Replacing shower recessed light with vent/light

9 years ago

Our house has a 6" can light over the bath/shower. I am going to replace the recessed can light with a Broan vent/light. I have the adjacent kitchen wall drywall down and can see what I am dealing with (can't reach light from above), and I plan on tracing the shape of the vent fan light onto the ceiling and cutting back the drywall. I will have to make it bigger so I can properly screw to the studs.

Old bathroom currently has textured ceiling and I won't mind it being smooth. So is it best to just mount the new vent fan light a .5" lower and then screw new drywall right over the existing ceiling? That is my current plan, but will the new drywall layer hold fast since the edges aren't being supported by the wall drywall?

Or is it better just to patch in the extra pieces and then skim coat the whole ceiling? I've never skim coated before.

Thanks

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

I take it the original light fixture was wired from the bathroom GFCI receptacle. You got lucky there.

The original light fixture would have been sealed at the ceiling plane and would not have tripped the breaker when the shower created a lot of water vapor. But an exhaust fan will pull that air into the fixture and is therefore more likely to trip the breaker unless the motor is well isolated. Of course, the UL test tells you that it is. As an architect, I am naturally more risk averse so I would have put the fan outside of the shower or used a remote fan system. I hope it works out well for you.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Pack Custom Carpentry, LLC
9 years ago
Have you considered how your going to vent the fan? You need to find a way to get it outside the house. You should not blow it into your attic or soffits. You may need to remove more drywall than you think.

The drywall should hold fine unsupported by the wall sheets however if you are going to install new drywall, why not remove the old drywall first? You will have access to deal properly with your fan/light and ventilation. It is not that much more work and unless there was something like loose insulation up there. Even then it might be worth dealing with. One layer of drywall is lighter and easier to deal with when it comes to things like recessed lights and ceiling fans. Some times the clips that hold the housing in place need that 1/2" above pane to be wood and create the plane by attaching to the joists or strapping (depending on your location)

If you are going the patch and skim rout and you have not done it before, it could be time consuming and difficult to get the results you would want.

Good luck with your project!
postalgbv
Original Author
9 years ago
I am running straight out of the vent about 2' into a chase that I am building in the kitchen (soffit/bulkhead above new cabinets..will also hide microwave duct). You can see in the first photo the view from the kitchen.

I definitely could bring down the ceiling.. just lots of projects in this house and trying to sort out what can be done in a timely manner and there's a fair amount of insulation up there.

Thanks
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Thanks, Ron. I should also mention that I'm in a condo and on the top floor. There are condos below me. The condo building was built in the 1920s. The wiring in the junction box runs to the basement. The wiring for the new light fixtures and fan, on the other hand, run to a new sub-panel I installed in the kitchen. It was very tricky finding a path from the basement to the sub-panel! We eventually discovered a path by following a vent stack that ran from the basement to the roof. To make a long story short, I don't see how we could have gotten rid of the old wiring in the junction box. Placing wire nuts on the wires and installing a plate seemed to be a reasonable solution, though it may not look ideal on the ceiling from an aesthetic point of view. But maybe someone out there has a better solution. Again, thanks for your feedback.
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User
9 years ago
The old fixture doesn't look like it was rated for a wet location unless you have removed the protective lens. You should make sure the new fixture is marked as rated for wet locations or move it out of the shower space.
numbersjunkie
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Go Panasonic. They have a wet rated fan with led light . better than broan.
Vith
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
OR, hook up the vent/light switch to the load side of the bathroom's GFCI outlet. Guys a vent/light combo does not have an exposed light bulb to touch. There is a protective cover on the light. I am all for safety but dont go crazy/paranoid. She is removing the recessed light and putting in a vent/light. If its a vent/light combo and GFCI protected you dont need to worry, its not any more dangerous than a heated tub or hot tub, also her ceiling is quite high, doubt anyone is gonna be able to touch that unless you are a giant! If it was just a recessed light I would agree wet rated would be the correct thing to do.
User
9 years ago
Wet rated is required by the electrical code within a shower. I think putting a fan in a shower is asking for trouble but I guess if it's wet rated it's allowed. The issue is not safety but corrosion.
Vith
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here is the specification sheet for a standard $30 Broan vent/light. It says "U.L. listed for use over a bathtubs and showers when connected to a GFCI branch circuit." It is not toted as 'wet rated'. Wet rated fans fall in line with radon fans. Also, I had trouble finding any IRC code requiring 'wet rated' bath fans.
http://www.menards.com/main/store/20090519001/items/media/Plumbing/Broan/Prod_Tech_Spec/99042917F.pdf
postalgbv
Original Author
9 years ago
I got the vent light in ($90 Broan @ Lowes) perfectly and decided to skim coat the ceiling. Looks pretty darn good. And yes, the instructions said OK for use in shower/bath if on GFCI circuit. So I don't think there will be an issue. It is tall enough ceiling that my wife and kids couldn't touch it anyways.

Thanks all