Bathroom Ventilation During Inspection

My question is pertaining to [ How to Inspect for Moisture Intrusion Course] In this course it had said it is recommended to check if the bathroom ventilation is venting to the exterior or to the attic space. I do know of some case where the vents don’t exhaust outside. How do you address situations like that in the inspection report? Do you just bring it to attention, or list this as a defect?

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Well it shouldn’t be vented into the attic space or to the interior of soffits and should be called out. Venting directly to the exterior is how it’s suppose to be.

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It’s a defect. Your narrative should explain why and the necessary correction.

M1507.2 Recirculation of air. Exhaust air from bathrooms
and toilet rooms shall not be recirculated within a residence
or to another dwelling unit and shall be exhausted directly to
the outdoors. Exhaust air from bathrooms and toilet rooms
shall not discharge into an attic, crawl space or other areas
inside the building.

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It should be elevated to “defect” status in my opinion. Or whatever term you use for something that should definitely be addressed.

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What Ryan said.

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It’s a defect.

Basically moisture is being pumped from one part of the home into another, even though attics are usually unconditioned, bathroom vents should exhaust to the exterior.

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Thank you for the valuable information! I have added that code to my notebook in Moisture Intrusion! It helping too with my interview i have coming up!

It’s always a defect, but you’ll see a lot of older homes, where they didn’t vent it to the exterior because it wasn’t required at the time or the rules were not clear. Other more recent homes vented it to the soffit and now it’s clearly required to be vented outside. So this is what we see now on new homes. So on new homes recommend that they repair it. On older homes if it’s not causing a problem recommend they consider repairing it.

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It is a defect, however it depends where you are located (climate) on how much of a big deal you should make of it. For example, I’m in a desert environment with very mild winters. I have only came across one home where I could see this actually causing a potential problem. (dark area on decking above the vent.) And this home’s main problem is that it had very little attic ventilation. (One Gable end vent and that was it).

In my area 90% of homes built before about 2005 are going to be vented into the attic, as local jurisdictions did not enforce the venting to the outside. All that being said I call it out and have a canned statement explaining why this can be a problem along with the fact that in our area and climate why it does not seem to be a major problem…and also that it is very common for older homes.

IMO having an operable window only, which is approved by code in leu of an exhaust fan, is a much bigger problem than a bathroom fan exhausting into a vented attic. Winter is when you really need to get rid of the moist air and Not Many People are going to open the window in the bathroom when it is cold and they are Naked.

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Standard Comments used for many years …

The restroom exhaust fan is not vented to the outside of the dwelling. Although not always done in the past, current building standards would extend these to the exterior of the building for reasons such as: helping lower interior humidity levels; reducing the likelihood of mold; etc. Service and correct as needed.

OR

One or more bathroom exhaust fans terminate in the attic. This can allow moisture to develop in the attic. Although not always done in years past, current building standards would extend these to the exterior of the building for reasons such as: helping lower interior humidity levels; reducing the likelihood of mold; etc. Service and correct as needed.

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It would be nice to evaluate the severity of a defect for any number of situations. Don’t do it! It is a defect because it does not meet “modern safety standards” (regardless of when the home was built). We don’t use the word code, it’s best to use the phrase in quotes above. 9 times out of 10 the agent will intervene and dismiss those items that they don’t feel like haggling over. Just report don’t evaluate.

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With many older homes (more than 50 years) you will commonly find this. It was normal back then. Attic areas were typically drafty. Note that this venting was “common practice” but present day “best building practice” calls for exterior venting and it is an advisable update.

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As a general and roof contractor I couldn’t agree more with the comments here. AC contractors all through the eighties and nineties would extend flex duct from bath fans to roof plywood in attic and tape the duct to a truss webbing. We consistently come across a situation where the duct tape has deteriorated and the flex has fallen into the attic laying on the insulation.
As a reputable contractor we reattach to truss with either screws or plastic ties. That way the fastened method will last years. It is amazing how many roofers will not do this simple act to provide a quality job for a homeowner who most times do not know of the fallen duct. And no we do not charge for this. Care more about providing quality service which will ensure more projects in the future. List it as a defect so it can be properly vented.
Michael

They’re missing or installed incorrectly all the time.

It’s a common item to write up.