify it’s off and put the other one back in its spot. It’s possible it’s hung with drywall anchors or toggle bolts. Realistically it’s attached to a junction box and it just screws to it. Get one the same size and don’t worry about it.

 

Its never this easy man. Never.

 

[Homercles 10206]

21 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Its never this easy man. Never.

 

Beer 1: “Aight, time to be manly…let’s get everything out of the packaging and all the hardware lined up.  Fuck yeah let’s do this”

Beer 2: “Aight got the old one out…time to celebrate with a beer”

Beer 3: 

Beer 4: “Fuck, how am I supposed to get that up there while holding this thing…I only have two hands…are these the right directions?  Fuck you china”

Beer 5: “Oh shit I should have pulled the wiring further out…now I can’t reach it”

Beer 6: “Fuck it, I’ll just drive a screw through there into the joist…can’t barely read the directions anymore anyways”

Beer 7: “Got damnit, wife is home now…yes dear it’s done, no no no they said they’re all supposed to rattle like that…and spark”

[Rudiger 1178]

16 hours ago, Homercles said:

Beer 1: “Aight, time to be manly…let’s get everything out of the packaging and all the hardware lined up.  Fuck yeah let’s do this”

Beer 2: “Aight got the old one out…time to celebrate with a beer”

Beer 3: 

Beer 4: “Fuck, how am I supposed to get that up there while holding this thing…I only have two hands…are these the right directions?  Fuck you china”

Beer 5: “Oh shit I should have pulled the wiring further out…now I can’t reach it”

Beer 6: “Fuck it, I’ll just drive a screw through there into the joist…can’t barely read the directions anymore anyways”

Beer 7: “Got damnit, wife is home now…yes dear it’s done, no no no they said they’re all supposed to rattle like that…and spark”

9 months later....still haven't fixed the hole in the ceiling.

[Gil Bang 26164]

Was at Lowes earlier and happen to walk past a bath fan display.  Fuckers have bluetooth speakers built in. 

[Jkwellborn 6972]

Was at Lowes earlier and happen to walk past a bath fan display.  Fuckers have bluetooth speakers built in. 

Yeah, they’re petty pimp now. Could you image having your phone connected so you could listen to Pandora while you were in the shower and accidentally teeing up a porn?

[HornOnTheBayou 9036]

I can imagine that 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10690]

15 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Yeah, they’re petty pimp now. Could you image having your phone connected so you could listen to Pandora while you were in the shower and accidentally teeing up a porn?

yeah, careful with your outdoor bluetooth setup as well, when you think you are pairing to your headphones but can't hear it so you crank it up only to realize its paired with your outdoor speakers... just saying...

[Baboontyme 2865]

Electrician came out yesterday. I bought two models on Amazon and had them on had. One the GT deluxe with the bluetooth, LED lights, etc that was slightly bigger. And one that was the same size as the current, just better. Guy took a look at the location, took a look at the housing, barely glanced at my boxes and said essentially "no". He unscrewed the fan attachment from the current housing, replaced it with a new one and a new vent cover and told me to return the shit I bought. 

Captain Overkill strikes again. 

[William_Cannon 86]

Electrician came out yesterday. I bought two models on Amazon and had them on had. One the GT deluxe with the bluetooth, LED lights, etc that was slightly bigger. And one that was the same size as the current, just better. Guy took a look at the location, took a look at the housing, barely glanced at my boxes and said essentially "no". He unscrewed the fan attachment from the current housing, replaced it with a new one and a new vent cover and told me to return the shit I bought. 
Captain Overkill strikes again. 

I paid out the ass for the labor to install my captain overkill fans, so maybe count your blessings. Access was challenging like yours and my handyman lacked the prudence to say “no”. I fired him ass since it was going to be a bitch of a job and warned him not to under quote.