My bathroom ceiling fan install turned into a 5 hour nightmare

Bought a Panasonic whisper fan at Home Depot in Portland last weekend. Thought it would be a simple swap with my old Broan unit. The attic access was barely big enough for me to squeeze through and the old ducting was all crushed and full of insulation. Then I found out the new mounting bracket didn't line up with the old joists. Had to rip most of it out and start from scratch. Has anyone dealt with a fan that just won't fit the old cutout?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_ramirez31mo ago

Wait till you deal with the WIRING. Panasonics have a different plug than Broan.

wendy8201mo ago

You mentioned the Panasonic Whisper fan, but just a heads up - those are actually really quiet, not necessarily whisper quiet in terms of airflow. I had the same issue with my old cutout when I swapped mine last year, the new housing was a little bigger and I had to patch the drywall edges. Did you end up having to cut the ceiling opening wider or did you manage to shim it somehow?

-1

bennett.harper1mo ago

You know, I used to think those Panasonic fans were just hyped up for being "quiet," but after reading this I'm starting to see they're more about the noise level than moving air. @wendy820, that's a good point about the airflow though. I had a similar headache when I swapped out an old Broan for a Panasonic last year. The new housing was definitely bigger and I ended up trimming the drywall a bit with a jab saw. I didn't bother shimming it, just cut it a little wider and patched the gap with some joint compound. It turned out fine but it was way more work than I expected for a simple swap.