I'm enlarging my bathroom vent. It's a brick wall and currently has a steel duct. I've chipped away brick but the lip of the existing steel duct is still there. I need to remove around 2 inches of it. Any suggestions best way to cut that off?
Cutting out existing steel duct in bathroom vent
brickexhaustexhaust-fan
Related Solutions
The warmer air exhausted from the bath entering a cold environment will condense and create moisture. It will create high humidity which will lead to mold growth. this will become a health issue as well as rot the wood. You want to vent it to outdoors, never indoors.
Cutting a hole through brick is no big deal. You could use one of these as a disposable hole saw for $20:
Or one of these as the "right" tool, which will be reusable for $75:
Most hole saws require a 1/2 inch drill plus a ~$10 arbor, both of which will be very useful for other projects in the future, like installing door knob sets in new doors, installing plumbing, ductwork, plenums, and all kinds of projects in plywood, sheet metal, lumber, plastics, etc.
When making the hole, take care to slant it slightly downward (2%—1/4 inch per foot—is typical) toward the outside to prevent rain, etc. from finding a path indoors. Install a vent device with a damper to prevent hot/cold air from coming inside when the fan is not on, and seal the hole at the outside surface thoroughly with silicon caulk.
Slate can be cut by this type of blade too, but holes through the roof are often fussier to make leak free.
Related Topic
- Best way to mount a floating L-shaped desk to a brick wall
- Should I vent 2nd floor bathroom exhaust down
- Walls – How to finish the broken edge of the exposed brick wall
- Walls – Stick ceramic tile to outside brick wall
- How long can I run a vent duct for a new bathroom exhaust on an old house that doesn’t vent out properly
- Finishing around brick veneer fireplace
- Walls – How to straighten a curved/crooked brick wall
Best Answer
One way to cut away the excess metal would be to use a rotary Dremel type tool with abrasive cutoff wheels. This method allows the metal to be removed without bending and deformation that other cutting methods would typically cause.
If you go this route be prepared to use up a good sized quantity of the cutting wheels. When I am using my rotary tool and have a large amount of cutting to do I have about ten of the mandrels that hold the cutting wheels preloaded with cutting disks. This way when one wears down or breaks I can quick load another mandrel into the chuck on the rotary tool and continue cutting.