Relocating a Misplaced Dryer Vent in Texas

One of the other ‘found’ issues at my brother’s house was a dryer vent that, once the drywall in the garage was removed from the water damage, was found to be vented into the wall cavity (no further, just into the space between the laundry room and garage drywall).  His Laundry room is sandwiched between the garage and the interior of the house, so it left little options for properly venting it to the outside.  This was one of the three projects we intended to address while there, so I had compiled a list of supplies prior to our trip, including sections of 4 inch pipe, elbows, HVAC tape, pipe strap, etc.

Initially, we discussed running the vent out the side of the Laundry Room, up the wall cavity and across the top of the rafters in the garage, however, even with the slim piping piece we purchased, it still left the issue of the header along the wall that would need to be cut (which would weaken the wall), or we had to build out the wall.  Plus, the slim vent was not quite long enough to stretch from below the dryer to the rafter cavity, so you would still see a good portion of the expandable slinky pipe from the Laundry Room beside the dryer.

He had an existing cabinet above the washer and dryer that he didn’t want to keep, so we removed that completely, then ran the 4 inch secured pipe up the back wall, above the wall and over into the garage rafter cavity.  This gave us the straight shot to the outside wall (coming out under the patio we repaired).  With 20+ feet across, we were able to limit the amount of elbows to meet code and avoid building out the garage wall.  My husband assembled the pipe using the HVAC tape to attach the sections and pipe strap to secure it between the ceiling boards prior to insulation and drywall going in.

After getting the pipe behind the dryer ran up the wall and into the ceiling, the visible area was boxed in using a 2×2 frame allowing for space between the pipe and the wood frame, and then drywall covering as he intends to place open shelving above the washer and dryer at some point.  He also now has complete access to the lower part of the vent behind the dryer to allow for periodic cleaning via the expandable slinky pipe and attached clamp.

While this was not a major visual project, it was necessary to remove the fire hazard that was previously there and not have a slinky hose sticking out the side of the laundry room wall. However, since we were limited on time in Texas, the finishing work will be left to my brother (drywall mud and sandpaper were on another supply list & we left him a few mud knives and a drywall pan).