This photo was taken for entertainment - and not because of the extractor fan ducting (or the droppings!), but because of the wasp nest we came in close contact with in the darkness of the loft without realising (the size of a basketball!). And we have posted this particular photo before on various online outlets!
But there is an opportunity to:
1) point out we are not taking a photo of our work and
2) use this as a prime example of what not to do when installing extractor fan ducting in the loft.
When you look at the ducting you will notice there's a lot of loose excess, which will cause drag anyway. Not only that, but there's so much excess, that the ducting is able to caterpillar over those joists. And they're not standard sized joists. They're BIG joists! That's a lot of change of direction for airflow, further adding drag to the system.
this caterpillar effect is likely to hold puddles of water in the bottoms of those (scientific nerdy word alert) local minima.
What we'd really want to see is this:
- Ducting actually present and venting to the outside
- Ducting suitable taped or at least cable tied
- Ducting taut throughout its length
- Ducting travelling in a straight line as much as possible
- Ducting gains height at the start of its journey and slowly lowers to give a 'fall' for the condensation
- Ducting correctly supported to achieve the above.
Please see the video below for another angle on the same content, from a different property where we were just there to upgrade the existing baby fan.
To find out more about the how-to's, what-nots, and generally useful advise regarding stoping condensation using active ventilation systems, please take a look at the rest of our blogs.
