VIC Bathroom exhaust fan replacement & flue to atmosphere: $540 reasonable?

Hi all,

I was hoping to get your opinion for a quote I received for a broken bathroom exhaust fan, which was a lot higher than I had expected.

Currently the problem is that the fan spins very slowly (apparently exhaust fan bearings and motor is fatigued) so it's not removing condensation well. So they have quoted for removing & replacing it.

In addition, they've suggested an additional task which is a flue to be installed to the top of the new exhaust so that condensation disperses to the atmosphere instead of the ceiling cavity.

• Exhaust fan replacement: $280 inc gst
• Exhaust fan flue to atmosphere: $260 inc gst
• Total: $540 inc gst

So I was hoping to ask the PropertyChat community two quick questions:

• Do the above costs seem reasonable?
• How necessary is the flue to atmosphere? (This is an investment property so don't want to unnecessarily, but also would like to make sure I don't wreck the property if condensation is building in the ceiling cavity.)

I haven't asked for additional quotes yet - but potentially will depending on what the replies are in this thread.

Thanks in advance!

 

My understanding is that current standards want flue to external if the roof is non permeable (metal or sarking under tiles) but is not necessary for unsarked tile roofs (old construction). The fan itself should just be a plug in replacement if it is fan only (not tastic type unit). All up the quote is not unreasonable and likely only includes an hour or so of labour for each task.

 

Hard to say. There are simple fans and complex fans. I just unplugged and replaced our circular bathroom fan last weekend. Cost $33.

If its a standard house a ceiling fan pushes a lot of condensation but its not going to leave the area wet. Unsure of the merits of a flue and this may be property and alos regional area dependent.

 

If the house was designed and worked well without a flue, then do not install a flue. Just replace the fan. Allowing a handy man to cut a hole in your roof is asking for trouble!

 

Just to add more details - this is what's included in the exhaust fan replacement:

• To access the property and locate the bathroom.
• To isolate power.
• To uninstall and remove the existing exhaust fan.
• To supply and install a new appropriately sized exhaust fan in the same location.
• To connect the existing flue to the exhaust fan in order to disperse condensation to the
• atmosphere.
• To connect to the existing power supply and switch.
• To re-instate power supply.
• To commission and test all works.
• To clean up work area upon completion and dispose of all excess materials from site.

Ah okay thanks! Yeah I was imagining something you could unplug and plug in a new one, which is why $180 sounds a bit high.

Interesting, good to know. It's a newish reno so I imagine everything is OK without the flue.
I'm going to give the place a call to ask more about the quote - and I'll dig in to this flue thing to try an ascertain how necessary it is.

 

Easy DIY job. Hardest part is making sure you buy correct diameter fan.

HPM make decent ones and friend at Fire & Rescue says they dont tend to get called to house fires for them !!! and use a very reliable simple toggle screw fastener where others can be difficult. Arlec claim to suck loads of air but they can be noisy. Some make claims about ball bearings but frankly the motor will fail first.

 

Sorry, but it sounds like they are having a laugh! Unless it's a strange house and design.

Why would "To access the property and locate the bathroom." be in a quote??? Is the bathroom hidden in a maze?

"To isolate power." If the bathroom is modern, say after 1990, the fan would be a plug/gpo style and there is no power to isolate.

"To re-instate power supply." translates to plugging in the fan.

"To commission and test all works." translates to flicking the power switch on the bathroom wall on and off once (ok, I'll be nice, maybe they'll flick the switch twice).

"To connect the existing flue to the exhaust fan", however, this one sounds like that there is an existing flue???

 

While I am not recommending this fan, it does show you how easy they are to install:

Arlec 250mm White Exhaust Fan - Bunnings Australia

 

The way some tradies pad their quotes/invoices to try and justify the ridiculous gouging that goes on for rentals, body corps and gov. etc is embarrassing.

 

That quote is ridiculously padded out.

I would ask for a pic and size of the current fan. Some wall mount ones and specific sizes can be expensive, but as mentioned other ones are not. Find out what they are replacing with.

 

My Electrician charges $132 to change out an exhaust fan, and that includes the callout fee. I don't actually think I've ever connected one up to a flue so I don't know how much extra work is involved, but since the quote wording suggests there's an existing flue, it can't be that hard.

Maybe some sort of weird fancy fan is required and the flue connection is very labour intensive. Ask them for a parts/labour breakdown.

 

Measure the diameter of your current fan, go to Bunnings and get same size for $25-40. Get on step ladder and remove old fan (unplug from GPO) and install new fan (plug into GPO). Should take 10-15 mins

 

While this is good advice for most bathrooms, I get the feeling that this is a very strange bathroom exhaust setup. For example, it's an old hardwired exhaust that wasn't updated during the bathroom renovation at sale.

 

I just got an exhaust fan put into a bathroom and it cost $220 - hardwired into the light switch. including fitting and supply. So cheap I was going to offer to pay more.

 

It's been a few weeks but finally got that second quote!
It looks much better!!!

As per suggestions here, I also asked for the unit costs and model, etc. Turns out it's a lot cheaper and no mention of needing to cut a hole in the roof for a flue.

2nd option does have a draftstopper though so I'll do a quick Google on what that is, but it's only $20 extra anyway so not that big a deal.

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OPTION 1 - Supply & Fit new 8inch Middys basic exhaust fan to studio bathroom - $135.00 incl GST. (Unit cost - $45.00 incl gst)

OPTION 2 - Supply & Fit new 8inch Middys exhaust fan with draftstopper to studio bathroom - $155.00 incl GST. (Unit cost - $65.00 incl gst)

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Thanks for all your help!

 

Is it not going to be connected to an external flue?

 

Its a bathroom, not kitchen exhaust. If its a cavity roof space then the minor steam will quicky evaporate. Draught stopper is a fancy name for collar on the fan in the cavity. It may be first part to fail as it is a hinged cover that closes when power is off, raises when on (see pic) . Can also be useful where loose insulation could be moved and get caught on fan. Ironically dust accumulates inside the collar which can lead to early motor failure. That said these fans only typically last 4-7 years at best. Just replaced 2 in recent months.

Good price. Its a 10min job to be fair if the opening is already cut.