Quote:
Originally Posted by graybuckle
I need to replace my bathroom exhaust fan. I can’t replace it myself. I got a $290 price from Lenhart ro replace it. That seems high. Has anyone had theirs replaced lately and for how much. Can anyone recommend another company or handyman for the job
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I’m very handy. I installed two Panasonic ultra quiet fans in my Villages home last fall, replacing the weak and noisy ones that came with the house. The fans are virtually silent, though there is a whisper noise from the 110 cubic feet per minute of air being sucked out.
I recommend this one: Panasonic WhisperChoice-Pick-a-Flow-80-110-CFM-Ceiling-Bathroom-exhaust-Fan. $134 at Home Depot.
I do NOT recommend the one with the built in motion detector that turns on the fan and keeps it on for a certain number of minutes. I put in one of those, but that feature hasn’t worked well. In the other bathroom, I installed a timer in the switch box. That has worked great. The fan with timer and tax was maybe $165. It’s definitely worth the extra money to get one of these. Mine doesn’t have a light in it. I already have lights in my bathroom. Lights add to the cost.
BUT, this is NOT an easy project. I’m glad I have an 8’ stepladder because a 6’ ladder would have been scary at my age. The new fan is much larger than the cheap, poor quality original fan. After removing the original fan and wrestling it out of the hole, I used a template to cut a hole for the new one. Drywall dust and fiberglass showered down. The new fan fits into an expandable bracket that has to be screwed into the roof trusses on both sides. It isn’t easy, even with a good electric screw gun, to reach through a 12” hole, around the corner, holding the drill in one hand and the screw in the other, and get that screw in the wood. The bracket is necessary because the new fan weighs about 10 pounds. Then, I discovered that the electricians had followed code and driven a sturdy steel staple to hold down the electric cable close to the fan. To get enough cable to rewire, I had to loosen that staple, from below, working through a hole. That was really hard. Then I had to tape the metal exhaust hose to the outlet on the fan from below, before attaching the fan to the bracket. Everything else was pretty easy, but would I gladly pay $290 to an electrician plus the cost of the fan to get it put in professionally? You bet! It was exhausting work. It would have been easier if I were doing it in the attic with a helper, but have you ever tried kneeling on roof trusses surrounded by fiberglass in a hot attic with roofing nails in the sheathing just above your head? Pay the money and get the best fan on the market. Money well spent