Bathroom vent line hole in brick wall?

[trader4]

Any suggestions for best way to make a hole in a single course brick wall for a bathroom vent fan? I was planning to use a masonry drill around the perimeter, then chisel it out.

TIA

[Pete C.]

Don't waste too much time trying to make a round hole to exactly match the duct, look at the square flange on the outside vent to see what you should shoot for. You can also chip out the mortar around a brick and remove it to where you can split it more accurately without having to bash on the entire wall. Back fill the extra gap with expanding foam and finish any visible gaps on the outside with a bit of mortar. If you removed any bricks for cutting, mortar the pieces back in.

Pete C.

[Joseph Meehan]

I have seen vents sized and shaped to fit a brick size opening. Maybe they were custom made, but even that would not be too hard to do. Not only will it save time, but it results will be better looking.

[John McGaw]

As long as the vent hood has a flange around it to cover the uneven edge that should work. I did the 6-inch hole for my Jenn-Air's vent that way using a 3/8" bit in a hammer drill and it didn't even require any chiseling -- a single whack with a hammer and the center separated perfectly. But I did drill what seemed like an insane number of holes so that there was very little material left between them.

[Tom The Great]

I havent done this, but I saw on "holmes on homes" they used a rented impact drill, with a rented drillbit. It was a 4" hole saw(heavily reinforced).

Might want to check with your rental stores for help.

later,

tom @

[Frank]

I did this and it worked out perfectly. I simply bought a masonry blade for my circular saw at Home Depot and used the saw to plunge through the brick.and make a square. I used a chisel to cleanup the corners and it fit within the frame of the front rover. Also. I filled the the boles around the circular vent pipe with insulating foam.

Good Luck