Bathroom lighting and heating

[T-dog]

Recently I broke the lampshade on my bathroom light. I figured while I'm getting a sparky out to fix it I thought I might as well get them to install a strip heater as well (the bathroom is freezing in winter) While searching online for appropriate heaters, lots of sites put up the 3 in one light/heater/fan deal. These make a lot of sense but I guess getting the current fan moved will mean the roof is to be patched. So I go from just booking a sparky, to booking sparky, plasterer and painter.

My questions are

• What is what is involved in patching a fan size hole in a ceiling? 
• What is a the likely cost of this kind of small work?
• Will the exhaust fan still work effectively if it not directly over the shower recess? (bathroom is only 1.8x2.7m)

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @T-dog. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your questions.

I don't see any reason apart from aesthetics to remove the fan over the shower as it is in a perfect location. 

Patching a hole in the ceiling is a reasonably easy job for a D.I.Y. savvy person and a simple procedure for a professional. Community member @Maymay recently repaired their ceiling after being given directions in their discussion How to replace a piece of new ceiling wall.

The new ceiling fan will most likely be effective but it won't be as well-positioned as the unit over the shower. This is why I'd encourage you to install the 3 in 1 for the heating element and light and keep using the existing exhaust fan.

Let me mention @HandyAndy and @bruce93 to see if they could give us some advice on the situation.

Please let me know if you need further assistance or had any questions.

Mitchell

[HandyAndy · Accepted solution]

thanks @MitchellMc 

g'day t-dog,

there is no reason you can't have both fans, however, the space is small enough for the 3-in-1 fan to cope.

if memory serves me well, a fan is not even required if there is an opening window in the bathroom as far as code goes - could be wrong on this one.

nonetheless, it's up to you if you want to remove the old one.

if you're a little handy, the patch up job should be easy enough to tackle yourself, including the painting, it wouldn't be too expensive for a plasterer i wouldn't think, a good painter would be able to do the repair and paint, or a handy man even.

[MikeTNZ]

Hi @T-dog,

If I may be so indulgent, I would suggest this as an Electrician:

> Remove the fan from the Shower, extend the ducting to.........

> A new 2 Light (with heat lamps and a small lamp) and fan unit just outside the shower area, your Electrician should be able to swing the cable from the fan over to the new unit.

> 1 new 4 core cable from the light switch with a couple of extra switches to drive the Heat lamps, and the small lamp.

> You could also have the Electrician install some extra lighting for mirror or general lighting, switched off the original switch plate.

I did this a few years ago in my place, the heat you get from the lamps is amazing, my bathroom was freezing, as in South Island, New Zealand in the middle of winter freezing.