You probably figured this out by now, but I just completed this nasty little project today myself. At first I bought the wrong fan, got home and realized that our 40-year-old fan was an axial fan which mated directly to 7" round ducting, straight up, through the roof. Since access to the crawlspace would've been a huge hassle (to try and make a centrifugal fan work instead, as suggested above), I went back to Home Depot and bought an $87 NuTone axial fan (it's a "NuTone 8210 8" Vertical Discharge Utility Fan"). Although it's called an 8" fan, it actually has a 7" outlet (so it mates with 7" round ducting). The darn thing sure is loud at 6.5 somes, and very utilitarian in appearance. But it sure sucks out air at a pretty good clip: 210CFM. I actually like its utilitarian aesthetic and it works quite well with our "industrial-tech" motif, but I would've much preferred to install a quieter Panasonic fan instead (don't think they make axial-mount fans). Anyway, bought some 7" ducting, and went at it. This was a tremendous hassle, with a PITA factor of about a million. Finally got it in and wired. Anyway, the moral is . . . they do make axial fans that should be a near- direct fit to your existing cavity and ducting.

Do a drywall repair then match the texture and paint.

Yep, big Vise-Grip pliers.

Beautiful!! I just picked up about a dozen bottle caps at park last time I was up there for craft class. They were nice & clean & not bent, usually they are!! I had seen cute little lapel pins on "Craft & Decorations" forum before xmas last yr, I think resin works great. I've never used it. Guess I should check it out. Love the colors you used too!! Come by anytime!! Jan