# Bathroom fan for existing bathroom retro fit



## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Who makes a nice quality fan that is a retro fit fan where i don't have to hack away the ceiling to install the damn thing. All of the ones i have used and have found so far are great for new construction where drywall goes up after fan but i cant find any that are designed to go up after drywall is up. They all have to have the drywall hacked out to fit the electrical box and duct part up through ceiling.


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

BCConstruction said:


> Who makes a nice quality fan that is a retro fit fan where i don't have to hack away the ceiling to install the damn thing. All of the ones i have used and have found so far are great for new construction where drywall goes up after fan but i cant find any that are designed to go up after drywall is up. They all have to have the drywall hacked out to fit the electrical box and duct part up through ceiling.


Panasonic WhisperFit EZ...Check it out!


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

mstrat said:


> Panasonic WhisperFit EZ...Check it out!



That looks perfect. I normally use the whisper series but didn't know they had a ez fit model. that gonna save some hassle. hopefully is as quite as their other ones.


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

BCConstruction said:


> That looks perfect. I normally use the whisper series but didn't know they had a ez fit model. that gonna save some hassle. hopefully is as quite as their other ones.


Definitely, it's a new model, but knowing Panasonic fans I'd trust it to be pretty dang good!


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

mstrat said:


> Panasonic WhisperFit EZ...Check it out!


It looks like it would still require a longer hole and some patching afterward. Yes/no?

Edit: Apparently not...
http://ep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/rewilliams/fv0811vf5installation.pdf


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

MarkJames said:


> It looks like it would still require a longer hole and some patching afterward. Yes/no?


by the looks of it no as the electrical box and duct can be removed for install. Says good for hotel remodels and they def dont have access above so should work perfect. Just trying to not have to get up in eaves of house as it's tight.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

That is a perfect retro fit fan


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

I saw the WhisperFit EZ at the Remodeling show. Very nice set up. 

Forgot they sent me one at no cost to me to try on my current remodel.

Tom


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

That would be the first Panasonic fan where I didn't need attic access. They are the only fans I recommend.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

avenge said:


> That would be the first Panasonic fan where I didn't need attic access. They are the only fans I recommend.


Must be nice. Attic access isn't too common, so we have been doing the cut, install, patch method. I have it down to patching about a 2 x 10 piece opposite the exhaust side, but this looks even better.


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

Yep! I think this is gonna be yet another huge hit for Panasonic!


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## dsconstructs (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks....I'm also a panasonic fan but didn't know about this EZ fit model. Look forward to real life install feedback from anyone.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

110 cfm it's almost as powerful as a ct vac! :laughing:


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

MarkJames said:


> Must be nice. Attic access isn't too common, so we have been doing the cut, install, patch method. I have it down to patching about a 2 x 10 piece opposite the exhaust side, but this looks even better.


I don't know sometimes I wish i didn't have attic access.


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## m1911 (Feb 24, 2009)

avenge said:


> I don't know sometimes I wish i didn't have attic access.


Especially when you get bit by a spider and your elbow swells the size of a California pink grapefruit : (


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

BCConstruction said:


> .... hopefully is as quiet as their other ones.


3 to 5 times as loud as the WhisperCeiling fans. I checked out some of the on-line reviews, noted the comments that it's not super-quiet, and checked out Panasonic's specs. It's a consideration.

I have a situation right now where I could use it, but the information about the sound level makes it not a no-brainer. I'll let the customers know about the tradeoffs (expense v quiet).


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## Golden view (Feb 16, 2012)

Why didn't I see this 15 fans ago?


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## TaylorMadeAB (Nov 11, 2014)

CarpenterSFO said:


> 3 to 5 times as loud as the WhisperCeiling fans. I checked out some of the on-line reviews, noted the comments that it's not super-quiet, and checked out Panasonic's specs. It's a consideration.
> 
> I have a situation right now where I could use it, but the information about the sound level makes it not a no-brainer. I'll let the customers know about the tradeoffs (expense v quiet).



Personally I like the fan to be louder. I like a bit of privacy in the bathroom.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

CarpenterSFO said:


> 3 to 5 times as loud as the WhisperCeiling fans. I checked out some of the on-line reviews, noted the comments that it's not super-quiet, and checked out Panasonic's specs. It's a consideration.
> 
> I have a situation right now where I could use it, but the information about the sound level makes it not a no-brainer. I'll let the customers know about the tradeoffs (expense v quiet).


Not sure where you are getting numbers from but I believe it is a 1 sone maximum at the highest setting. Customer thought it was very quiet


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

CarpenterSFO said:


> 3 to 5 times as loud as the WhisperCeiling fans. I checked out some of the on-line reviews, noted the comments that it's not super-quiet, and checked out Panasonic's specs. It's a consideration.
> 
> I have a situation right now where I could use it, but the information about the sound level makes it not a no-brainer. I'll let the customers know about the tradeoffs (expense v quiet).


Bob,

The specs on the box I got shows- 0.3 to 0.8 sones for the EZFit. I checked the Whisper Green and the specs are the same.

Tom


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Bob,
> 
> The specs on the box I got shows- 0.3 to 0.8 sones for the EZFit. I checked the Whisper Green and the specs are the same.
> 
> Tom


Thanks; I'm sure I mis-read something.


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## Rio (Oct 13, 2009)

TaylorMadeCon said:


> Personally I like the fan to be louder. I like a bit of privacy in the bathroom.


I guess there's sound systems to cover bathroom noises, heard they're real popular in Japan.


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

Rio said:


> I guess there's sound systems to cover bathroom noises, heard they're real popular in Japan.


If Japan has it, it must be incredibly normal...they define normal!


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Installed one today - the FV08-11VF5, as in Tom's picture.

Pics are the old fan, the hole that the old fan used to be in, and the hookup bracket of the new one. You hook up the duct and the power to a separate piece.

You can see their coolio bracket around the edges of the hole. It folds up so that it can fit through the hole, then you attach to the joists. The hookup piece screws up through the sheetrock to one arm of the bracket....


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

.... then you slip the main body up with the hookup bracket, screw it to the joists or the coolio stretchers, and snap the grill on.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Except for the fact that someone stupidly let the sawzall chatter for an inch or two, there would be no drywall repair or paint necessary. Only a couple touches with a drop of paint on a fingertip, in this case.

It took about 2 hours from walking into the bathroom to the final wipedown. More than half of that time was figuring out how to get the old one out without knocking a big piece out of the ceiling (pull the guts out then use channel locks to crumple it up into a piece smaller than the hole, punch out the metal stretchers with a big screwdriver...).

About the sound level - it's a nice, quiet fan, especially compared to the standard why-is-there-a-DC9-in-my-bathroom Broan, but it is definitely not as quiet as the other Panasonic models, especially on the 110 CFM mode. When the customer came in, she said, "That's great, it's not any louder than the one we had before." With the other Panasonics, customers often ask, "Is it on?"

I recommend it. For retrofit work, when it meets the customer's requirement, I will use it.


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

Great guide, Bob! Thank you! I was especially curious (and may always be) how to remove an old steel fan box without destroying something...some of the older ones sure seem like they'd support a tank running over them!


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

mstrat said:


> Great guide, Bob! Thank you! I was especially curious (and may always be) how to remove an old steel fan box without destroying something...some of the older ones sure seem like they'd support a tank running over them!


I would have had a much more difficult time if I hadn't been able to pull out the guts of the old one first.


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