Incessant tapping of bathroom fan vent
 

Has anyone else been bothered by the wind causing incessant tapping of bathroom fan vent doors in their homes? My builder, in his final walk through, said it was a typical problem with homes in The Villages and that nothing can be done about it. :swear: He suggested closing the bathroom door at night if the sound is keeping me awake. :icon_bored: That doesn't work.

My feeling is that if it is such a common problem in houses in The Villages, why hasn't anyone found a solution? Or, have they and my builder just doesn't want to deal with it? :shrug:

I have a couple of ideas for solutions but am not handy and, with back problems, not willing to climb around on the roof.

Thoughts?

no problem here but if i were u i'd contact the warranty dept for a second opinion....GN

Mine taps too.
I don't believe that vent even goes to the roof. It goes into the attic and then to the eave I think. I know there are no pipes or vents exiting the roof above the bath except the plumbing vent pipe.
I can't hear it from the bedroom so it doesn't really bother me.

hang a fishing sinker from it?
Duct tape?

The fan in our master bath was also keeping us awake. On our walk-through the rep said that some people had removed the damper entirely, however there were downsides to that such as drafts and small insects. She also confirmed that the vent does not discharge through the roof.

I opened the fan and added a small bit of weight to the damper. This all but stopped the tapping but didn't stop the damper from opening when the fan was turned on. I used a piece of the adhesive backed weight from the ceiling fan balancing kit.

This isn't elegant and the weight will probably fall off in time, but it works for now. If you try this fix, check the direction the damper opens so you get the weight in the right spot.
LED

It is very annoying.

Yoda

Fan Tapping
 

I had same problem, worse when wind was from certain directions. Warranty dept. quickly told me there was nothing that could be done. The fan does vent into the attic, not through the roof. Inspection revealed that the damper was normally open about 1/2 way and a gust of wind caused it to close with a loud tap. As above, I added a small weight to the damper so as to have it remain in the closed position at rest. For insurance I also placed a small felt pad where the damper hit the housing. All done from in the house. After more than 6 months there has been no tapping at all in either bathroom. :a040: Hope this helps.
Steve :thumbup:

No problem here...
 

We do not have this problem. But, I can't believe the builder told you to close the bathroom door!!! I would have said "here's a better idea... FIX IT!"
Wow, I think that's a lot of nerve on his part. We did not spend $1.98 on these houses. The builder should get it right or make it right.

Yes, I agree call the builder or the warranty dept. and don't let up until it's fixed.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the replies. The adding of a weight sounds good but I'm not sure how to go about it. I also thought of a bit of foam tape but worried that it would leave an open area for insects to find inviting. I will explore further.

I removed the entire "flapper" from the vent. It popped out quite easily once I removed the vent cover, fan, and light so I could get my hand in there and remove it. As stated above, it was usually about half open and the wind caused it to close and make noise. I figured if it was half open it wasn't keeping anything out. We've had no bug problems as a result. Trickiest part was being up on the ladder, we have a 10' ceiling in the master bath.

Had a problem that sounds similar. Tapping only occured when the wind was blowing in a particular direction. Sounded like it was coming from the ceiling fan but it was not. Proved to be something inside the Soffit outside the bathroom window was loose. A smart handyman and $50 solved the problem.

I have the same problem with that noise. My inspector told me nothing could be done about it and that was it. However, it doesn't bother me much, I lived next door to LAX and am used to the constant noise of jets taking off and landing, 24/7, so that little tapping doesn't bother me in the least. I do feel sorry for those that are used to total quiet at night, THAT would keep me up for sure. :loco: