Master Bathroom Upgrade 08

Phase I - Replace the exhaust fan for an exhaust fan and light combo.

I spent the afternoon replacing the exhaust fan in our master bathroom. It is a relatively simple project....take out the old fan, hop up into the attic and tack the new fan in, wire it up, bam! You've got lights and fan.

Yup, that easy....as that blue cloud of profanity remains floating over our neighborhood. Aside from one tough little part it went well and would do it again.

Easy part: Wiring it up. 8 years of studying electrical engineering gives me an edge there. Black is hot, white is neutral, bare is ground. Piece of cake, baby.

Hard part: Dealing with the insulation in the attic and the location of the fan. It's blown insulation so it's a bit more hard to deal with and put back when you are finished. I borrowed a mask from my neighbor to keep from inhaling all of the fiberglass and that was a good idea. Long sleeves would have been a good idea as well, but the weather wasn't cooperating. Additionally, the location of the fan made it more difficult because it was within three feet of where the roof comes down and meets the ceiling. I felt like Rand in WoT when he was kidnapped and in that trunk for about 2 weeks traveling to Tar Valon. Hot, cramped and uncomfortable is not the ideal condition to nail in a fan box one handed.

Lessons learned: Figure out at what height the fan box needs to be hung vertically by assembling it all before you tack it to the rafters. That blue cloud of profanity could have been avoided by a little bit of thinking ahead.

Oh, and if you do try this at home, remember to take everything apart nicely. I had to reuse my vent adapter from my old fan because the new one was too big for the vent pipe.

Next up, Phase 2 - adding knobs to the drawers and painting the ceiling.