How to Replace a Bathroom Exhaust Fan Without Attic Access? | 12 Helpful Steps for Bathroom Fan Installation With No Attic

Are you wondering about how to replace a bathroom exhaust fan without attic access? It is an easy thing to do if you go through your fan manual, and it should take you at most an hour and a half to complete if you have the necessary equipment or tools you will be working with.

It is essential to have an exhaust fan installed in your bathroom as it helps to circulate the air in your washroom and make it feel fresh whenever you need to use it. When an exhaust fan is installed, you will notice that your room has an airy feel.

Prevention of Odor 

Asides circulating air in your bathroom, your exhaust fan helps to keep odors in check. Many people without fans installed in their bathrooms are known to complain about odors that are usually emitted from the water jot passing through their drains properly after a shower.

Now, if you have an attic in your home, you will find that it is smooth to install or replace your exhaust fan since you will be doing it from above. When you have an Attic in your home, it is not challenging at all, installing it replacing your fan. 

Most people who live in homes that don’t have attics or where they don’t have access to their attics might be a little challenging to replace an old exhaust fan. The fan will have to be typically installed below. Nevertheless, you can still do this with it without attic access.

Knowing Your Fan Size 

First of all, you want to know the size of the fan that you will be using. If you pick a wrong fan size for your bathroom, you will eventually run into problems as the fan might not circulate the air needed in the bathroom or find out it observe that the air being circulated can not be felt at all. When installing your fan, you should check your bathroom’s size, which involves measuring your bathroom to make sure that the bathroom size matches your fan size. It is quite essential to do this.

If you have a small bathroom or your bathroom isn’t very spacious, you wouldn’t need a particularly big fan. A small fan will be able to circulate the air that your bathroom needs. Buying a big fan will only make you waste your money at the end of the day. 

If, on the other hand, your bathroom is quite big, you will have to purchase a cherubim fan so that the air that will be circulated by the fan will go you d as it is supposed to. You can take your bathroom measurement and take it to someone who manufactures fans to recommend a perfect exhaust fan.

Knowing Where Your Vent Will Be Connected 

Bathroom Exhaust Fan Without Attic Access

Also, you want to know where your exhaust vent will be connected. Many people will not connect their exhaust vent to their attic because the vent might make the attic unnecessarily wet, and it can make the attic begin to smell. The exhaust vent should be connected outdoor or outside the bathroom.

Old Switch Vs. New Switch

Old Switch Vs. New Switch

Now, when it comes to connecting or replacing your fan, you should decide on the switch that you will be using. When it comes to replacing exhaust can’t, some people will prefer to use their old fan switch. There is nothing wrong with that. Make sure to wire your fan to the old switch correctly, or your exhaust fan might not function. Some people might not want to use their old fan switch, and they might decide to get a new fan switch. Some fans may require bee switches, and that is okay as well.

Fan Accessories

When purchasing your new fan, you should make sure you are purchasing a quality fan. Some fans come with extra accessories. Some of these accessories include humidity sensors that some people find necessary and can’t do without it. For some people, these additional accessories mean that they will have to spend money purchasing the fan. They are looking for ways to cut down any unnecessary expenses included in replacing a new fan. Some extra accessories include extra lights. It is up to you to purchase a fan with additional accessories or not.

1

When you have purchased your new fan and have everything in place to install it and replaced the old exhaust fan, you should turn off the main power that powers the old fan. You should use a circuit tester to test the fan and check if the power is still running and powering the fan.

2

When you are sure that the power has been turned off, you should go on and take off the grill cover or the fan cover. You might notice that there are metal clips that are holding the fan cover. Squeeze the metal clips or push them inwards to take off your fan cover successfully.

3

When you have removed the fan cover, you should go in and remove the fan motor. You should make sure that the fan motor wiring is also disconnected since you won’t connect or install the new fan with old wiring.

Bathroom Exhaust Fan Without Attic Access
4

When you have successfully removed the fan motor, go on and also remove the fan housing. The fan housing might be secured in place with screws or bracket, so you want to make sure that you have every screw properly removed then the fan housing removed next

5

When you have removed or disconnected the fan housing, go ahead and disconnect and remove the exhaust fan vent duct. You should also disconnect the wires that are attached to it.


Your fan manual is supposed to tell you how to remove your old fan properly. Ensure that you properly read your manual before you disconnect your exhaust fan as all fans are not the same, and every fan might have its unique way of being disconnected.

6

When you have taken down your old exhaust fan, you can now begin installing your new exhaust fan in the old fan’s place. Begin by measuring your bee fan and measuring the ceiling where it will be housed or connected. Sometimes, your new exhaust fan might be smaller than your old bathroom ceiling, and you will notice that there is so much room left in the bathroom ceiling.


When you notice that you still have much room left in the ceiling, go on and patch the extra space up with drywall, cement, or with a sealant, whichever you prefer. You might also notice that your new fan is larger than your ceiling, and you will be left to during how to fix it. There is no need to worry about that; make extra room on your bathroom ceiling for the new fan by cutting away the extra space needed on the new fan’s bathroom ceiling.

7

When you have successfully measured your ceiling and adjusted it accordingly, you should go on and connect the duct connector to the duct. To do this, you can use a clamp. Depending on what brand of fan you are using, it might be different, so you should properly read your fan’s manual instructions to determine the duct positioning.

8

When you have connected the duct connector to the duct, you should go in and attach your new exhaust fan’s electrical wiring. You might have to match the new electrical wiring using the wire colors. Always take note of the colors and where the wires are going to.

9

When you have taken care of your fan’s electrical wiring, ensure that the screws that are supposed to be put in have are adequately secured. If the screw is loose, you won’t be able to connect your fan correctly.

10

After you have secured the screens, you can go ahead and attach the new fan housing. You should take care to put all the screws that are needed in place. Attach the housing properly so that your other fan components will be able to be connected properly.

11

After connecting the fan housing, you should go on and attach the new fan’s motor. Connect every wiring that is supposed to go with it. Ensure that you are using the recommended wiring for your exhaust fan when you plan to replace it.

12

After attaching your fan motor, go on and attach or connect your new fan cover it the or the grill cover. Ensure that you screw it correctly or that the metal clips holding it in place are secured so that the fan cover doesn’t move unnecessarily.


After you have attached everything that needs to be connected, you can then go in to turn on the main power of the fan to see if the fan is working. Adjust whatever needs to be corrected to make sure that your exhaust fan is functioning the right way. Always make sure that the fan that you are using is a quality fan.

Conclusion

How to replace a bathroom exhaust fan without attic access is not as challenging as many people think. You need to go over instructions to help you.

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