# Position of bathroom extractor fan - Wall or ceiling?



## Conshine (26 Aug 2008)

Hi - Fitting new shower.
Need to also put an extractor fan in.

Option 1 is to put it on the outside wall. Fan will have shutters that use gravity to close the shutters, once the fan turns off. Is it a disadvantage that the fan is at 90 degrees to the direction of the rising steam?

Option 2 is to put it in the ceiling, above the shower and then trail the hose to the external wall. Disadvantages are: need to make two holes - one in ceiling, one in the external wall. There also will be a permanent draught, or at least a potential draught.

What do you think is best?


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## PGD1 (26 Aug 2008)

I am doing the same and am choosing the ceiling.... hot air rises and all that.

But I wouldn't get overly stressed about it.

You can get the outside wall vent to have flaps that are pushed up by the expelled air, so no air should get in when it's not being used.


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## Conshine (26 Aug 2008)

Yeah, but still two holes to make and the distance the steam has to travel to get to the outside seems inefficient to me...


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## sydthebeat (26 Aug 2008)

if you vent in the ceiling, why would you need to make a hole in an external wall, cant you just bring it to the eaves.?

a ceiling hole may be a lot less messy than an external wall vent


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## Conshine (26 Aug 2008)

The shower will be right next to an external wall, so is the logical (and shortest) point to the outside.
The eaves (?) - you mean the fascia bit?
I would still need to make a hole in the sophett (sp?), and that would be more difficult to get to, and would mean the hose would need to span about 4 metres.


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## lazylump (27 Aug 2008)

If you decide to fit the fan in the ceiling make sure the one used is designed for this. Most I have seen are for wall mounting only and when installed in the ceiling the motor shaft puts extra pressure on bearings thus wearing them out quickly. 
The result is the fan becomes noise and has a short life.


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## Welfarite (27 Aug 2008)

Conshine said:


> sophett (sp?)



Soffit 

Regarding the ceiling vent, the distance that the steam travels will also mean that as it cools and forms droplets in the outlet pipe, you might be created a problem for yourself over time with water condensation.


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## Sue Ellen (27 Aug 2008)

This thread may be relevant also Can extractor fan be vented into attic


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## janabiyah (29 Dec 2009)

The steam can be vented to the cold water tank in the attic


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## sophie (29 Dec 2009)

If possible from listening to members of my family (males) the best place to position a fan in the bathroom is in the window. How that is done I do not know but it works.


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## newirishman (29 Dec 2009)

sophie said:


> If possible from listening to members of my family (males) the best place to position a fan in the bathroom is in the window. How that is done I do not know but it works.



Not sure if I am too thick to understand but why would you put a fan in if you have a window? Just open the window after taking a shower. Best you can do to get rid of moist air.


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## Complainer (30 Dec 2009)

newirishman said:


> Not sure if I am too thick to understand but why would you put a fan in if you have a window? Just open the window after taking a shower. Best you can do to get rid of moist air.


The benefit of the fan is that you can switch it on while in the shower/bathroom, and have the steam extracted without suffering the brass monkey effect.


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## Capt. Beaky (30 Dec 2009)

And you can monitor your abs in a non steamed up mirror as you emerge from the shower .


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