Attic Vent and stucco?

Jason Beam

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1,364
Location
Sacramento, CA
Howdy folks!

I've come to the conclusion that installing a fan in the attic above my shop is a Good Thing (tm). Nevermind the lowest priced one I can find is 5x the fan needed for my space (less than 300sq ft). :huh:

But my trouble is that the outside of my shop is covered in stucco. I need to make the hole for the vent without completely destroying the surrounding stucco. I have never sawn into the stuff before and I really don't want to break chunks off that i'd have to unsuccessfully patch.

So far, the best idea i've come up with to mitigate the risk of really goofing it up is to draw the perimeter of the opening i need (probably a rectangle) with my wonder marker (sharpie). Then, with a borrowed hammer drill, drill holes like crazy around that perimeter. Say 1/4" holes every 1/4" or so - tedius, but i'm willing to work to ensure success.

Sawing into the stuff ... after the holes were drilled, I'd planned on using my jigsaw with a special masonry blade (if one exists?). I've also been pondering using my 7 1/4" circular saw with a concrete blade...

Is the drilling obnoxious overkill? Will sawing be fine? Do they make jigsaw blades that'd do the job?

Oh the questions! :p
 
Jason,

On my house in Tampa I had one repair. The stucco was approximately 2" thick. Not sure a jigsaw blade would of worked. They used a hand held concrete saw to cut it out. Beware of lots of dust.

Randy
 
Jason, have you looked at roof mounted attic vents? You can find them in a wide range of CFM's.

Bruce,

I have given them a bit of a glance, but I've kinda ruled the idea out. The idea of cutting into the roof is not something I'm comfortable doing given my skills and tool collection. If $50 bucks buys me 5x the fan, i'm okay with that price and if it makes the attic cool that much faster, I'm alright with that, too :p

I like the idea of a ridge vent instead of a gable one, it's just a tougher challenge than I'd feel comfortable tackling.

Thanks :)
 
Jason,

On my house in Tampa I had one repair. The stucco was approximately 2" thick. Not sure a jigsaw blade would of worked. They used a hand held concrete saw to cut it out. Beware of lots of dust.

Randy

Thankfully, mine's probably less than 3/4" thick. The jigsaw idea scares me just because of all that vibrating, too. So far, I'm leaning more towards the idea of putting a diamond/concrete blade on my circular saw and then finding a way to tackle the corners instead.

If i go the concrete blade on my PC circular saw, should I be worried about the concrete dust hurting the saw in any way? It's only one hole, so it's not like a long-term thing ... hopefully not! :)
 
Thankfully, mine's probably less than 3/4" thick. The jigsaw idea scares me just because of all that vibrating, too. So far, I'm leaning more towards the idea of putting a diamond/concrete blade on my circular saw and then finding a way to tackle the corners instead.

If i go the concrete blade on my PC circular saw, should I be worried about the concrete dust hurting the saw in any way? It's only one hole, so it's not like a long-term thing ... hopefully not! :)
I've used an abrasive cut-off wheel in a Skil saw. (Probably not recommended by the manufacturer, but I wore face, hand and arm protection.) I was using it to cut up scrap metal pipe, since I didn't have an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel at the time. I'm pretty sure it would work on stucco (but I could stand corrected), and for a single opening I don't think the dust would be too much for the saw to take.
 
Yes there are abrasive blades for circular saws that are for cutting masonry, they create a TON of dust, but they do work.

I'd put a temp base on your circular saw, just to stop the saw from getting scratched up.

This should work, it will be hot messy work. The corners you can attack with the masonry drill bit, and a chisel.......................carefully! :D

Good luck.............take pics! :wave:
 
Jason, when one of the guys was cutting some concrete blocks on my well house, he used a masonry blade in his circular saw, but he took a piece of that thin green foam filter material that goes around the paper filter on some lawnmower air filters, and used Duct tape to tape it on his saw so the foam covered the air inlets on his saw to keep the abrasive dust out of the motor, and it seemed to work ok.
 
Go to HD or Arts Rental and tell them what you want to do. Pack your credit card with you and rent the appropriate tool for the job...when you do, it will seem as if it wasn't that big of a problem after all. but it most time comes down to the right t+-ool for the job.

I used to try to figure a way to do stuff with what I had available , too. but My son made a believer out of me. Industry considers labor more expensive than the tool costs so getting the right tool is the answer. Climb off your wallet and rent the correct tool and make the job a simple task.
 
Jim,

Thanks! I'm kinda leaning that way now - $13.99 for an angle grinder at Horrible Fright vs. doing any damage to my circular saw is kinda having me lean toward the HF. And if it outlasts this one hole, i'll have an angle grinder! :p

Masonry disc vs. diamond disc ... i keep flip floppin
 
I had one of thos from HF and then another of those from HF and then I decided to pay some more money and get a brand name. so I bought a craftsman at Sears for arounf $50 and boy am I glad. It is a powerhouse and great tool. Much better than a doomed to die from HF. If you got that way go a bit more money and buy something that will finish the job and hang around for a few more.
 
I had one of thos from HF and then another of those from HF and then I decided to pay some more money and get a brand name. so I bought a craftsman at Sears for arounf $50 and boy am I glad. It is a powerhouse and great tool. Much better than a doomed to die from HF. If you got that way go a bit more money and buy something that will finish the job and hang around for a few more.

Very good advice, Bill.

I really can't think of any other use for an angle grinder in my future, though. Part of the reason I thought HF to begin with. I had approached it from a disposable tool point of view. I haven't had occasion to need one really, s'why I figured a throw-away would do the job. Of course, I'm well aware of the possibilities not showing themselves until AFTER passing up a tool. :rofl:

I can think of a use for a pnumatic die grinder. Is there any chance one of these would work to hold a diamond/masonry wheel for cutting through the stucco, without ruining it with concrete dust? Someday I'll be getting into some more carving/sculpting type of work and a die grinder would be fantastic. Instead of buying the HF tool to ruin with one job, would buying a nice die grinder serve this purpose?



Edit: Plus! I have the compressor to back it up, so any tool that goes PVRRRREW!! is a good tool, right? :p
 
I had one of thos from HF and then another of those from HF and then I decided to pay some more money and get a brand name. so I bought a craftsman at Sears for arounf $50 and boy am I glad. It is a powerhouse and great tool. Much better than a doomed to die from HF. If you got that way go a bit more money and buy something that will finish the job and hang around for a few more.

I bought a 4 1/2" HF angle grinder on sale for $11.99 about 2 1/2 yrs ago. (note it is an orange one, not the blue one), I forget the amperage, but it is the larger amperage one. I bought it for one welding project figuring it would be a throw away, if it even made it through the project.

When I first used it it got so hot I couldn't hold it, so I let it cool and went at it again and the same thing......HOT, but I noticed it was hottest in the metal gear area, and noisy too. I quickly took the housing off the gear part and there was nearly NO grease in it and it looked kinda like Vaseline. I cleaned out the remaining grease and grabbed some high quality grease and greased the gears and packed the gearhousing full and closed it up. Well, it's been over two years and I've gone through nearly 5 boxes of mostly metal and some masonry grinding discs, and it is still going strong. I forgot to mention that it cooled right down after I put the good grease in it. I think I have definitely got my $11.99 + tax out of it, and I haven't even had to change the brushes out, (and they included a spare set). :D

Just my experience, YMMV.
 
Jim,

Thanks! I'm kinda leaning that way now - $13.99 for an angle grinder at Horrible Fright vs. doing any damage to my circular saw is kinda having me lean toward the HF. And if it outlasts this one hole, i'll have an angle grinder! :p

Masonry disc vs. diamond disc ... i keep flip floppin

Jason whichever grinder or disc you get I think you'll find you have much more control than trying to plunge cut with a circular saw and abrasive disc.

The grinder has the added advantage of an adjustable guard and handle you can place right or left. It also has better visibility to see what you're cutting.

You may think you won't have any more use for it later but I'll bet you find lot's of things down the road where you're glad you own one.... ;):D
 
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