regulations for bathroom extractor fans ?!

foxatron

Hi All,

this is my first time posting but im a big fan of this site as it seems to be great at getting info on any subject matter.

my problem is this, i recently moved in to an apartment but im finding that after a shower, the bathroom gets very fogged up and takes a considerable length of time to clear. The bathroom size is 7 foot 6" x 8 foot. there is a vent of 100mm in diameter but this is just a vent there is no mechanical extractor fan in place.

As there is no windows or other outlet in the bathroom except the 100mm vent should a mechanical fan have been fitted?

Thanking you in advance
Foxatron

Joey the lips

Yes there is suppose to be a vent. I am too tired to read the building regulations but its there.

If you want you can fit one. If it were me I would do one of 2 things.

1. Fit it to the vent in your bathroom running the wire behind a stud if possible or channel the wall out if concrete.

2. You can fit a ceiling vent and run a extractor to the facia and soffit then outside or through a roof tile.

The 2nd one is regulation as far as i know because you need an extractor vent but if it were me I would go with 1 as its a whole whole lot easier and you may be able to do it yourself.

foxatron

thanks for that joey. I think fitting a fan to the original vent in the wall would be a lot easier but im just concerned about the wiring. Would it be possible connect the wiring to the fan from a spotlight in the ceiling.

or if it should have been fitted originally by the builder in construction maybe i should get on to him about it

Joey the lips

foxatron wrote: »

thanks for that joey. I think fitting a fan to the original vent in the wall would be a lot easier but im just concerned about the wiring. Would it be possible connect the wiring to the fan from a spotlight in the ceiling.

or if it should have been fitted originally by the builder in construction maybe i should get on to him about it

You will have no problem connecting the fan to the ceiling light. Ask for a hydrostatic fan or what ever the name is. It will come on when it detects steam. My fan is on a seperate switch I would rec this. Like I say on the wireing if its a stud it can be fed through to the attic if its concrete it can be channelled. It all depends on you and if your bathroom has been already tiled.

foxatron

since its an apartment i dont have an attic. and the whole bathroom is tiled. if i could connect the fan from the spotlight it would be the best option. maybe i could run the wire over the ceiling and then come out somewhere over the fan if this is possible.

Joey the lips

You can look at channeling the ceiling as well. This is another option.

PR79

As far as I know the building regulation regarding fans is that the must be installed as of 2002. If your apt was built after that and then it might still be up to the builder to put it in but these days builders don't want to know about things like that.
Anyway if that's not an option for you what i would do is pull down your recessed light till it's hanging by it cables be carefull not to damage your ceiling with the clips that hold in the light. there should be about 4 to 6inches of a gap from your ceiling to the concrete floor above. then cut a small hole just about where your fan will go and try to fish a cable straight back to your light which you can connect to ( install your fan and connect to that first before you connect to your light)
you would ruin your tiling if you where to chase from your picture. when the fan is up put some bathroom silicone just up around the hole you cut to seal it.about 2 metres of 1.5mm2 twin and earth cable is plenty. don't worry if you can't see an earth connection on the fan as most don't have one as they are plastic. hope this helps

cnocbui

Look at getting a humidistat controlled fan. It will switch on when it senses increased humidity and then run for as long as is necessary to clear it.

Has the advantage of not having a fan come on every time the light is turned on.

I couldn't find them locally and just bought mine online from the UK.

foxatron

thanks for your advice lads. as far as i know the apartments were completed in 2005/2006 so it probably is a case that the builder should have fitted it but trying to get the builder to fit them now might be more hassle than just getting it done myself.

ill check out how much of a gap there is above the recessed light and the floor above. as long as i have some room it should be straight forward ( famous last words) fitting it like your saying PR79.

Davy

No one mentioned that you need to wire it from an isolator so you can disconnect supply and neutrals to it.

Joey the lips

Davy wrote: »

No one mentioned that you need to wire it from an isolator so you can disconnect supply and neutrals to it.

You just did.

Davy

Cheeky fecker

PR79

Unfortunately he'd never be able to get a fan isolator in at this stage davy cos the apartment has no access above the ceiling The builder or the electrician seems to have ignored that regualtion ( probably trying to get the job done as quick and cheap as possible). i've been in new apts that were built last year that had no fan isolators which is the law now. let us know how you get on foxatron.

foxatron

Is an isolator necessary? or can it be wired without one?

Theresis a gap just above the ceiling but id say its about 2 inches. took me ages to try and get a wire across in between the joists and insulation!

Ran in to a bit of a problem as there was a steel support which surrounded the vent so I had to bring the wire down about a foot behind the vent and then across.

I haven't connected it yet. ill have a look at that tomorrow

Davy

foxatron wrote: »

Is an isolator necessary? or can it be wired without one?

Regs spec one. It will still work without one of course, but its not in the regs for nothing.

IrishSailor

I have a question in the same vein really, I'm in the process of buying a new house and the estate agent is ADAMENT that the bathroom venting into the attic is within building regs. However anyone i've spoken to is seriously sceptical. I've tried looking up the building regs but to be honest its all a bit over my head. The house is about 10 years old so not sure if this affects things?

basically - is it legal for my bathroom to vent into my attic?!

Help please

Oh and lovely long weekend everyone!

Joey the lips

IrishSailor wrote: »

I have a question in the same vein really, I'm in the process of buying a new house and the estate agent is ADAMENT that the bathroom venting into the attic is within building regs. However anyone i've spoken to is seriously sceptical. I've tried looking up the building regs but to be honest its all a bit over my head. The house is about 10 years old so not sure if this affects things?

basically - is it legal for my bathroom to vent into my attic?!

Help please

Oh and lovely long weekend everyone!

No its not legal. If i can find the building regulation i will post it.

M cebee

i think estate agents are not accountable for 'erroneous' statements

so they can say anything

PR79

No you can't have steam from your extract fan expell into your attic. it must be vented outside. the best way to do this is to install flexible piping ( the same type you find at the back of your tumble dryer) from your fan into your soffit and out through there with a 4 inch grill - you'll get this in most electrical wholesalers

Hannibal

Back to the extractor fan issue, I want to install one in my bathroom.
1) I took the neutral off the light and wired it straight to the fan
2) took a permanent live from the light switch and wired it to the fan for the timer.
3) took another permanent live off the light switch and put a switch on it

So going to the fan I have a permanent live, neutral and a switched live. Will this work or do I need a 3 pole fan isolator switch?
All I want is a switched fan which I can knock on and off as I wish, without having to knock the light on during the day if having a shower..

Buford T Justice

Dotsey wrote: »

Back to the extractor fan issue, I want to install one in my bathroom.
1) I took the neutral off the light and wired it straight to the fan
2) took a permanent live from the light switch and wired it to the fan for the timer.
3) took another permanent live off the light switch and put a switch on it

So going to the fan I have a permanent live, neutral and a switched live. Will this work or do I need a 3 pole fan isolator switch?
All I want is a switched fan which I can knock on and off as I wish, without having to knock the light on during the day if having a shower..

The Switched live activates the fan, and kick starts the timer. The permanent live supplies the power to the fan whilst the timer is running. You need to switch on the light to activate the fan in the first place.

Hannibal

Fingers McGee wrote: »

The Switched live activates the fan, and kick starts the timer. The permanent live supplies the power to the fan whilst the timer is running. You need to switch on the light to activate the fan in the first place.

Yes but I want the fan to act independently of the light.. as in being able to knock it on/off without the need to have the light on. Thats why I'm wondering if I put a 3 pole isolator switch on will I be able to just control the fan without the light?

PR79

are you replacing your one gang light switch which turns on your bathroom light with a two gang one ie. second switch for the fan?

tmcw

PR79 wrote: »

No you can't have steam from your extract fan expell into your attic. it must be vented outside. the best way to do this is to install flexible piping ( the same type you find at the back of your tumble dryer) from your fan into your soffit and out through there with a 4 inch grill - you'll get this in most electrical wholesalers

I have a related question about regulations, is there a maximum length the flexi-piping can be, going from the fan to the soffit?

I have an ensuite in the middle of the house, and I was up in the attic today, noticed that the flexi-pipe from the extractor to the soffit was sagging a bit, and it turns out there was water lying inside it. I went to the end of the pipe, and noticed that it's not connected to the soffit, it just falls over where the roof-space gets tight, and seems to be resting on plasterboard.

What I'm wondering is if the flexi-pipe is too long for the fan? I looked up the model number but couldn't any specs relating to max length of pipe.I take it it's bad having the pipe like this, and need to install a grill, or is there any other solution? Where the flexi-pipe exits the ensuite, there is a sewer vent going up to a vent-tile. Any way of hooking up to this, or will I end up with sewer smells in the ensuite?