I want to install a PVC exhaust system to bring the exhaust to the roof line and dissipate the smell better. However I’ve called 10 different places (plumbers, HVAC, handymen, radon mitigation companies, etc.) and they all told me they couldn’t install this. Does anyone have tips on how to get this professionally installed? I would strongly prefer to pay a pro, but it’s looking like a DIY time or calling my neighbor’s bluff
Backstory: Due to my landlord saying no more laser printing, I bought a whole house and installed the 6" cloudline in-line fan and dryer vent for ventilation. I thought I was finally free, but of course the next door neighbor is an air quality nut and going bezonkers about the smell. They refuse to close the window closest to the vent, citing their fancy pants air quality meter telling them their home air quality is bad. I tried the be-nice-and-look-at-the-cool-stuff approach but it did not work. Showed them cool things you can make, offered them air filters/window ACs for their weird fixation, did them various neighborly favors, etc.
Buying a house so you can run your Glowforge is extreme devotion, in my humble opinion.
As you already have the inline fan installed and are venting through the wall, it seems to me you just need an “external chimney” - pvc pipe that runs straight up your exterior wall and ends near the roof. The only challenge will be properly securing the pipe to your wall. A willing handyman service should be able to do this more reasonably than a plumber or HVAC person. All you are trying to do is point your exhaust skyward so it dissipates above your neighbors noses.
Thanks! I’ll have to look through handyman companies more carefully then, and maybe ask friends for referrals. I just want to be left alone to my crafting
Are you living at the top of some mountain that the air is all that good to start with? I was extremely concerned but experience has shown me that the effect seems to be very minor. I can hardly see even heavy smoke, and cannot smell it (though perhaps leather might be easier to notice) I can smell the smoke from the neighbors’ cigarettes easier. And barbecue? sometimes it blankets the area!
No, I’m in a city and the air quality is quite average /: I think the roof vent will solve this issue for good, but I’m troubled by the lack of help (it was already quite the task to put the exhaust vent hood in)
You might like to see if there’s a radon abatement company that will take it on. That’s essentially what a radon removal system is, a standpipe that vents your basement/crawl space with an external fan.
Thank Covid the Economy is just RickRolling along Most small businesses that were best to help are long belly up. I have wasted 8 months to find someone who could help me transfer to the new computer and for several hundred dollars they have messed it up more than I would have.
any vent to your roof will work, any fireplace company can do this for you, just tell them you want a “dryer vent” to exhaust from your roof. easy peasy and should BE WELL UNDER $500 complete.
I called the only two radon abatement companies that showed up on Google for my state! They declined because I was just outside their service range and/or they were confused that I just wanted the exhaust without the radon check/foundation work maybe I should go along with a radon inspection… It’s hard to explain what I want and most places seem unwilling to do anything about non-standard jobs
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about your bad computer experience it sounds like something easy enough for a computer expert to do and I’m sorry that it was done incorrectly for you. every industry has demand and prices racing up and less availabilities, it seems
The fireplace compamy suggestion is really good! I’ll call and KISS tomorrow… I tried to reach out to the HVAC company that installed my ductless mini split with “roof top dryer vent” but they really dug in, “why do you need a new dryer vent, you already have one” and I failed to convince them
After the last computer fiasco, I made a root subdirectory called Docs and made sure that if I transferred only that I would not lose any working files. It was probably 300 gig or more in total but they did not notice it and did not transfer it. They did transfer the Documents folder that had almost nothing and the desktop page that had all the icons (without the icons) and referenced the exe programs that they did not transfer.
Thanks! I saw your post when I was looking into solutions and it was very informative. Unfortunately I have to go up 1 more floor so I think I will want an outdoor-rated fan like the radon ones instead of hijacking my cloudline. (The manometer is pretty cool too, will have to ask for it or add it in myself!)
I think they were going to turn down the dryer vent thing no matter what but really hammered it in, looked through my file on-hand very thoroughly /: they are too busy installing actual HVAC systems I suppose
You’re running into the realities of the current economy. There is a massive shortage of willing workers across every industry, around the globe. The ones that are working for reputable companies aren’t going to waste their time on a small job like this when there’s no shortage of “real work” to keep them busy.
However, there are plenty of skilled folks sitting idle that are willing and able to take on stuff like this for a bit of extra $$. You just have to know how to find them. Personally, I have a network that I can reach out to and get names/recommendations. This of course depends on where you live. If you’re out in the boonies, it’ll likely be more difficult.
yeah, I will have to keep pulling on personal connections and eventually find someone willing to at least bring over a ladder and help put PVCs together. I went from 0 to 100 real fast on the homeownership part so I don’t have an established network of plumbers, electricians, etc. I live in a major city so there’s no shortage of qualified people (if I lived in the boonies I’d have a mansion and no nosy neighbor!)
Don’t bother using PVC, use plain old 4" or 6" chimney pipe (single walled)
like THIS with metal straps to the outside wall (or inside if you desire) and one of THESE on the roof.
Most small businesses that were best to help are long belly up. I have wasted 8 months to find someone who could help me transfer to the new computer and for several hundred dollars they have messed it up more than I would have.