Hi Folks,

I'm sharing my venting litmus test and cost estimates. I realize I'm not comparing 2 apples with 2 apples, but for what it is worth, some data:

Data point #1: A neighbor had a buyer for their 1970s house. The inspector dinged them b/c the bathroom was not vented to the outside, and the buyers were using it as a negotiating point. My neighbor got an estimate of $1,500. I don't know the details of what that included. At the time, I didn't know enough to ask the right questions. It was the first I heard about these houses not having up-to-code venting.

Shortly after that, we needed to gut our bathroom b/c of pinhole leaks, so I decided to address fan venting at the same time, so that when we sell in about 5 years, it's apparent we did things right. We have 2 bathrooms on the second floor back to back, and their fans are less than 3 feet apart.

Data point #2: I got a strong recommendation for a tiler. I checked him out: Nice web site, positive reviews, does kitchen and bath remodeling, and has a current Home Improvement license (I checked our state's database). He came for an in-person estimate. He declined to peek into the attic, although we had a ladder set up. "We'll decide when we get up there. We'll probably take them out through the soffit. Or to the ridge vent."

Based on my obsessive Youtube watching and Houzz reading over the previous weeks, I knew those were not the preferred ways. I mentally crossed him off right then. (Also for other reasons.)

I called our HVAC company; they don't do bathroom venting. I called another HVAC company. They would come out for an estimate but warned I might also need to hire a roofer and an electrician. I said no thanks. I called our plumber; he doesn't do that work but said they could be vented with a Y configuration.

Data point #3 We got an estimate on the whole bathroom + fans, and just the fans and venting, from a licensed contractor we've used in the past and been 95% satisfied with.

He didn't go in the attic. Estimate for venting out the roof using a Broan kit (I'm assuming a Y configuration, as he said, "Broan makes a kit for just this situation"), and replacing both fans with customer-supplied new units: $1,300. ($1,000 for the venting and one fan replacement, and $300 to replace the other fan, which my husband bought a year ago and found was a little bigger than the hole, so he never installed it.)

At the time, I didn't realize that replacing a bathroom fan is not as easy as popping out the old and popping in the new, so the estimate seemed high.

I called a large roofing company with a bazillion high reviews, and asked for an estimate for just the venting. I had in my head that $500 would be a good price.

The man came to do the estimate. He went into the attic, saw no complicating issues or damage. He took photos. He said they'd need shingles, I said we had extra, he asked to see them, and he took photos of those. He said they'd put in two roof vents. Estimate: $500. I whipped out my credit card to pay the deposit. Two weeks later: Job completed in just under 2 hours.

Now my dilemma: The estimate from the contractor we've used in the past seems to have been 25% to 30% too high, so I have to think the bid on the rest of the job is also 25% too high. It's back to Youtube and Houzz discussions to learn the difference between cement board, green board, waterproof layers, etc., etc.

I've learned that remodeling is like medical care: a license is no guarantee of competence, get a second opinion, and do your homework.