location of exterior exhaust vent for bathroom fan

[homejoe3000]

I'm putting a bathroom fan in a basement bathroom. The only good location for the exhaust vent (aka wall cap) is the exterior wall not far away. But in that approximate location there is already 1) a 4-ft wide x 1 ft high basement window and 2) a passive fresh air intake wall cap connected to an insulated 3 or 4 inch flex duct to the furnace room (not connected to the furnace, it just brings fresh air next to it).

Are there any codes about how far away the bathroom exterior exhaust vent must be from any window and any passive furnace air intake? Also I live in Eastern Ontario where we get sometimes get snow 2 feet deep, occasionlly more. Does the bathroom exhaust have to me a minimum height above ground level? Thanks a bunch.

 

[2stupid2fixit]

Don't know much about Canada building codes but I know lots about physics which tends to be universal. Codes aside, you dont want to be building a mold generator.

If you are venting moist air from a bathroom (usually, only moist air comes from the bathroom),
the path once exposed to outside air can have no obstructions. This means, if you vent it to an outside wall, there can be no overhangs like soffit or more roof or side of the house or basically anything that would get in the path of the exhaust all the way to the moon. Why? When the exhausted air is let go from an outlet, it is affected by the ambient air, and will either evaporate, continue on its travels, or condense. If you have roof or soffit or side of the house, anything that touches or can catch this exaust and get in any of its way, you will have installed a very capable mold generator. Mold potential or anything from the protist kingdom is usually taboo. The best installed systems I have seen exhaust from a bathroom and breach the roof so that the exhaust is not impeded in any fashion and is dispersed into the atmosphere. Any other setup that allows your bathroom exhaust to touch any part of your house will only cause trouble at some point. I know my answer doesn't do much for answering your building code questions in Ontario, but from what I have read of ON building codes, they tend to follow the science. I would not be surprised if lower level exhaust ventilation is prohibited in general. Don't know for sure, but I do know that ON building codes are very specific and encompass almost everything. I see homes that were built in Amherstburg ON in the the early 2000s and to me it looks like all the external venting is through the roof, no matter the source...dryer, bathroom, etc. On the flip side, these homeowners were notified somewhere aroud 2013 or so that the PEX used in their homes was problematic so IDK. I wish I could be of more help to you friend but thats it for what I know

 

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[Fitter30]

The Ontario Building Code | Supplemental Exhaust