On 2/9/2017 8:13 AM, N8N wrote:
Hi all

got an issue at a friend's rented house

I helped move her in and noticed that neither bathroom vent fan was actually vented to outside, just output loose in attic

a few weeks ago a bad storm damaged the roof and I told her to mention to landlord that this would be a great opportunity to correct the bathroom fan venting, he thanked her for the suggestion and said that it'd be taken care of

well his "handyman" is an idiot. Apparently there was an abandoned 4" roof vent about 7-8' away from the large bathroom's fan, instead of recutting the hole in the ply that had been scabbed over in a previous roof replacement and hooking the bath vent up there he got some 4" flex duct and ran it all the way to the abandoned vent. He didn't do a thing to the small master bedroom's fan, it is still unvented. The whole mess is not held together with proper transitions or clamps, it's all duct tape and fail. What a ****ing hack job.

At this point I see that the handyman is cutting corners wherever the owner isn't cognizant of what a proper job should look like and that this job is probably never going to get done properly. I know the *right* way to do it is to get up on the roof and install a new vent but I don't want to cause friction. At the same time I don't like the potential for mold and mildew that the current arrangement creates.

What I'm thinking of doing is just not talking to the guy and getting some proper 3" flex duct, and a 2x3" to single 4" y adapter and hooking things up that way. It'll still look like a knot in a canine's genitalia but at least both fans would be vented to the outside.

Questions: would this meet code? Is there any downside to doing it this way other than being ugly and messing up the attic space?

thanks!

nate



I wouldn't even touch it. For starters, a landlord is required by law to
ensure the safety of their tenants. Depending on state, they have a
specific amount of days to repair a hazard. If it's not repaired
"properly", the tenant has the right to withhold rent and put into an
escrow account until repairs are made. Mold is a serious hazard which
can cause irreversible lung damage to someone breathing it in for a long
period of time.

Another option is to offer the landlord an opportunity for you to do the
job yourself "properly" and see if he will reimburse you for all cost
including labor or simply find out the code and tell him it's not
properly repaired as it stands now.

If you do the repair on your own without the landlords consent, there
could be a lawsuit against you or the renter at the most. At the least,
if you damage any part of his property, you could cost the renter their
security deposit.