kitchen/bathroom 9 1/2 ceiling fan

Original Eichler bathrooms had no fans. Many people install fans either through the roof (when replacing the roof) or even through the side of the house to improve ventilation.

The original Eichler kitchens did have exhaust fans - often by NuTone. You can get updated versions of these fans at most of the big-box stores. Today NuTone and Broan are owned by the same company - so you can look for parts on their website.

My curiousity is now piqued about the bathroom fans.

We have a fan in our windowless front bathroom and I would swear it is original. It is the same very old machinery that is in our kitchen which definitely dates to the building of our home. Both have the same coverplate I have seen in some other Eichler homes that haven't been updated. Also, we still have the original stain on the ceilings in several parts of the house and when we take the coverplate off, you can see where they brushed the stain all over the original rim of the kitchen fan. In the bathroom, the ceiling was painted white at some point, as was most of the rim for the fan machinery, but there are a few areas where they missed and it looks like the original stain as well. We purchased from the estate/children of the original owner who lived here for 49 years. They moved here as kids when the house was built and have been really flexible in answering our questions about the few changes that were made to the house. I'll ask about this in my next note to them.

How about if I amend my original reply to say "Many original Eichler bathrooms had no fans." :wink:

It may very well be that some tracts or infill developments or even one-offs had fans put in the bathrooms. I just didn't think it was that common based on the reading I've done - as well as all the posts on this site asking about installing fans in the bathrooms...

It may very well be that some tracts or infill developments or even one-offs had fans put in the bathrooms. I just didn't think it was that common based on the reading I've done - as well as all the posts on this site asking about installing fans in the bathrooms...

As far back as I can remember (little kid with parents doing remodeling in the 1950s) code required a vent fan or a window in a bathroom. I am not sure, but an exterior door might count (or used to count) for ventilation too.

Our 1958 courtyard model Eichler with a windowless hall bath has a very original fan (but with a replacement cover).

All the Eichlers I have seen have a small window in the master bath shower. And most of them have an outside door on the other bathroom. If the exterior door meets code ventilation requirements then that would explain why most Eichlers don't have bathroom fans.

That being said, we added a ventilation fan to the master bath and it made a big difference on moisture build up. That little window with very little cross ventilation air flow did not do a good job by itself.

Tod,

Thanks for the reply. Glad this is stimulating discussion. Heck, I only replied because no one seemed to be responding to our friend in NY.

So I'd have to amend my amendment and say something like: many original Eichler bathrooms that had WINDOWS did not have FANS. I haven't been in an Eichler that had an inside bathroom w/no windows...

Our 4/2 atrium model has windows in both bathrooms - and no fans. Been in other homes with bathrooms WITH windows - no fans either.

Thanks for the reply. Glad this is stimulating discussion. Heck, I only replied because no one seemed to be responding to our friend in NY.

I'm glad you responded because I had been meaning to clean out that fan up in the bathroom. I kept noticing long strings of dirt and such hanging through the coverplate....all of the dirt and dust hanging around in there looked original too. :oops:

Thanks for the answers!
I'm almost certain the fan is original...and since there is no window in bath and master bath it makes a lot of sense.
I checked with lowes and HD but the best I could get was something where I could use the motor but without any flap. The flap is essential except you prefer the eichler specific in-/outside feel also during showering in the wintertime.
Still if somebody knows a place to get a fan...highly appreciated!

THANKS!
Carl

The fans in our 1962 Sunnyvale Courtyard bathrooms (original) are NuTone model 8210 which are widely available online. The complete fan unit includes the flap in the duct which keeps bugs and debris from falling through the opening. Every few years I have to replace the motor/fan assembly when the bearings wear out and the fan becomes unbearably noisy.

Although these fans are great in the bathrooms, the same model is used much less successfully in the kitchen as the exhaust fan over the cooking area. It doesn't really have the power to serve as a kitchen exhaust fan. I'm wondering if anyone has upgraded their kitchen fan and if so, what kind of fan did you use and was it easy to install?

-Andrew

you can get a sleeve with damper for Nutone at homeclick.com

not sure if it'll fit though, it's just going off of Andrew's reply above about Nutone's exhaust.

not sure if it'll fit though, it's just going off of Andrew's reply above about Nutone's exhaust.

My Foster City Eichler built in 1966 currently has a Nuwtone QT80-B fan (probably not original) in large diameter (16" or so) stove pipe with a sheet metal coolie hat on top to keep the rain from through the huge hole in the roof/ceiling.

The collar that the duct would go on is just open to the area in stovepipe. I don't know if the duct and damper would fit in the stovepipe above the fan assembly and below the hat. The duct would need to make a sharp 90 degree bend then attach to the damper.

Even if the duct and damper could be installed, air can pass through hole and the squirrel cage fan from the bathroom to the stovepipe.

I regard to the comment about the fan wearing out, I think the noise is from the bearings corroding due to exposure the elements/bath steam. My fan shows signs of surface rust but it does not squeal. My guess is that the fan’s been there since the 70s or 80s.

Hi all, just wanted to check in and announce that the NuTone model 8210 did fit and works well.
The cover is all plastic and I'm struggling if I take the time to clean the old one and put it on. Will see...

Thanks for the help!
Carl

Carl,
The 8210 is available with either a metal or a plastic (white) cover...The big box stores sell both of them...you just have to look very closely at the box (the model number is the same).

...good to know...
thanks

Although these fans are great in the bathrooms, the same model is used much less successfully in the kitchen as the exhaust fan over the cooking area. It doesn't really have the power to serve as a kitchen exhaust fan. I'm wondering if anyone has upgraded their kitchen fan and if so, what kind of fan did you use and was it easy to install?

-Andrew

My kitchen fan is a NuTone, but is 11.5" round -- it is now dead after 30+ years and the closest replacement in motor is the Broan Model 504 which is 10" round is NOT available in Silicon Valley big boxes. I want to replace it with a Euro-style island hood, stainless steel, but my wife objects to an island hood blocking the line of sight into the adjacent area. The NuTone 8210 (7") and Broan 505 (8") have about half the CFM rating as a 504 (10") and any decent island style range hood - - to really exhaust out, you have to increase fan power or bring the suction down closer to the range top.

I am still deciding whether to chase down the Broan 504 (for its motor) or go with a island style hood (30" size). A island hood costs $700 to $2,500 and presents 2 major problems - - one is whether the mounting plate fits OUTSIDE the existing fan housing (8" shouldn't be problem but my 11.5" dia. housing looks to be an issue), and another, for me, is the angled ceiling in the kitchen (ours is a Claude Oakland soaring ceiling model). I think I can get around the latter problem by using wood wedges and then build a "collar" around that to conceal the adaptation. I will decide which direction to take in the next week or two. I believe some owners go with a built-in exhaust when they re-model their kitchen, but believe they can't duct out and just use a charcoal grease filter & recirculate the air (referred as the ductless option).