How to Install a Bathroom Exhaust Fan

A bathroom exhaust fan has a vital role in your bathroom: preventing the moisture produced by steam from your tub or shower from causing damage to your walls or furniture.

When unchecked, condensation builds up on your bathroom’s walls and fixtures causing visible damage like peeling paint and rust, and creating the perfect environment for dangerous mold and mildew to grow.

Installing a bathroom exhaust fan keeps your bathroom looking and smelling fresh and prevents your family from breathing in toxic mold.

Before we get into bathroom exhaust fan installation, it’s important first to understand how an exhaust fan works.

How an Exhaust Fan Works

Exhaust fans are designed to take away warm, humid air from a small space and allow fresh air to enter. So, when you switch on your bathroom fan, all the steamy air from your hot shower is directed up and out of the room through a metal or plastic hose or duct located under the fan’s cover.

How to Install A Bathroom Exhaust Fan

Bathroom exhaust fan installation, although possible to do yourself, is a complicated process. Installing a wall- or ceiling-mounted vent fan involves these steps:

1. Choose the correct fan for your space. You will need to know the CFM (cubic feet per minute) rating for your bathroom. This can be calculated by multiplying your bathroom's cubic footage and dividing it by 7.5. Then purchase a fan with the corresponding CFM listed on the packaging.
2. Drill reference holes in your ceiling. You will also need to do this above the ceiling, in your attic space where the fan will be venting to.
3. Using a jigsaw or drywall saw, you will need to cut out the portion of the ceiling you’ve marked for the fan’s location.
4. Insert your exhaust fan and attach ductwork.
5. Secure the fan to the joists and run the connection cables.
6. Install the exit piping on the roof.
7. Connect your exhaust fan to a power source.

Call the Experts for Bathroom Exhaust Fan Installation

If you have some carpentry or DIY experience and are familiar with how to install a bathroom exhaust fan, then, by all means …. But if you aren’t, don’t worry. The HVAC professionals at Aire Serv can do it for you!

Besides handling all your HVAC needs, Air Serv can help you choose the right exhaust fan for your space and do all the dirty work, too. Schedule an appointment online or contact the Aire Serv nearest you to get started.