Bathroom Advice

Jesse Benson

I have a bathroom to bid that the ceilings and part of the walls have mold on them. The main problem is the fan is to small. Here is my plan....let me know what you think.

Tear out and install new drywall
Install a bigger fan and new vent tube.
Replace any Poly or insulation if needed
Prime and paint

The bathroom is only 9' x 5' fairly easy to work in and there is access to above. I guess when they shower, water just runs down the walls and now being cold out all the moisture freezes in the vent duct and when the shut the fan off after showering water pours out of the fan. What do you think, any suggestions. Thanks for the help

dougchips

If you install poly you will have another job in a few years. If the moisture is trapped in the walls and can not escape to the outside then you will have the same conditions. Even without the shower running, there is moisture in the air that needs to go somewhere.

Jesse Benson

I would only replace poly. there is one 5 foot wall that is exterior and then the ceiling should have a barrier. I wouldnt install this as a fix, only replace to get rid of mold.

King of Crown

I think Mike Finely is the guy you need to talk too.

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Real nice guys

Jesse Benson

Do you have any advice on this Mike? I am sure you have seen this before. thanks all for posting

Mike Finley

It depends on which side of the walls your are putting the poly, right?

What exactly does "the walls have mold on them" mean? You might think about 2 things with the vent pipe/fan, one being to revent it out a side wall and slope the vent pipe down towards the outside of the house and two - to replace the exahust fan switch with a timer and tell the homeowner to run the fan for at least 20 minutes after the use of the bathroom. Make sure you properly size the exhaust fan, there are specific formulas for determing the size of the fan.

Jesse Benson

Thanks Mike, the fan is currently vented through the roof so out the wall might have to be the way we go. The walls just have a little bit of mold on them, along with the ceiling. It is not bad enough that i am too worried that it is behind the dry wall. I know to get the correct CFM rated fan for the square footage. The fan is not to small in that aspect, there are 7-8 showers taken a day in this 9x5 bath so i am sure a bigger fan will help but most of all letting it run for a while after the shower is done, like you said. Now i just need to come up with a price. Any hints? Thanks

Mike Finley

I would think of pricing it two different ways. #1 a best case scenario only adressing what is there for certain and everything you discover later to be consulted on with the customer and handled as a change order (probably the smartest way to do it) #2 more of a tear it all out and start over from scratch, like you said with new insulation and vapor barrier and such. Even if you did it like #2 you should be careful to spell out what is included and what will still be considered as hidden and unforseen.

Jesse Benson

Thanks Mike, I just sent the bid away 5 mins ago. That is pretty much how i did it. The guy is a good friend of mine so I laid it all out of all the possibilities that we could deal with. Although i know friends can be the hardest to deal with, I told him i would do it for nothing when i have time but he wants to pay and wants me to schedule so i think we are safe.

Teetorbilt

7-8 showers a day is pretty heavy use. I'd go 1.5 as a multiple on the exhaust fan. Follow Mikes instructions on the duct as far as the slope and go metal and metal tape all of the way. Keep the seams up and install from the wall exit to the fan.

I'd also use purpleboard, oil or shellac primer(2 coats) and a min. of semigloss paint(2 coats). Gloss if you can get away with it.

With that type of usage, you're bordering on commercial. You may want to look into that.

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Double-A

I'd look into a fan that will turn itself on based on humidity for this type application. The road to mold is paved with good intentions and unused fans.

7-8 showers per day is very heavy usage and without getting that moist air out, you're going to have some serious problems with condensation in the walls.

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Mike Finley

Good idea!

Do you have a source for those?

mickeyco

Broan makes them, they even have ones with motion sensors, I think the motion ones are activated by a fart.

http://www.broan.com/display/router....egoryID=100221

mdshunk

A wall mounted humidistat is always an option. I've had one on the bath fans in my own home for years. It goes in place of the wall switch for the fan, and you just dial in the humidity level you want it to turn on and off at. They used to be a yucky goldish color, but they're white nowadays. About 40 bucks. A good option when the fans with included humidistats don't suit the style of the bathroom. This wall mounted humidistat can be adapted to any bath fan.

Mike Finley

Cool, very interesting ideas. I like the wall mounted humidistat since it would let you couple it with any fan. Those Broans on that link are 3.5 sones, pretty loud.

mickeyco

Great option, my only problem, and I think I saw a post where you said you had renal units too, tenants always turn them off, especially if the fan is loud, they need to be able to talk on the phone while crapping or listen to the radio etc. I personally have found it best not to give them the option. I have some pictures somewhere that I'll post at my attempt to make a tenant proof bathroom.

mdshunk

They make a version of that humidistat without a knob and tamper resistant cover screws. No matter what you do, a tennant can screw it up. We're talking about an owner occupied home here in this thread, I think.

mickeyco

Amen, don't I know it! I think you find the same problems with the average homeowner, and kids are always good for turning things off when they're not supposed to.

Yeah the Broans are a little loud but that's the only manufacturer I know that makes them, I hope some of the others start making them available. Fool proof usually works best for the common homeowner.

Here's the pics of the bathrooms I re-did in a rental, I've done a few of them in this building this way, with little enhancements each time and they've been lasting so far, knock on wood. They're in a brick building built in the 40's, with furring strips on the brick with wire mesh and plaster and tile on top, no insulation. The problem was the furring strips rotted from water getting in and on one of them a big chunk of wall actually fell into the tub. The problem was without moving the tub drain and tub (not much room to move them) there wasn't a lot of room for a standard stud wall, so I used 1-5/8" metal studs on all sides of the tub, foam insulation (spray in foam on the more recent one), vapor barrier and cement board. It's been about 8 year since the first one and no problems yet. I know that doesn't seem like a long time but with renters it is.