En-Suite Extractor Fan
Vortice Lineo 150 inline fan, ducted straight through external gable wall. All equipment purchased.
Equipment
Section titled “Equipment”| Item | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Vortice Lineo 150 inline mixed flow fan | eBay (fastlec) | £122.47 |
| Vortice C HCS remote humidity sensor (12994) | eBay (fastlec) | £86.45 |
| BG 900 Fan Isolator Switch 10A 3P | Screwfix | £4.94 |
| Kair 150mm plastic ceiling diffuser | Amazon | £14.99 |
| Kair 150mm 45° elbows x2 | Amazon | £21.98 |
| WeCooper 150mm backdraft shutter | Amazon | £16.95 |
| Kair 150mm bull-nose stainless grille | Amazon | £26.99 |
| 150mm rigid duct 1000mm x3 | Screwfix | £29.95 |
| Quinetic wireless switch | TLC Direct | (previous) |
Also in room: Shelly humidity/temp sensor (already installed, could supplement or replace C HCS via home automation)
Ceiling Grille Position
Section titled “Ceiling Grille Position”
- Far-left corner of ceiling (back-left, diagonally opposite the door)
- Directly above the shower head — maximum distance from the door (make-up air source)
- Creates cross-ventilation path across the full room before extraction
- Must land between two joists — mark up from loft before cutting
- The grille is a passive plastic diffuser with no electrics, so bathroom zone ratings don’t apply at ceiling level
Duct Route
Section titled “Duct Route”
- Kair 150mm ceiling diffuser — flush-mounted in ceiling, far-left corner over shower
- Short vertical rise into loft
- 90° elbow — turns horizontal
- Horizontal 150mm rigid duct — runs through loft to external wall (parallel to joists, above them — loft gives full freedom on routing)
- Vortice Lineo 150 — inline, positioned close to external wall (keeps motor noise away from the room)
- WeCooper backdraft shutter — prevents cold air drawing back when fan is off
- 150mm core hole through external (right/gable) wall
- Kair bull-nose stainless grille — on outside face
Core Hole
Section titled “Core Hole”- Tool: 150mm diamond core bit
- Position: Right (gable) external wall, above ceiling line in loft
- Height: Centre the hole ~200-250mm above top of joists for a comfortable straight horizontal duct run to the Lineo 150
- Distance from windows: Minimum 600mm from any openable window (rule of thumb — no hard minimum in Approved Doc F but position to avoid re-entry of extracted steam). Being high on the gable with ~10ft of wall above ceiling works strongly in favour
- Drill from inside (loft side) for accuracy, core through both leaves and cavity in one pass
Closing the Cavity
Section titled “Closing the Cavity”When the 150mm core breaches the cavity wall, the fire barrier must be restored:
- Rigid duct sleeve through the full wall thickness (inner block → cavity → outer block). Not flexi — rigid 150mm duct spanning the full depth
- Pack mineral wool tightly around the duct sleeve in the cavity gap
- Seal with Rockwool acoustic sealant (fire-rated) on both faces where the duct meets each leaf of the wall — this restores the 30-minute fire/smoke barrier
- Weatherproof externally — seal around the bull-nose grille with exterior-grade mastic to prevent water tracking into the cavity
- Seal internally (loft side) — acoustic sealant around the duct where it enters the inner leaf, maintaining airtightness
Electrics
Section titled “Electrics”- Fan isolator switch (BG 900, 3-pole) — mount on wall inside en-suite, outside Zone 1 (dry side, near door)
- Quinetic wireless switch — no wiring needed, kinetic energy powered. Mount at convenient height for manual boost
- Vortice C HCS humidity sensor — mounts on wall inside room, wires to the Lineo 150. Triggers fan automatically when humidity rises above threshold
- Shelly — already monitoring humidity/temp. Can be used via home automation as alternative/supplementary trigger, or for logging/alerts
- Part P consideration: Fan wiring in the loft is straightforward (permanent live + switched live from isolator). Bathroom zone wiring (the isolator switch feed) may need Part P sign-off — check with building control or use a registered electrician for the final connection
Building Regs
Section titled “Building Regs”| Regulation | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Part F (Ventilation) | Min 15 l/s intermittent extract for bathroom with shower | Lineo 150 exceeds this |
| Part B (Fire) | Cavity barrier where duct passes through cavity wall | Mineral wool + fire-rated acoustic sealant |
| Part P (Electrics) | Bathroom electrical work may be notifiable | Fan isolator in room — check with building control |