So i got the fan wired to a plug the other day, the misses done it for me. So today was the day i was going to fit it all and get ready for my next attempt. Hopefully a succesfull one. First thing on my list was to drill a hole in grow cupboard, its a big double walk in cupboard. I did this and got the misses to hold the screwdriver through it while i got into the loft to see which bit of the insulation was sticking up. I was expecting it to be miles away from the boards in the loft, but luckily i was wrong and it was closer than i thought. I shifted the insulation out the way and climbed back down . So next, just guessing, i drilled loads of holes with a small drill bit in a circle, got loads of dust in my eyes! Im useless at DIY, but this needed to be done![attachmentid=26453]

I thought it looked ok for a first attempt, so next i got a larger drill bit and proceded to drill all smaller holes again. This also went well.
[attachmentid=26454]

I just popped screw driver into one of the holes and managed to pop the circle out, i couldnt believe it was that easy. I'd put this job off for a couple of days cos i was dreading it!

Ladies and Gentleman, A Hole Was Born! [attachmentid=26455]

Again got the misses to attach the ducting to the fan for me while i scampered up the ladder to the loft like jack climbing his beanstalk

I then secured the ducting with a bit of normal parcel tape, i passed the ducting through the hole along with the power lead and plug, as there is no power in my loft. I then got some bubble wrap and placed it where the insulation was, and sat the fan on some polystirine that had a ridge on it, the fan sat perfectly and did not rock at all. I was happy but just to be safe though i better attach the fan to something, so all i did was, tie a knot to the fan itself and tied the other end to a piece of wood supporting the roof, it might look strange but believe me, the fan is secure.
[attachmentid=26459]

Also i thought if any workman or anything need to go into the loft, i'd just have to stall them and make them come back later, easily done, believe me! Then pop into loft, untie it, pull ducting and plug up, replace the insulation where the fan was and finally take the fan out of loft. Should be able to do it in 5mins easily.

Another pic, [attachmentid=26457]

Next to do on my list was check how it all looked in my growroom, it looked to me like the ducting was perfectly placed in the growroom, if any of you have any advice or thoughts on this then please let me know. I just bodged a load of tape around the hole, although this was not really needed as the hole was luckily the perfect size!
[attachmentid=26458]

The ducting comes right down to where my light is,
[attachmentid=26460]

This was all fine, but the plug from the fan was not long enough to reach outside the grow room, where all other plugs did reach, so i did have to shoot down to B&Q and grab another extension lead. But in the end it all worked out very nicely really, so heres one last pic of the growroom just before my new grow,
[attachmentid=26461]
I hope you all approve!

If you've taken the time to read this and enjoyed it then please let me know what you think of this as all advice and comments appreciated, as always .

luvely jubbly m8

i had to do a similar thing in mine but it was with square duct.

excellent job.

you had the right attitude tho, if you had have gone at it thinking....."10 minute job, no worries" you would have taken days and probably needed a new ceiling.

For a fellah that claims to be no good at DIY, that's some pretty good DIY you have going there.....


Are you just going to dump all that heat in the loft, or extract it under the eaves to outside? Winter is upon us and you don't want to be the only house in the street without snow on the roof.

Good work mate...nice and easy does it.
But as ^ nigfis says i would connect some ducting to other side of fan and do another hole like you've already done in the soffit board (the board under the fascia facing down....

You've already done 1 hole, i'd do another if i was you .

Will this affect how well the fan sucks the air out??? if i do run it to the out side im gonna need about 8 or 9 meters of ducting to get it to that part if the roof! will definatly consider it though people, but not untill after christmas!!! keep info coming!! thanks!

The other way round this is to fit a vent in the roof somewhere, you can use a vented tile or ridge tile for this, then connect your ducting to that.
Do whats best for you mate, it'd just be better to not have it vented straight into the loft as it can cause no end of trouble if your roof isnt vented properly.
May be ok for a bit, but come the summer it'll be like a kiln up there .

It doesn't need to go all the way to the top mate. You can run it from where it is straight to the side of the loft and exit there...

My mrs came up with a good idea, we have an extractor fan from the bathroom that also goes into the loft, the ducting from that is about half a meter away from my fan, so hopefully i'll just have to disconnect the bathroom ducting and connect that to my fan, and the air will be blown outside. Will this mean i will never need a carbon filter? cos its being pumped outside and high up no one will ever smell it, well, maybe the birds will! let me know please people. Cheers!

Always use a carbon filter, on those calm cold foggy morns when theres no air movement and your extracted air drops strait to the ground and hangs around your house all day then you can run into probs(always use a filter).

i wouldnt worry about ducting out of the loft, lofts are desighned to breath this is why you have gaps both sides of the loft so the air can travel through, it only becomes an issue when you start boarding up the loft.

looking good there for a non diy`er.

oh yeah,
RULE NO.2 Do get a carbon filter,

Hydro-Man

This is exactly what i did!

My extraction is simaler i dont attach any ducting to the out hole of the fan i just let it run into the loft like hydro-man said i dont use a filter either and ive been doing this a couple of years now ive never smelt my grow from outside and im about when evertbody sleeps as the sun comes up in the summer and when jack frost plays in the winter ( no im not a vampire ) but maybe this depends on how many plants your growing my most is 6

Im impressed so far Top.

Could you tell me about your walk in cupboard please, cos I'm sat here with 2 enviros and a 1m reflector and nowhere big enough to put them.

Growspace is restricted as im in a flat, growtents not an option due to curious visitors etc.

Will keep an eye on this thread to see how you go-good luck

eMDeeMA