My bathroom fan has become noisey. I went to replace it, and although this is on the first floor under a finished second floor, it appears that it was installed from above, and the joist is no longer accessible. What is the best way to get out the old installation? I am thinking of using a Dremel to cut it out. Is there a better way? Also, anyone have a fixture that they love?
The industry is a step ahead of you, and has developed retrofit/repair kits that are quieter than the original.
A lot of bath fans are built with a “subframe” unit that holds the motor. Quite often, you can just unscrew this and buy a replacement set of guts with a quieter motor and fan.
I assume you are trying to do this with minimal disturbance to the ceiling? Makes it tricky but it is possible. Usually the units box is directly screwed to a joist or blocking. If this is the case you can usually unscrew it and wiggle it out without too much damage to the drywall. Some units are mounted with an adjustable frame that is fastened to the joists, you will have to cut it to pieces to get it out if it is one of these. Easier to just cut a hole and do a drywall repair in that case.
Replacing it with a unit that needs a larger opening will give you a little lee way. Getting the new unit in will be fussy work also. Choose something with a large grill to cover as much as possible. Getting a good conection to the duct will be difficult if it is solid duct, flexible duct you should be able to connect before installing the box.
Haven’t seen retrofit kits before but I would have used them if they were available. Have had luck before just buying a new or similar model and switching out the fan and motor assembly.
I had good luck just replacing the motor - removed it and googled the part number.