Author Topic: Dryer Venting into attic  (Read 18631 times)

pbratt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Dryer Venting into attic
« on: June 26, 2014, 04:37:05 PM »
Dear fellow Mustacians:

For those of you who helped me with determining whether to get a new water heater, many thanks. I helped a plumber install a new water heater, and found out when I replaced my old heater that it had a slow leak. I dogged that bullet!

Now I'm working on another project for my house, and I'd appreciate some advice. My dryer currently vents directly into the attic. This is not up to code, and I wonder which of the previous owners of my house thought this was a good idea. The existing ductwork is galvanized steel, so what I need to do is to add another 6 ft so that it terminates on the outside of the house through the roof. I'll need to install a dryer vent termination hood, and want to replace the existing transition hose, which is about four ft long.

I've gotten a number of quotes around the $700 range. This seems a bit high, given that the major work is to add a $20 pipe, cut through the roof, add a termination hood, and to buy an upgraded transition hose. However, I've learned to follow the wisdom of this forum-should I try to DIY this, or should I hire a pro, especially to make sure that the roof work is done properly?

Sincerely,
Peter

chardog

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 181
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Austin, TX, USA
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2014, 04:59:02 PM »
I assume the dryer is not near an exterior wall?  Routing the vent to a wall would be best.  If the vent in the attic is near a gable, you might be able to route the duct in that direction and avoid a penetration of your roof.  Of course it would be best to keep the length of ductwork at a minimum.  If you have to put a hole in the roof, try to locate it away from any valleys and place it closer to a ridge if possible in order to minimize the amount of water that interacts with the vent.

Or, you could start line drying clothes and save money in a few different ways.  I try to line dry when I can to save energy, wear and tear on the dryer, and heating up the laundry room.

Milspecstache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 538
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2014, 05:49:49 PM »
Line drying is a good idea but I would still fix the dryer vent as that is horrendous and will grow mold in your attic.  Not good for whoever buys the house after you and certainly an inspector will ding you for that resulting in a larger expense to you when you have to do it on short notice.

Also agree that roof-venting is not ideal as it risks a leak later.  I would do everything I could to run the vent through an outside wall.  Shouldn't be too difficult.

Glenstache

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3493
  • Age: 94
  • Location: Upper left corner
  • FI(lean) working on the "RE"
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2014, 06:05:51 PM »
Does this look reasonable? If so DIY and up your badassity. The only part to really pay attention to is  making sure that the flashing in the roof components is correct. It isn't rocket science, but it is important. If you need to make sure to sleep well at night, you can always test it by crawling into your attic and having someone spray the area with a hose sprayer simulating wind driven rain until you are satisfied it is water tight (i.e., no drips in the attic).

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20783011,00.html

Boz86

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 117
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2014, 07:06:28 AM »
Does this look reasonable? If so DIY and up your badassity. The only part to really pay attention to is  making sure that the flashing in the roof components is correct. It isn't rocket science, but it is important. If you need to make sure to sleep well at night, you can always test it by crawling into your attic and having someone spray the area with a hose sprayer simulating wind driven rain until you are satisfied it is water tight (i.e., no drips in the attic).

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20783011,00.html

Plus one from someone who's done it a few times for various vents. With no leaks. Regarding the dryer hose, one other thing to check is the maximum length allowed for your vent hose with however many turns it has.


pbratt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2014, 07:37:20 AM »
Thanks all for the feedback. My wife and I do have a dryer umbrella clothline that we use outside 90% of the time. We do have a kid joining our family in December, and we are both aware that one uses the dryer a bit more often, especially since we are going to be using cloth diapers.

My natural inclination is to run the dutch through the crawl space and to vent outside-we have a ventilation screen that we could easily put a dryer vent through, and the distance is 15 feet. However, the first company that put a bid in said that it would cost a lot more to run the duct work through the crawl space than versus continuing the existing venting through the roof. I have two more companies coming out to put in other bids, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks again! Peter

Greg

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1448
  • Location: Olympia, WA, USA
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2014, 05:40:17 PM »
Through the crawl space make more sense, but if you decide to continue the attic run I would suggest having it exit back down through the soffit rather than the roof.  Easier to "get right" because you don't have to worry about water leaks.  This assumes you have some sort of soffit (roof overhang) area you can reach.

When assembling a dryer duct, use rigid steel or aluminum 4" ducting and elbows and tape all the joints using foil tape, but don't use screws which can cause lint buildup.  Flexible aluminum ducts are not ideal.

Anyway I'd totally DIY this but I do this sort of thing at work as well.

jawisco

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Dryer Venting into attic
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2014, 05:58:00 PM »
I think you can DIY this job and put it through the crawl space. 

But if you have someone else do it, I will agree with others above that roof penetration is a bad idea.  A really bad idea - even if another option costs more, I would avoid making a hole in my roof.