Venting Bathroom Vent Fans | 3 Best Options

[@dlkacz]

Whether it’s new construction or a remodel, a bathroom vent should always vent through the roof instead of an eave, overhang, or soffit. The point of a bathroom exhaust vent, or any vent really, is to remove hot, moist air from the house. And while both a roof vent and an overhang vent perform this task, there is one big difference. As the warm moist air leaves the bathroom through a soffit, it leaves in a downward motion. However, natural air flow from the outside will bring the moist air back into the attic through the soffit vents, kind of like a vacuum. Now there is all of this warm, moist air hanging out in the attic. This is where having a well-sealed and insulated attic can hurt you. The moisture in the air has nowhere to go and settles on the insulation, rafters, and other parts of the attic. Over time, this can lead to mold, mildew, and other damage to the roof structure. This can be mitigated by roof vents or even an attic fan. But if you don’t have any of that already in place, that’s an unexpected cost. Unfortunately, when the damage is discovered, it’s too late to take these steps. Just a heads up. 😉

[@BuddyTobyTV]

Seattle resident here. We have 8 months of damp rainy weather and nothing dries out. We get algae growing on our decks. Our soffits are fully vented and I’ve never had any issue with mold mildew etc. if the fan is running even in a place like Pittsburgh, it’s not enough to cause a major issue. If it was a steady stream of steam into your attic, sure. But this seems really far fetched in my opinion. I’ve never heard or seen this issue but perhaps others have. There is not massive suction right into soffit vents and even if some comes through it’s plenty mixed with outside air. Also remember in the video it either wasn’t vented or it was vented directly into the attic. That would be way, way worse. Heck I had a rat that chewed up my flex duct in my old house and there was some darkened insulation but no major issues.

[@dlkacz]

@@BuddyTobyTV Move to Florida especially Central Florida where the air doesn't move as it does along the coastline. My girlfriend's daughter just moved back into her house after 3 weeks at a VRBO due to black mold not only found in her attic space but inside the walls all due to her bathroom vent not being vented through the roof. The drywall in the bathroom, kitchen and one side of the living had to all be replaced. The cost to her because she didn't have the proper insurance to cover it, $46,000. They kept the cost down by doing the repainting and tiling themselves. If it seems far fetched to you, it probably is. But to us living here with days of 100+ degree weather and average humidity levels of 90, it's the norm between June through September.

[@inspectr1949]

Except in northern climates where the roof and vent will be covered in snow.

[@dlkacz]

@@inspectr1949 I lived in Pontiac, Mi for 39 yrs. and Buffalo for 13 yrs before moving to Florida. The bathroom vents never had a problem with being covered with snow because of the heat the raises from inside the house.

[@inspectr1949]

My findings and observations are based being a NY State Licensed Home Inspector for 21 years Albany to Lake Placid before that 30 years in the building trades have seen snow and ice piled up over 3' at times, all that escaping heat and moisture from the bath vents turns everything to ice near it so we have to agree to disagree.

[@christinagordon8159]

literally just paid 2k to have mold remediation done due to ehaust fans venting through the soffit. The ventilated soffit just sucked that warm moist air right into the attic's joist bays, which in winter would make contact with the cold roof sheathing & boom condensation & mold.

[@ravenarrow4631]

This guy has no clue. I feel sorry for the ones following his nonsense.

[@hkhatri12]

Exactly what I was thinking. Wouldn't it be just better to vent it from roof?

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

Can you do it if the next soffit vent is a few feet away? Or is it still really bad?

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

Not unless you're 100% sure you can seal it. And do it properly. Some moist air from a shower once a day with grow mold, but a real leak from the roof will grow mold, ruin the ceiling and insulation, and eventually rot out the roof and anything else it finds. Not saying this soffit thing isn't a good idea, just saying that it's not as bad (imo) as risking a huge leak by poking holes in your roof.

[@MikeJones__Who]

Important note/caveat on the location of the bathroom vent. You're never supposed to add a bathroom vent into a vented soffit (soffit with perforations) otherwise the warm moist air from the bathroom vent will get sucked back up into the attic and cause mold or rot. In that case the bathroom vent will need to be through the roof or the side.

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

Worse than having it straight vented to attic like a lot of these vent fans are 😆 you make a good point, but I think it’s an unlikely scenario

[@michaelhorn9114]

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! NEEDS TO BE AN INSULATED PIPE ALSO!

[@MikeJones__Who]

@@BathroomRemodelingTeacher Sadly I've seen it alot on new construction. I can also imagine home owners trying to retrofit a vent themselves not understanding that important detail.

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

@@MikeJones__Who I’m sure that has a lot to do with the air tightness that is being required these days. Turn on furnace and cold air return vacuums out anything unsealed. You bring up an excellent point for new construction builds. These old 40+ homes it’s not as much of a concern

[@matthellcat2494]

I would recommend doing it right and not taking the easy way out

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

Good advice

[@MAGAMAN]

@@BathroomRemodelingTeacher Maybe you should try it some time.

[@ronaldanderson8950]

Softit venting lets all that moisture go right up to the underside of the roof and into the attic, mold and mildew issues will be right behind

[@tannerc900]

Tom Silva from this old house did a video on this exact set up.. said it’s just as bad as just exhausting it straight into the attic as the little holes where you just installed the exhaust outlet sucks cool air up into the attic but now it’s going to suck the moisture up from that exhaust and will create mold

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

I call BS in that 😆

[@tannerc900]

@@BathroomRemodelingTeacher watch for yourself: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqLVi4qalKiEf6c

[@DillonRhodes]

If you go the soffit route, it's good to switch to solid soffit sections about 2'-3' in both directions to prevent this. Some may just add solid metal flashing to the top side of the existing soffit so it looks consistent from the exterior (since the color fades/changes over time and a new solid piece would often be noticeable).

[@tannerc900]

@@DillonRhodes that actually is a good idea, as that way none of the moisture would get sucked up into the attic but can still keep the vent in the soffit. I never thought of that

[@ravenarrow4631]

​@@BathroomRemodelingTeacherSo you have no knowledge of airflow. Heat rises and thus can more easily be suctioned from above. This is what will lead to mold. The roof is far superior and much less likely to cause moldy headaches later, since it literally vents to the sky above with no suction or way to get back into the house. Plenty of people have documented this.

[@christinagordon8159]

And right in front of the window.... Why is the window always so steamy..... hmmm??

[@msn27-18]

I remember when he started this channel and instagram. Congratulations

[@MaxSuperTrade]

Was it previously vented into the attice space? If so was there any mold? If not why do you think mold did not grow up in the attic?

[@jmurphy2611]

I would think that venting through the top gable side is the best solution. You can have an insulated upward slope vent duct that terminates close to the roof line, and it eliminates the roof penetration of a vent. It also eliminates that annoying roof vent flap chatter that can occur under certain wind conditions. If this isn't the best solution, can someone please explain why?

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

Interesting that no one comments in this being a hood solution. They all fight about if the vent should be soffit or roof. Like there's not a 10000x better solution of the gable LOL Gable is what I'm leaning towards, and I haven't seen any issues with it so far. Definitely need to look it up and see what code is, but it seems like by far the best

[@mustangdbest220]

Absolutely never vent the bathroom fan into a vented soffit that’s just as bad as venting it straight into the attic

[@charlesjohnson7222]

Would you run a rigid 3” vent 25’ from the bathroom to the gable end?

[@keco185]

That's probably right at the limit for rigid. The rule of thumb for 4" duct is that you can do 30ft of rigid ducting with 5ft subtracted for every 90 degree elbow. Flexible duct has a limit of 20ft.

[@Samhain2323]

Mold will eventually form in the attic because you are venting the bathroom humidity at the vented soffit, the vented soffit will pull the humidity into the attic !!!

[@peternavanac9310]

Informative and clear. Nice to see all three methods in the same video. Thanks!

[@Bbbbbbbbbbb-f1w]

I’ll charge them several thousands to remove the mold in the attic! Thanks bro!

[@infiltretor287]

😂

[@ekim104]

Thanks for the awesome videos...

[@bobscaping]

Another great vid. Q: Did you pre-measure to ensure you didn't drill a 4-1/2" hole into a stud? 🤔

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

It’s a good idea to for sure 👍 gable ends are usually pretty wide open, but a dnn my all pilot hole would be a good idea 👍

[@vladmir3203]

This is SOIID soffit, open all of you your eyes!!

[@A6Legit]

Great video

[@nickk05281982]

Badddddddd moisture is going into your soffit venting and will rott

[@Gmoon917]

Is this Texas ?

[@MAGAMAN]

Doesn't matter where it is, it's still wrong.

[@adamnorthville5636]

Thanks

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

Yeah if the roof is old….it can be quite risky. I’ll do it in my own homes, just not for clients 👍

[@brandonharris1420]

I know the feeling just redone my bathroom vent thur the roof. That's one thing I would never attempt again. Lol... I have much more respect for roofers now👌

[@kyledavis7292]

My brother, what should you do if you have vaulted Ceilings and one light switch on the otherbend housebuilt in the fifties

[@traceystarling1930]

Why right over the windoe

[@td8866]

If you look HE VENTED THROUGH SOLID SOFFIT! Open your eyes before commenting. It’s not hard to see.

[@dimayar888]

It's not advisable to vent bathroom fans via soffit vents, as those suck air back into the attic and the moist bathroom exhaust air will enter the attic and can cause mold, it's sane as directly venting it into the attic.

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

Nope, it’s not the same as venting directly into attic. Really not the same at all. I do agree that it’s the least best option

[@littlebill833]

Soffit vent is wrong. The soffits are designed for vents that allow air to enter. You don't want moisture venting to the place where you are pulling air into the home. Recipe for mold!

[@shyto8302]

Your right but notice that those soffits in vid are not perforated so it’s not bad but I wouldn’t do is land it in front of the window

[@CloudDog1113]

Make it look so easy

[@MAGAMAN]

It's really easy to do things the wrong way.

[@eyehear10]

How did you seal the vent on the roof?

[@longsnapper5381]

Gable all day for me. Soffit is an intake.

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

See any perforated soffits?

[@xerro81]

I feel a little better about myself now.

[@MAGAMAN]

Did you install your vent the correct way instead of how this idiot did it?

[@nnoor9059]

Great work.

[@PeatedSander]

I thought this guy was good until i seen this video

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

Let’s explain that a big more.

[@mikez8277]

God please don’t do this, it’s just lazy on his part and is creating more problems. You don’t have to be a roofer to put in a roof vent, it’s super easy and there is a great Ask this old house video where Tom Silva puts one in and he does a great job explaining it. DONT DO THIS

[@joelklinker5616]

I totally agree man. This is awful. Mold city.

[@THOTH36944]

👏🏿

[@davidcooper4385]

He is out of breathe just walking 1 mph lol

[@BathroomRemodelingTeacher]

It’s the asbestos

[@bobrode4875]

IRC Chapter 15 code. You are giving horrible advise! Everything against code… do NOT do what he is showing you. Look up the codes for yourselves.

[@system2thinker659]

I just read through that section of the IRC, I'm not seeing what you're seeing. Not saying it isn't in there, there's tones of rules, but all I see is don't vent into attaic space, crawl space or ridge vents... it doesn't say you can't use a ridge vent. Help us out homie... I want to do it right but not sure what's wrong.

[@fireandfleshmusic]

Fck code. You're a Karen. Many ways to skin a cat.

[@treborterb]

@@system2thinker659 Most replies here have repeatedly given you your answer...do not vent through a perforated soffit because the moist air is reintroduced back into the attic/crawl space through the soffit vent....NOT ridge vent. Are you sure you meant to say ridge vent ? The ridge vent is at the very peek of the roof and is covered with the last overlapping row of roof shingles.

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

Probably meant gable vent, since the video never said ridge vent (or I didn't hear it, anyway). But yeah, the soffit thing isn't good. I saw a video where they said it's fine if you out it where the soffit vent is, but then replace that vent with solid soffit material so that the fan vent is a few feet from the nearest soffit vent. Is that good enough, do you think?

[@BPDNJ]

A soffit vent is the worst idea the moisture has no route to vent properly. If someone drops a nasty 💩 and it vents yo the soffit the exhaust cone back in through the the structure or open window. 🤮

[@brianlatimer4487]

Soffit vents are BAD. Moisture goes back into soffit and your attic. Terrible contractor.

[@kathryng.9738]

Total BS! Don't do anything this incompetent recommends.