The day actually started with a trip to Home Depot to pick up wire and a few other supplies. Then we made a side trip to Habitat for Humanity's Restore to drop off the bathroom fan that we had purchased four years ago with the idea that we would someday put it into the main bathroom. That plan changed when we discovered that the fan would not fit in the limited rafter space. We also learned that we like the fan we installed a couple of years ago in the master bathroom because it has a fan that turns off on a timer, so we can shower and go in the morning and not have to worry if the fan ran long enough to vent the moisture from the room. So... Habitat for Humanity's Restore got a brand-new four-year-old fan to resell. Actually, when we were in the store a woman was in there shopping for bathroom supplies--including a vented fan! I suspect that the Restore priced and sold the fan within hours of our dropping it off.
When we returned, Rick started working on our new vented, lighted fan. Thank heavens he knows electrical circuitry because most of the time I had no clue what he was doing. Once we located where we wanted to hang the fan inside, we went outside to the soffit to cut a hole for the exhaust vent. Sadly, where we wanted to locate the vent did not work out. Rick used a jigsaw to cut the hole, only to discover that it was a hole to nowhere since it had beams and cross-beams totally enclosing it. There was no way that we could feed ductwork to that opening. Oops!
 |
| The "oops" location (left) and the final location of the outside vent for the fan. Patching the "oops" will happen later. |
We had to move the hole to vent the fan closer to the window than we wanted, but that was the only location that allowed us to snake the ductwork over beams to the soffit. It is not ideal, but it will do. I am thrilled that we will have a working, vented fan in both bathrooms. And as for the "oops" hole? A little Bondo and sanding, and no one will ever know it was there!
Probably the most frustrating part of the day was trying to get the flexible ductwork over the end of the outside vent. The expandable ductwork kept unraveling as the sharp edges threatened to cut Rick's fingers to shreds. Finally, he was able to get the ductwork in place and securely fastened into place.
Three days after closing on Gladys six years ago, we had much of the electrical work updated. At that time, the electricians put a junction box up in the attic for a "someday" bathroom fan, and they ran the wire back to the main electrical box. It has rested there, undisturbed, until today. We were very, very glad that this pre-planning allowed us to complete what we did today.
 |
| The new fan also will provide light in the tub since it is located just outside the tub area. |
 |
| The fan is located near the toilet so it can help to eliminate unwanted fragrances also! |
Fishing wires back and forth from the switch box up to the fan is not fun, especially when we had our blown-in insulation falling on our heads like a mid-winter snowstorm. I did say, however, that I was thankful what fell was the new, white insulation that we had blown into the attic a few years ago after we had had the gross, brown, smelly old insulation removed. That was the second time today that we were glad we had a little foresight years ago to make today's task easier.
 |
| Fishing new electrical lines to the switch took some time, but it was worth it in the end. |
The weather cooperated today also. Being in the attic is no fun, but our temperatures today only got into the mid-70s, so opening up access and being in the attic was tolerable. I would not have wanted to do this job on a 90+ degree day.
Setting up a two gang box to accept the two switches for the fan and light and a main switch for the main bathroom light took a little time. We had to take out old wires, run new wires, and try to get everything to fit in the right cavities in the walls.
In the process, we came across three thick wires that used to provide the "juice" to run Gladys' original ceiling heating system. We were almost positive that the wires were all dead and disconnected from the breaker box, but Rick tested them one last time before he cut them down. He is not dead, so the wires must have been so.
 |
| Our temporary light is not pretty, but it will serve its purpose. |
When we took the soffit down a couple of days ago, we also eliminated the only lights to the bathroom. Until we can figure out the logistics of our vanity, the new vanity top (which we have not yet chosen), the sink and faucet, the location of the mirror, and finally the dimensions of the lights we just ordered, we cannot set up the permanent electrical box for the main light. So for now, Rick just put up a temporary light. By doing so, we know the switch works, and we can have light if we need it.
Thankfully, once Rick was done with the always-scary job of connecting the new electrical components to a new breaker in the electrical panel, we were relieved to learn that everything worked just fine. The correct switches turned on the correct lights or fans, the new receptacle was live and provided power, and nothing popped or burned in the process!
We still have to add the wires for a second receptacle box. We have the materials, but we ran out of both time and energy today to complete that part of the plan.
Today took much longer and was more difficult than we had imagined. Figuring out what wires had to go where, painstakingly wiring everything correctly, and doing much of the work overhead, left Rick exhausted. We are happy with the results, but this job again goes into the category of never wanting to do this again.
Tomorrow is Sunday. I plan to sleep late, go to church, have a relaxing lunch, and spending the day as it was originally intended to be: a day of rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment