Cheap Easy Attic Fan and one other unrelated idea [View all]
I've been told by several locals that the only reason they passed on my 100-yr-old house is because of the steep narrow stairs. The second floor 'hallway' looks more like a cattle chute. It took almost a year of searching to find a whole house attic fan narrow enough to fit in the ceiling there. I don't mind because all the rooms are 15' square except the master bath (old bedroom) which only spans 15x12.
Anyway! After 8 years of heavy use, the attic fan has spun its last at last and they don't make that size anymore. No one wants to fix the motor if indeed that could even be done.
So I scratched my hard head until I came up with an alternate solution. Remove the louvers in the ceiling, take out the fan entirely, and put the biggest strongest box fan up there that I can find. Place it on its back (with maybe a few widely spaced furring strips for support) so the air will be drawn up into the attic. Run an extension cord down to the nearest wall outlet, turn on the fan, and let 'er rip.
No problem because I live alone, guests never want to climb the stairs anyway, and there are no little kids to worry about. True, it won't look great but except for bath time I don't go upstairs too often anyway in the heat of summer. And when I do, that wonderful rush of upward air would make ugly looks forgivable anyway.
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This last tidbit doesn't speak to home improvement at all unless you decorate with antique or just old costume jewelry, and I can't claim credit for the idea; but here 'tis anyway. Refurbish old costume jewelry with nail polish!
These two ideas cross-posted in the DIY/HI group.
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