Fan ducting/holes in plasterboard.

My bathroom fan ducting currently goes through the bathroom wall, through a cupboard, and then the kitchen. For some reason the ducting is done using soil pipe.

I want to cut the pipe in the cupboard, and run it up through the ceiling. Using soil pipe for that will be a bit pricey, and I've got some flexible hose so I'm inclined to use that. However, I'm not sure I can see a neat way of attaching flexible fan ducting to soil pipe, as the pipe diameter is just large enough to preclude stretching the fan ducting over it. Duck tape job maybe...

Going up through the room, I then need to cut a hole in the plasterboard. Short of hiring a huge drill bit, which seems like overkill, and will cost me over an hour of time plus the money, is there a reasonably neat way of making a large hole in plasterboard without destroying the rest of the ceiling in the process?

Ben

Reply to
Ben Blaukopf
Loading thread data ...

Ben,

Soil pipe is really not very expensive ! It also has the advantage of a nice smooth bore that won't clog up easily, unlike flexy pipes that get fluff caught up on the corrugations.

To cut a neat hole in plasterboard knock two nails in a short bit of wood so that they protrude with one going all the way and the other just the thickness of the plasterboard, and are half the hole diameter apart. Make a nail sized hole in the plasterboard, insert the nail that protrudes all the way, and sweep the other nail round in a circle cutting the paper surface away - carry on until through - should work like a charm if you don't rush it.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

It's the way it's done.

Duct tape is you friend here my son.

Whoa, have you ever cut plasterboard before, you don't need a big drill.

I bought a set of holesaws, from 2" to 41/2" for £12, not expensive, work with any reasonably powered battery drill or mains drill. I can drill a hole in plasterboard for 4" ducting in 10minutes, that includes getting the drill out of the van, setting the drill up, drilling the hole, and putting the drill back in the van.

Use a padsaw, only cost a fewn quid from the diy shop, take you 10 minutes to cut a hole. I'm not sure you should be allowed to do diy if you're struggling with the concept of making a hole in plasterboard.

..

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

Reply to
Lurch

In article , Lurch writes

It's a reasonable question if you've never done it before. After you've done the first hole you realise how soft plasterboard actually is.

Reply to
Tim Mitchell

I've poked holes in it with a screwdriver to run wires. Didn't say I did need a big drill. But I do need a big bit...

I can see holesaws in the screwfix catalogue, but they cost 14 quid. More to the point, I have enough tools already and don't really want to store any more large ones.

Sounds more useful.

Rubbish. I know what I do and don't know, and I didn't know a decent way to cut plasterboard, nor of the existence of padsaws. I did know that there was probably a good (and a bad) way to do it, and it would probably be a pain to fix up if I got it wrong.

Ben

Reply to
Ben Blaukopf

Mmm. I'll give that a go then.

Fantastic. Thanks.

Ben

Reply to
Ben Blaukopf

Fair enough, if you shop around you'll find the set I'm on about. Probably come across some on a sunday market tool stall somewhere. I got mine from Bearing Man Ltd in Shrewsbury about 8 years ago, I've seen similar ones about recently though. They're only cheap ones that get used for plasterboard and thin wood.

Alright then, I may have been a bit excessive in the missiveness of my response. Go for a padsaw, sounds like the best solution in your case. Make sure you get one with a thick blade, the thin bendy ones are useless. ..

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

Reply to
Lurch

Rotozip's can be had for only a little more on ebay, and can be quite useful for chopping holes in lots of things :)

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

Reply to
PoP

"John Stumbles" wrote | "Lurch" wrote | > Go for a padsaw, sounds like the best solution in your case. | > Make sure you get one with a thick blade, the thin bendy ones are | > useless. | Drywall saws, from screwfix & elsewhere, are quite handy for this | (that's what they're for after all)

A serrated medium-sized kitchen knife works quite well on plasterboard and can be had for nothing from the kitchen drawer or picked up cheaply from the Tesco Value Offensive Weapons range.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

In message , PoP writes

Then it was either a very cheap Rotozip or an expensive drywall saw.

I picked up a basic but perfectly good small drywall saw for this sort of job in B&Q for less than 2 quid the other day..

A Rotozip does do the job as well - I used one to put in some LV spots recently. but they do create a a lot of fine dust, ok if you are redoing a room, not so good if you are working in a room that is being lived in.

Reply to
chris French

Drywall saws, from screwfix & elsewhere, are quite handy for this (that's what they're for after all)

Reply to
John Stumbles

If you are making the duct longer, then you could be in trouble. You may need to replace your fan with a centrifugal type, if it isn't already. Axial fans are no good for long runs. Don't use flexible ducting, it massively increases the air resistance, requiring a much larger fan. Proper soil pipe accessories aren't expensive and look nicer.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.