Hi all,
I have to install an extractor fan into our upstairs bathroom and
have a couple of questions to anyone who might have done this:

Firstly, should I drill from the inside going out or the outside
going in? And secondly are there any unforeseen complications that the
novice DIY person like me might miss and should I call a professional?

Many thanks
Sam

"Caher" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,
I have to install an extractor fan into our upstairs bathroom and
have a couple of questions to anyone who might have done this:

Firstly, should I drill from the inside going out or the outside
going in? And secondly are there any unforeseen complications that the
novice DIY person like me might miss and should I call a professional?

Many thanks
Sam

Just done this for the first time in my kitchen...

I would start on the outside. Spend some time working out
whether both sides of the bit of wall you intend to drill through
are actually clear. A drainpipe across the front of your fan
will not help! Assuming you have cavity walls, I would make
the appropriate size whole in the outer skin from the outside,
then drill pilot holes through the inner skin so that you can see
where the fan will be. Then, I would drill out the rest from the
inside.

A handy hint: get a big cardboard box and duct tape it to the
wall below where you'll be drilling. Stone dust is a pig to get
out of tile grout etc. The box should catch most of it.

HTH,
Al

"Caher" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,
I have to install an extractor fan into our upstairs bathroom and
have a couple of questions to anyone who might have done this:

Firstly, should I drill from the inside going out or the outside
going in? And secondly are there any unforeseen complications that the
novice DIY person like me might miss and should I call a professional?

Many thanks
Sam

The minimum effort/maximum cost way is to hire a core drill and just bore
straight through.

Minimum cost/maximum effort is to bore a number of holes then knock the wall
out with a hammer and chisel.

As to 'inside out' or 'outside in' you may have to drill from both sides
unless you have a very long drill.

Don't worry too much about damage around the hole, as you normally have a
plastic surround on both the inside and outside to cover damage around the
hole.

Complications - as stated in another reply, make very sure that there are no
obstructions inside or out where you plan to drill.
Also check that there are no services running down the inside of the wall.
Do you have cavity wall insulation?
I don't know if this is an issue - just had a vision of loose insulation
pouting out of the hole :-(

Be careful working outside - an SDS drill can wallop a big hole in the wall
but can also hurl you off the ladder with the recoil :-)

You should be fine DIYing it - just go cautiously.

HTH
Dave R

On 27 Oct 2003 02:56:34 -0800, (Caher) wrote:

Firstly, should I drill from the inside going out or the outside
going in? And secondly are there any unforeseen complications that the
novice DIY person like me might miss and should I call a professional?

If it is a cavity wall then drill a long thin hole thru first, then
you can push the big drill thru from both sides to meet in the middle.

PoP

"PoP" wrote in message
...
On 27 Oct 2003 02:56:34 -0800, (Caher) wrote:

Firstly, should I drill from the inside going out or the outside
going in? And secondly are there any unforeseen complications that the
novice DIY person like me might miss and should I call a professional?

If it is a cavity wall then drill a long thin hole thru first, then
you can push the big drill thru from both sides to meet in the middle.

I assume you mean big drill means a core drill?

Normally you would put a pilot hole from the inside to the outside. You can
then put the fan where you want, but before you drill this hole you have to
check where the external grill is going to be. A tape measure and a few
windows and doors give a good reference point for the external grille. Also
watch out for concrete lintels. There is nothing worse than attempting to
put a fan just to the side and above a window. It will never work (been
there).
Another common mistake is to mount the fan higher than a window (in an
upstairs room) and you may find you have put the fan higher than the
soffiits (I have also been there).

HTH

--
Adam

On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 18:29:26 GMT, "ARWadsworth"
wrote:

I assume you mean big drill means a core drill?

Right. 110mm or 117mm usually.

PoP

One more question:
Where should the power wire go - between the cavity and up into the loft?
Thanks again.

On 12 Nov 2003 02:35:53 -0800, (Caher) wrote:

Where should the power wire go - between the cavity and up into the loft?

Running power cabling within the cavity is not recommended. Some of
the reasons include if the cavity is filled with insulation at some
future point in time there could be a chemical reaction between the
insulation and cable. There is also a consideration with regard to
power rating and heat transfer. Hardly likely to be a major issue with
a fan which is almost always low power (I'm assuming this fan doesn't
have a heater built in), but could be later.

The fan should be a spur from the upstairs ring main, not the lighting
circuit. And upstairs ring mains tend to come up from the floor rather
than down from the loft. Note the word "tend", you can't count on it.

So you might want to think about coming down rather than going up.

Furthermore you should have the fan fed via a fused spur which has a
3A fuse. Don't connect it directly to the ring main because it's
likely that the fan would burn out before it took the fuse (or MCB)
down. It's a low power device.

PoP