- 1). Purchase a vent fan and wall-cap kit. You can find a vent fan and wall-cap kit at your local hardware store.
- 2). Make a mark on the bathroom ceiling where you want to put the fan (ideally between the shower and the toilet). Using a 3/8-inch spade bit, drill a hole through the ceiling into the attic. This hole acts as a reference point.
- 3). Go into the attic, and clear insulation from around the hole. Measure the size of the vent fan's housing, and try to position it directly between two joists near the reference hole.
- 4). Go back into the bathroom, and measure the inside of the fan's intake port (this tells you how big of a hole to make in the ceiling). Use a framing square to mark the outline of the intake port on the ceiling.
- 5). Use a jigsaw to cut a hole in the ceiling, following your outline. Wear goggles and a dust mask to protect yourself against any dust or particles.
- 6). Go back into the attic, and attach the 90-degree sheet metal duct elbow to the outlet port on the side of the vent housing, aiming it straight up, and attaching it with duct tape. After removing the knockout hole on the side of the housing, attach the cable connector.
- 7). Slide the metal brackets into the tabs on the side of the fan. Centering the fan on the hole you cut in the ceiling, put it into place between the ceiling joists.
- 8). Extend the brackets until they make contact with the joists, and attach them to the joists with a 1 1/2-inch stainless steel drywall screw. Use duct tape to attach the flexible duct that came with the wall cap kit to the elbow that you attached to the vent fan.
- 9). Insert the electrical cable through the connector, and tighten the connector screw so the cable is secure.
- 10
Pick a spot on the attic wall (between two wall studs, no more than 6 feet from the fan) where the flexible duct exits the attic. Take reference measurements (such as the distance to a window or other objects you see on the exterior wall), so that you can locate the spot from the outside. - 11
Go outside, and use a ladder to access the exterior wall. Mark the reference measurements that show the spot on the exterior wall where you'll drill, and drill the hole with a 4-inch diameter hole saw. - 12
Go back into the attic, and use duct tape to attach the 12-inch long connector duct to the wall cap. - 13
Go back outside, and slide the wall cap into the duct hole, pushing it tight against the siding. If there are any spaces between the wall cap and the siding, cut a foam rubber gasket to fill them. - 14
Take the wall cap off, and apply silicone adhesive to the siding and gasket around the hole. Put the wall cap back into the hole, and attach it to the siding with four 1 1/2-inch stainless steel screws. - 15
Go back into the attic, and stretch the free end of the flexible exhaust duct to the outside wall, taking care not to tear it. Then go back outside, and use duct tape to attach the duct end to the wall cap's connector duct. - 16
Go into the bathroom, and remove the blower motor from the fan housing. Remove the built-in receptacle, exposing the wiring, and save all the screws that you remove. - 17
Attach the wires from the housing to the ones from the cable you fed into the housing with twist-on connectors. Match the wires by color (attach black to black and white to white). - 18
Locate the green screw in the housing. This is the grounding screw. Wrap the bare copper wire under this screw, and tighten it. Reattach the electrical receptacle. - 19
Plug the blower motor into the receptacle in the housing, and screw it into place. Slide the grille's mounting wires into the slots inside the housing, and push the grille tight against the ceiling. - 20
Turn the power on, and test the fan.
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