Vent: When You Open Up a Wall...

[Talent312]

I need to vent, literally...

I got the bright idea of renovating a laundry room by replacing two cabinets and installing a utility sink. I proceeded to demo the cabinets and cut a 2' x 4' hole in the wall to expose the plumbing. Ho, hum. But anyone who watches HGTV or This Old House knows there are always issues behind the drywall.

I found that, behind the dryer, where the exhaust hose went into the wall, there was no vent pipe whatsoever. IOW, the dryer was venting in between the studs, but there was no outlet. Instead, there was 30 years of caked lint inside.

I need to find a way to vent the dryer outside. I'll have to move the dryer closer to an outside wall, move the electrical outlet, pass a 4" vent pipe through one of the new cabinets, and cut a hole in the brick wall with a hammer-drill and angle grinder. <sigh>

Tomorrow is another day.
.

 

[DaveNV]

Wow. That must have been a real mess. I can't imagine 30 years of caked lint in a wall space like that. Talk about a fire hazard!

Good luck!

Dave

 

[mdurette]

I'm sorry - but that gave me a chuckle. 30 years of lint to deal with. Holy Moly that couldn't have been fun.

You just never know what corners builders really do cut until you open up the walls.

 

[easyrider]

Maybe its vented through the top plate into the attic.

Bill

 

[geekette]

Oh boy. I know that I had better have a cushy contingency account when I'm ready to do any demo here. The house was built in early 40s, has been remodelled and added onto several times. How well these things were done is really only possible to know once you dig in.

Several times I've felt like, ok, I have enough money saved, I wanna do this... and then think, yeah, but what if... ? and have gotten cold feet. I don't feel like I have the funds to deal with something major but even the minor could get there.

 

[PigsDad]

Do you have pictures?

Kurt

 

[Firepath]

We had a vent that leaked and had some lint in the wall. The dryer repairman told me that was one of the greatest causes of house fires, improperly vented dryers. It sounds like your mess might be a blessing in disguise.

 

[Eric B]

Maybe that was supposed to be "blown in insulation .... "

Opened a wall taking out a closet and found a water pipe with a drywall nail in it. Started spraying me in the face when I pulled the drywall down. That was a surprise.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Unless it is easier to move the dryer closer to an outside wall, consider venting through the roof. My dryer is in the interior and i vent upwards (1 story home).

 

[Talent312]

Maybe its vented through the top plate into the attic.

There's a blocking 2x4 about 4' up, so it couldn't vent to the attic.
I stuck a yard stick up there to scrape lint off the studs and drywall.
It actually would'a made good insulation, had it made it to the attic.

Lint was on the sides of the studs, the drywall, and 4-6" thick on the bottom.
Sorry, no photos.

Unless it is easier to move the dryer closer to an outside wall, consider venting through the roof. My dryer is in the interior and I vent upwards (1 story home).

The studs are only 2x4's, so the space may be too narrow (3 1/2").
Then there's the horizontal blocking which would need to be cut.
Moving the dryer over 3 feet will be easier (how it should'a been).

To relocate the dryer outlet, I'll use the existing box as a junction
and fish the wire thru the cut-out in the drywall I already made.
Cutting a hole in the brick will be the tuff part.
.

 

[Jan M.]

I agree with Firepath that this may have been a blessing in disguise. When you get your dyer moved and properly vented it will dry the clothes much quicker. The closer the dryer vents to the outside with the fewest bends in the vent hose the more efficiently the dryer operates. And I would think your electrical bill from the air conditioning will reflect a savings when all that hot, humid air from the dryer gets vented outside instead of in your house.

 

[Passepartout]

Your dryer will thank you, your power bill will go down. Whomever does the laundry at your house will be amazed that the clothes will dry in less than half the time. The fire department will continue to be strangers. In short, while a bit of a PITA to get done, the benefits will be well worth it.

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

OMG! This is definitely like something you see on Property Brothers! LOL! (Sorry- I know it really isn't funny).

That is crazy! And dangerous! You are lucky nothing ever happened!

Amazing the moisture from the wet clothes in the dryer didn't stain the sheet rock!

 

[Talent312]

Amazing the moisture from the wet clothes in the dryer didn't stain the sheet rock!

I think the lint absorbed the moisture, hence the caked-on effect.
The dryer hadn't been performing well, and now we know why.
I wonder how this ever passed inspection in the first place.

I moved the dryer and it's outlet to 3 feet from the outside wall.
I had to open more drywall to run electrical wire thru two studs.
Next: Cutting thru the exterior brick wall...
I'm gonna try a 4" masonry hole bit and see how that goes.

DW let me know that the dryer has priority over renovations.
She's stacked up laundry baskets outside the laundry room.






.

 

[Passepartout]

I think the lint absorbed the moisture, hence the caked-on effect.
The dryer hadn't been performing well, and now we know why.
I wonder how this ever passed inspection in the first place.

I moved the dryer and it's outlet to 3 feet from the outside wall.
I had to open more drywall to run electrical wire thru two studs.
Next: Cutting thru the exterior brick wall...
I'm gonna try a 4" masonry hole bit and see how that goes.

DW let me know that the dryer has priority over renovations.
She's stacked up laundry baskets outside the laundry room.

That should work well. Brick isn't that tough to go through. You've done the hard stuff fishing the wire and doing the wiring.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thank goodness you didn't have a fire.

When selling our last house, we had an inspection of our chimney only to find out that the metal pipe that takes the smoke from the fireplace out the chimney was never installed! In other words if a spark had flown up and touched the drywall, the entire house could have caught fire. We always wondered why that fireplace never worked well. I am thankful that nothing happened as our children's rooms were adjacent to that chimney.

 

[Talent312]

When selling our last house, we had an inspection of our chimney only to find out that the metal pipe that takes the smoke from the fireplace out the chimney was never installed!...

Whoa! That is scary.
With zero-clearances these days, that's shocking.
I'm surprised the rooms didn't have a smoky-odor.
.

 

[billymach4]

Wait Just a Minute....

Sorry to hear of this SNAFU. But...????

Did you ever look for the external vent? How long have you lived at this location?

 

[Talent312]

Did you ever look for the external vent? How long have you lived at this location?

There is a vent in the roof where the dryer's vent should'a been.
It was for the kitchen drain pipe on the other side of the wall.

I've lived in this house for ~18 years.
Our current dryer has been attached to the pretend-vent for ~14 years.
.

 

[Makai Guy]

Our vent runs down into the crawl space and then 14' to go through the outside brick wall. It plugged up with lint and we had to use a plumbers snake to break up the clog. Made a HUGE difference in how well the dryer works.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Sounds like the OP has things under control.
I've heard from the guy that built my house that some fly-by-night contractors building a new home on a septic system will finish the home and move on - - without ever installing the septic system. So they completed the home with just a straight pipe that goes into the dirt. In some cases it took several years for this oversight to be noticed. In my case, I watched the septic system being installed.

 

[Talent312]

Sounds like the OP has things under control...

Reviving this thread just to say that I found putting a vent thru the exterior wall will be more trouble than I thought. The genius who built this house used two layers of brick on the exterior walls, so its not a simple score+crack. My plumber is coming over to try his luck at cutting a hole in the brick. We shall see. I may end up needing a mason to deal with it.

Meanwhile, DW insisted on doing laundry, so we stuck the dryer's vent pipe out the door.

 

[klpca]

Reviving this thread just to say that I found putting a vent thru the exterior wall will be more trouble than I thought. The genius who built this house used two layers of brick on the exterior walls, so its not going to a simple score+crack. My plumber is coming over to try his luck at cutting a hole in the brick. We shall see. I may end up needing a mason to deal with it.

Meanwhile, DW insisted on doing laundry, so we stuck the dryer's vent pipe out the door.

Probably why it never got vented in the first place. Wow, what a pain.

 

[Talent312]

The plumber drilled & chiseled out a 4" hole in the wall in ~45 min.
He said he had the right tools, but had never cut thru that much brick.
The dryer is done, so I can turn to patching the holes in the drywall.
.

 

[Passepartout]

The plumber drilled & chiseled out a 4" hole in the wall in ~45 min.
He said he had the right tools, but had never cut thru that much brick.
The dryer is done, so I can turn to patching the holes in the drywall.

Good News! wishing you dry clothes and no more unpleasant surprises.