how to cover hole left by attic fan

[rachelms79]

I'm looking for ideas on how to cover over the hole in roof that used to be covered by the attic fan cover before that cover blew off last year (the f an itself broke and was removed years ago). I don't want a new fan, I just want some permanent way to cover the hole, preferably without lifting shin gles and felt, to avoid creating any leaks.

Last year I tried a round plastic toy sled, same size as the old fan cover, tied down with cheap poly cord through four holes drilled in the perimeter of the sled, and that held for about a year until the poly cord loops fray ed and the sled blew off yesterday.

Any ideas? Maybe just a metal lid or flashing bolted to the existing attic fan frame? Or is there much better cord that could fit through the 1/4" perimeter holes in the sled and would last for 10 years under UV/sunlight/w ind? Of course the sled itself might become brittle under UV and not last that long... (I figure in 10 years the roof would need replacing anyways an d then the roofer can just put in a new piece of plywood over the attic fan hole.). The cover would need to support snow, up to 12"-18" deep (house is near NYC).

Thanks.

[Dan Espen]

Assuming you don't have home repair skills:

Call roofer and get it fixed right.

Anything else (like a sled) is going to leak and cause more damage.

[hrhofmann]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 10:12:37 AM UTC-6, [e-mail] wrote :

be covered by the attic fan cover before that cover blew off last year (the fan itself broke and was removed years ago). I don't want a new fan, I jus t want some permanent way to cover the hole, preferably without lifting shi ngles and felt, to avoid creating any leaks. Last year I tried a round plas tic toy sled, same size as the old fan cover, tied down with cheap poly cor d through four holes drilled in the perimeter of the sled, and that held fo r about a year until the poly cord loops frayed and the sled blew off yeste rday. Any ideas? Maybe just a metal lid or flashing bolted to the existing attic fan frame? Or is there much better cord that could fit through the 1/

4" perimeter holes in the sled and would last for 10 years under UV/sunligh t/wind? Of course the sled itself might become brittle under UV and not las t that long... (I figure in 10 years the roof would need replacing anyways and then the roofer can just put in a new piece of plywood over the attic f an hole.). The cover would need to support snow, up to 12"-18" deep (house is near NYC). Thanks.

You need to hold whatever cover you finally decide upon with wire or metal, not a "cord". Your local hardware store should have wire smaller than 1/4 inch that would last for many years.

[trader4]

I agree for a long term solution.

There isn't a way to do this right without lifting shingles. Lifting shingles is no big deal, it's done all the time for repairs. Basic procedure is to cut a piece of sheathing to fill the hole, use suitable rafter size lumber to make pieces to bridge between two existing rafters to hold the sheating. Nail in place, then put shingles over it. It's not a huge job, nor difficult. Unless you can't get access for some reason.

For a temporary solution, I recently had an attic fan cover rip apart. I'm going to have the roof redone in the next couple years. The fan frame and cover supports were still in place. I bought one of the plastic pans made to go under a water heater. It was the perfect size. I just drilled holes in it and secured to the 4 support brackets, using the original screws. Put dabs of silicone caulk over the screw heads. For temporary it's fine. But longer term there are issues like how UV susceptible it is, etc.

[Dan Espen]

Roofers use blue plastic tarp. Use scrap wood about 2 inches wide nailed down around the edges to hold it down.

This is not a permanent solution.

[Frank]

When I needed a new roof, roofer replaced my non-functioning fan with a vent. Not really hard to do yourself if not old like me ;)

[CRNG]

On Tue, 12 Nov 2013 08:12:37 -0800 (PST), [e-mail] wrote in Re how to cover hole left by attic fan:

Can you get another sled and some better tie down rope?

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Wouldn't you know that roof has decking and shingles? Sounds like you are very cheap!

[Fat-Dumb and Happy]

Fix it right, I suggest at least 15 inch tires for a permanent solution,