Help me, /diy/nosaurs. I bought a new light/fan for my bathroom

i cant help but i can commiserate. i attempted this as well, and realized, there was no way to attach the outlet pipe into the house's pipe without cutting out a new section of drywall around the fan. since i'm not great at drywall and paint, i decided instead to work on the motor: took it all apart, removed rust, and drowned it in oil. been going great now for 3 years.

>>1096327

FUCK ME I just found out that the goddamn thing is wired into the old knob-and-tube wiring in the house WHYYYY

I wondered why no matter what breaker I threw the fucking light wouldn't shut off until I hit the basement breaker

>>1096333

But it's ugly, and I have a shiny new fan and light to install. Moreover, I'm sure that the fucking ventilation doesn't go to outside considering the upstairs bathroom I have vents into my goddamn attic, so that's going to have to be fixed anyway. I mean, yeah, I can do that, and I may try to fix the motor anyway just to have it.

>>1096337

an alternative to fixing the motor is to get a new unit that has a similarly-shaped fan and motor. not easy of course, unless you have a bunch of them to play with.

another alternative -- and i did this once in a rental bathroom with no fan -- is to get a fan that sits outside the drywall, and just shoves the air into the existing cavity. i actually used a computer type fan, but much more powerful, inside a white acrylic case.

>>1096354

Already have a new unit that I don't want to return.

Second alternative isn't a bad one, I can use this fan that I bought for the downstairs bath in the upstairs bath.

>>1096327
its not held in by hoodoo or black magic, find the fasteners and remove them

>>1096377

cool sarcastic post with doubles bro. The problem here is that I can't find any fucking fasteners in the thing at all. It appears the wiring enters the housing through a metal grommet but I can't get it loose.

>>1096380
it was meant to be serious not sarcastic. can you cut the wires?

you said it was wired into knob and tube, your going to change this anyway, right? so just rip the fucker out and cut the wires.

>>1096383

Sorry for interpreting it that way, then. Yeah, if I'm going to change out that fabric-covered wiring, that's a good point, just cut the wires.

I've already gotten a flathead in around the edges of the housing, and it's not attached on the sides but when I pull down it seems to be attached at the top, most likely by that wiring.

>>1096327
>>1096386
You have to detach it from the duct. Remove a few inches of drywall on the right side of your pic. Patching it back in is going to be easier than any klugde you come up with.

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guise what the fuck
I cut the wires and I still can't get that grommet loose or do anything with it
It's still attached probably from the top

Should I just start in with the tin snips?

>>1096390
yeah, about that
I just found out that the ceiling is goddamn wood panneling

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look at this bullshit

Maybe I'll just burn the fucker to the ground and collect the insurance money because I've had nothing but trouble every time I try to fix something in this fucking house

>>1096391
that "grommet" is screwed on the end of a piece of conduit, unscrew it, anti-clockwise

>>1096393
>the ceiling is wood panneling
so take the sheet down, easier than fucking with drywall

>>1096399

Oh shit, I'm an idiot. Thanks, that's a great idea.

>>1096398

I tried that but it wouldn't move but now that I've cut the wiring I can probably grab the edge with my pliers rather than just trying to grab around it.

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Status report from OP, if anyone still cares:

After 2 hours with a pry bar, some pliers, and some screaming of obscenities, I've gotten it halfway out. They used fucking roofing nails into the studs to hold the stupid supports in place but now that I've been able to snake my arm in, getting the other two nails out won't be an issue without taking the whole ceiling apart.

Then I'm gonna cap off that fucking cloth-covered wire and call it a night and deal with it tomorrow.

Thank all of you for the advice.

>>1096452
good work OP!!

>>1096452
good job. as a guy who has done this a few times before. I usually make sure the power is off and run a sawzall around all the edges. you can tell when you are cutting through metal or wood. you dont want to cut the wood. the hard part is going to be changing the wires and making sure you get the new one in the duct work. good luck OP

Thanks for the update, and godspeed you poor bastard. Update with the new pics when its done!