New Vented Dryer

J

jprender

Registered User
Messages
84
Hi Guys and gals,

Just received a new vented dryer today. We have decided to replace our old condenser dryer.

So now I have to "vent" the new dryer.

is it as simple as drilling a hole in the wall large enough for the "vent tube" to fit in ?
I imagine I need to buy something for the outside wall to cover up the hole as well.

Can someone give me a breakdown of the steps involved to do this.

Thanks,

JP
 
Just did this myself recently.
Depending on what the inner skin of your house is block or timberframe.
With timberframe you can get a 4" holesaw for your drill and easily drill through the plasterboard and osb board on the timberframe. For going through blockwork you have two main options
1. Rent or borrow a 4" core drill. This cuts neatly through the block and leaves a nice even hole for the vent pipe. (You'll probably need a 110v transformer also or a "Genny")
2. Mark out your 4" circle and drill a series of holes in the block with a standard sds hammer drill and large masonary bit. Then take a bolster chisel and bang out the hole. Not as neat a finish though.
3. Pay a lad who has the equipment to do it :) !!

Plan carefully first where you want to locate the vent.
Make it as convienent as possible to the vent outlet from the back of the machine.
Ensure that from the outside your vent has at least 40cm clearance from the ground level.
Make sure the hole is centered between two studs if timberframe.
Drill a small pilot hole first to check for any electrical wires or plumbing pipes behind the plasterboard.
Drill your 4" holes
Pick up a vent cover from your local builders merchants or DIY chain
Seal the edges of the vent between wall and vent pipe with expanding foam to keep out unwanted little visitors.


AndyH
 
Hi,
this is what I did recently to vent my dryer. Not saying its 100% right (Im not a builder/tradesman or anything like).
1) Figure out where dryer is going, and where on the wall (assuming you are venting it out directly through the wall at the back of the dryer) the hole should be, such that it lines up as close as possible with the hole on the dryer.
2) I then had to try and mark this location on the external wall. Plenty of measuring and marking got me there. If you have a drill bit capabile of drilling a hole through the cavity wall to the outside, this would make it a lot easier.
3) Once you know where the hole should be on the outside, you can drill the 4 inch hole inwards. Drill from the outside in so that you dont push the insulation against the eternal wall. This prevents dampness etc. To drill the 4 inch hole you need to special 4 inch core bit, and a very powerful drill. I had to rent one out. Costy about 30e for the day for drill and bit. Be very careful with it.....has a powerful kick if you get things wrong!
4) When drilling in, and you think you are nearing the end of the first block of the cavity wall, take thing slowly and dont apply too much pressure to the drill. Applying pressue can cause the last part of the 4 inch piece you are drilling out to break off the block such that you now have a lump of block in the cavity that is too big due to a jagged end to pull back out through the whole you just drilled [This happened me....not the end of the world- eventually got the drill bit back aroung the piece, jammed it against the insulation and drilled off the jagged edges. Probably damaged insullation a small bit, but had no choice!] Once starting to drill on the second block (the internal block of the cavity), again drill form the outside, and line up the two holes. You will want to put a piece of 4 inch pipe from the inside top the outside. There will be a little give but be as accurate as you can in lining up the holes. Again be careful when getting to the end. Not so important this time....dryer will cover any damage to the internal wall.
5) Once holes are drilled remove any rubble from inside the cavity and place a piece of 4 inch pipe in the hole . I used that expanding foan to fill in around the pipe. You can then place a vent cover (Woodies, Atalantic Homecare etc) in the outside of the pipe. Put your dryers vent into the inside of your pipe.
6) Not sure if its important or not but if you can and are confident that you can still get holes to line up etc, try and drill the venting hole such that it slopes downwards and it goes out. Thus and steam that collects into water in the pipe will flow out rather than in.
7) Job done. Drilling is a bit tiring (keep drill below waste and be super casreful if drilling on ladder).

As I said, thats essentially what I did and all is fine. Hope that helps. Now back to work for me......
 
if you live in a single storey dwelling, perhaps consider bringing the vent pipe into the attic space and vent through the soffit.....
saves a tough core drilling exercise.
 
Thanks for all the clear instructions !!

I will be drilling into a brick-built house.
I have bought myself one of those large masonry drill bits but the one that does the whole four inches at once sounds attractive.

Cant wait to get started on it. There is something about knocking holes in walls !!

Wish me luck,

JP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top