Removing a bath fan

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865resi

Senior Member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
Electrician
How do you guys remove a bath fan without damaging the drywall? I need to replace it with a fan\light combo. I can't get to it from above. All I know is tin snips and a sawzall. The new fixture is only an inch bigger. Thanks
 
Depends on how it was installed to begin with.

If it's between joists on the hangers, just push up and bend the crap out of the hangars and cut them once you get enough room to do so.

If it's attached to the joists on one side, I use a long, thing flat screwdriver to wedge in first, then a thick screwdriver, then a flat crowbar.
 
Enlarge the hole to suit the new fan first, away from the nearest joist. That'll give you room to see and work.

They usually used roofing nails. Pry them out or cut through them like you would to remove a nail-on box.
 
Use a reciprocal saw with a hack saw blade to cut through the screws, brackets, etc. From my experience many of the new bath exhaust fans are not made for retrofit installations. Hopefully you'll have enough room above to push the new fan up into the attic and make the hose and wire connections above the sheet-rock. Once you have that done you are going to have to screw the fan to a rafter from inside the fan cavity. Make sure the screw heads don't prevent you from inserting the fan mechanism. Good luck. :cool:
 
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