Are you worried that your bathroom vent is leaking and causing expensive damage to your roof? Are you wondering what features to look for in a bath vent that help to prevent leaks and make it last longer?
At RoofSmart, we have done hundreds of roof leak repairs on bath vents and other areas of the roof. From rotting wood to moldy attics, we have seen the expensive damage that bath vent leaks can cause.
We recommend the Ultimate Bath Vent by Lifetime Tool to our customers to prevent roof leaks. But, even though this article focuses on the Ultimate Bath Vent, it is not only for those interested in Lifetime Tool products. It is an educational guide on why bath vents are important for preventing leaks and which features work best.
In this article, you’ll learn why bath vents are important and which features to look for when choosing a bath vent. The Ultimate Bath Vent by Lifetime Tool will be used as an example of a high-quality bath vent.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand what makes a bath vent strong and durable and you’ll be able to decide if the Ultimate Bath Vent is right for you.
Why does having a bath vent matter for my roof?
Having a place to vent out the humidity that builds up in the bathroom is crucial for protecting your home from mold, mildew, and rotting wood. These issues can quickly become difficult and expensive to deal with.
You need a good-quality bath vent on your roof to help cover the vent and protect your home from leaks. Otherwise, water can get in and damage your home.
Here is what the Ultimate Bath Vent from Lifetime Tool looks like when it’s installed on your typical asphalt roof:
The pipe that vents air through your roof creates a leak point and an easy way to let water into your bathroom. So, to best protect your home you’ll want to make sure that the bath vent you install on top of your roof is made of material that is durable and leak-proof.
What is the Lifetime Tool Ultimate Bath Vent?
Lifetime Tool designed their bath vent to offer great protection and avoid issues that other bath vents have.
The outer pieces (including the hood and the base piece) are made of 24-gauge steel and coated in Kynar. Kynar is a type of paint coating used on metal roofs that protects the metal from rusting and wear and tear.
When applied to a strong and long-lasting material like 24-gauge steel, you get a bath vent that will prevent leaks and stay in place for decades.
The internal pieces are all made of stainless steel, which is also long-lasting and prevents rusting. These pieces include:
- The fastener clips
- The axle
- The screws
- The removable snap-on screen
Get a feel for the different pieces of the Ultimate Bath Vent and how they work here:
Does the Lifetime Tool Ultimate Pipe Bath Vent really protect your roof from leaks?
The Ultimate Bath Vent by Lifetime Tool was created to prevent leaks, last as long as your roof, and be easy to maintain. Here’s how it does that:
- The rounded hood creates fewer leak points: Other bath vent designs have many corners and seams. This makes them susceptible to leaking because it provides a bunch of spots all over the vent where water can leak. If the vent itself is leaking, then it can easily seep into the roof and cause damage or mold. The Ultimate Bath Vent has a round hood that is seamless except where it is connected to the base piece. This design significantly reduces the possibility of a leak.
- Easy vent cleaning: It’s important to know that the bath vent has a screen that must be cleaned regularly for it to work properly. In other bath vent designs, the screen is not removable or is difficult to take out for cleaning. To make it easy for homeowners to clean the screen, the Ultimate Bath Vent has a removable hood and a snap-on screen. This makes it quick and easy to remove and replace the screen when you need to clean it.
- Wide base to prevent leaks: Because the exhaust pipe comes up from the bathroom and through the roof, it is essential that you have good protection to prevent leaks. The Ultimate Bath Vent has a base with 3.5 inches of Kynar-coated steel on the sides and bottom and 5.5 inches on top. This provides plenty of coverage to keep water out of your roof, especially from water that tries to come in from above.
- Wind and rain resistance: For homeowners in the Seattle area, it’s important that your bath vent keeps out rain, even in wind storms. The Ultimate Bath Vent was tested by a third-party company along with 4 other bath vents to see how they held up under extremely windy and rainy conditions. The Ultimate Bath Vent was the only one that held out under all tested wind speeds (the maximum wind speed was 110 mph) with no leaks. The test was conducted on a 2:12 pitch, which means that the water was basically flying straight at the opening of the vents and it still didn’t leak. Impressive!
- EPDM bumpers used to reduce noise: Due to the pressure changing as air flows through the vent during a thunderstorm or windstorm, different metal pieces can clang together. To reduce the amount of noise you hear, Lifetime Tool includes bumpers made of rubber to cushion the blow.
Why does RoofSmart recommend the Ultimate Pipe Flashing by Lifetime Tool?
If you’re living in the Greater Seattle area, your roof can easily be at risk of leaking without you even noticing. Exhaust vents from your bathroom can be an issue because they create a hole in the roof where the water can get in.
The other problem is that you want to ensure that the bath vents you install on your roof last as long (or longer than) your roof so that you don’t have to worry about it failing and leaking all over your roof, causing damage while your shingles still have several good years of protection left.
The Ultimate Bath Vent is a good fit if you are looking for superior protection and a vent that will last at least as long as your roof. We recognize that it costs more than other options out there, but its ability to keep out wind-driven rain is unmatched and its design is centered around preventing leaks.
How to Protect Your Roof From Leaks
After dealing with costly leaks and unexpected roof damage, you now understand how crucial a high-quality bath vent is. The Ultimate Bath Vent by Lifetime Tool is designed to prevent leaks, resist wind-driven rain, and last as long as your roof. Now that you’re equipped with this knowledge, your next step is to evaluate whether it’s the right choice for your home.
Worried that your roof might be leaking elsewhere but don’t know where to start looking? Read our article “What Causes A Roof To Leak?” to learn why roofs leak and how you can tell they’re leaking.
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