Who installs a bathroom exhaust fan: electrician, HVAC or handyman?

Fall is when this question comes up. Once the heat goes on, a bathroom without a working fan shows it: wet windows in the morning, mould at the ceiling edge, and in the attic, frost on the nails where a fan duct leaks or ends. Who to call depends on which part is missing or broken: the fan and its wiring, or the path to the outside.

Which trade do I call for my bathroom fan job?

Call the trade that matches the part you need. The table sorts the common jobs. Prices are market ranges published by Ontario contractors and quoted on RedFlagDeals threads, not Doyo prices.

Can a handyman install a bathroom exhaust fan in Ontario?

A handyman can do the ducting, the drywall and the roof or wall cap, but not the wiring for pay. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is clear that a homeowner may do electrical work in their own home, but anyone hired to do it, including a handyman, a friend or a relative, must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. That applies even to swapping a fan on the existing wire. A handyman who also connects the fan is doing electrical work without a licence.

If you replace the fan yourself, the same ESA rules for homeowners apply. A fan or fan-light over a tub or shower must be rated for that location, and the manufacturer may require a GFCI-protected circuit there.

Do I need a permit to install a bathroom fan?

Usually for the electrical side, and possibly for the building side. ESA says almost all electrical work needs a notification filed before work starts; your electrician files it, and an inspection follows for most new work. A new hole through the roof or an outside wall is a separate question for your town's building department. Markham, for example, lists interior mechanical alterations among the work that needs a building permit, and Newmarket asks residents to email its building permits office when unsure. Ask before cutting.

Where should a bathroom fan vent?

Outside, through a roof or wall cap with a damper, never into the attic. The Ontario Building Code does not allow exhaust ducts to discharge into an attic or any other enclosed space, and requires ducts running through unheated space to be insulated. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) lists leaky or misrouted bath fan ducts among the usual causes of attic frost and moisture. Venting at the soffit is a common shortcut, but the moist air can be drawn straight back in through the soffit vents.

• Duct: 4-inch rigid or semi-rigid metal is what fan makers such as Broan recommend; small or crushed flex duct cuts airflow.
• Joints: foil tape, not cloth duct tape, and the duct sloped so condensation drains out, not back to the fan.
• Insulation: a duct crossing a cold attic needs to be insulated, or it will drip.
• Size: the Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) suggests about 1 CFM per square foot of bathroom, 50 CFM minimum; 1 sone or less is quiet.

How do I find a licensed electrician for a fan job on Doyo?

On Doyo, electrical work goes only to electricians working under an ECRA/ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor licence, which Doyo checks and keeps current, and you can look the licence number up on ESA's site. Every price is shown before you book, and your card is charged only when the job is completed. Tell the Doyo agent whether it is a swap or a new fan, where the duct goes now, and add photos of the fan and its label.