bathroom ventilation fan

I installed a new fan over my walk-in shower, but the power isn't wired through GFCI. It's only rated for use over a shower/tub if power is ran through a GFCI.

The power is pulled off the main switch in the bathroom which ran an overhead light (now a medicine cabinet/light), which isn't GFCI. Only the outlet in the bathroom is GFCI. I can't tap into the GFCI outlet in the bathroom, because I'd have to tear open way too many walls and there isn't room in the attic to get to the feed wire.

But, I can tap into one of the lines feeding the kitchen, which is on the GFCI loop. I figure I'd just snip the wires, put in a junction box, and splice the wires back together + 1 new 14/3 romex cable which I run over to the vent fan. I assume there isn't an issue if I did this?

In the real world here, how much of a risk am I running with it being of regular power? I'm not going to be doing something stupid like spray the shower head into the fan afterall.

Additionally, it looks like my guest bathroom fan isn't vented to the room. It must have been a retrofit and they just cut the hole and put the fan up there and it's blowing into the attic. It's been like that at least 6 years, maybe longer. How bad is it if I leave it like that? The attic has all blown-in insulation and the fan outlet is pretty damn close to one of the sofets. If anything, I'm thinking about running some flex tubing and just hanging it over the sofet. Would that be OK? It's $200 to have a vent cut/installed into the roof (and no, I'm not DIY on that).

Reply to
ESM
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Simple solution is to replace the breaker for the fan circuit with a GFCI one.

Probably not a high risk. But when you go to sell it, it's likely to be flagged by a home inspector. Or, if someone happens to use the shower, does something stupid and electrocutes yourself, you insurance company may have some interesting questions to ask before they cover you.

It should be run to a vent at the soffit that connects the hose to the outside. Leaving it venting into the attic is a big mistake. Again, very likely to be found on a future inspection. And could cause mold problems at any time, which can cost $$$ to fix.

Reply to
trader4

I didn't hink of that at all. This would end up putting a portion of the master bedroom on GFCI. There shouldn't be any issues with that, aside from the unwated effect of extra outlets/lights going off if I tripped the GFCI because of something in the bathroom, correct?

Reply to
ESM

Reply to
bob kater

and the fan outlet is pretty damn close to one of the sofets.

Potentially this is a serious problem, Home Inspectors *frequently* see water damage and/or mold on sheeting and rafters as a result of attic condensation from dryers and bathroom vents, here's an example of what happens when the "fan outlet is pretty damn close to one of the soffits":

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In any case IMO it's best to vent through a roof jack rather than at a soffit - if you are successfully venting the attic via intake air from soffit vents and exhausted through a roof, ridge or power vent you may end up sucking the moist exhaust back it. And if not, you are still venting hot, moist air right underneath the underneath of the soffit and next to a wall.

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One solution to your GFCI problem is to install a fan with a built-in GFCI.

I don't remember off-hand who makes them, but they are available from at least one of the Japanese manufacturers (might be Panasonic).

Another option would be to use a in-line remote fan, such as one of the Fantech products:

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Properly installed these can not only do an superior job of ventilating the bathroom (in my house we have one intake above the tub or shower, another a foot or two outside the T/S enclosure , and a third above the toilet in each bathroom, and arremgement which does an excellen job of removing mositure and odors) but the remote fan setups are also quieter than other most bathroom vents.. Michael Thomas Paragon Home Inspection, LLC Chicago, IL mdt@paragoninspectsDOTcom

847-475-5668
Reply to
MDT at Paragon Home Inspection

Wow, that's some extreme mold. How long do you think it took for that to occur? I have a feel the vent in the guest bathroom really never got used much for moisture. I'll have to go digging through the blown-in insulation to see if there's any type of mold starting to form or not. I guess I'll have the roofers add a 2nd gooseneck vent to my work, as I'm already having one put in for the new master bath fan.

Reply to
ESM

That sounds just fine. And you are doing it right by installing the junction box. Connections should not be made outside a box.

Why take a risk when you don't have to? I used to know a person who was electrocuted--accidents happen. Can you prevent them?

Does the guest bathroom have a tub or shower? If so, you need to vent it to the outside. If the bath has a toilet and sink only venting to the attic is okay.

Reply to
Phisherman

If a bathroonm with shower is being vented to an attic, and the conditions are right, you can get very substantial mold growth in a few months.

Reply to
MDT at Paragon Home Inspection

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