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Aligning opening in exterior wall

12 years ago

Am am preparing to cut a rectangular opening (3.25" by 10") in an exterior wall to vent a range hood.

After transferring the cutout template onto the inside drywall I think the next step would be to drill (using an 8" or longer wood drill) a hole in each of the four corners that reaches through the wall and through the sheathing. The problem I see is getting the drill to pass through the 4" wall space to the exterior sheathing and be aligned with in a perpendicular (horizontal, as well as horizontal yaw) path. My drill has a level on it, but that is only one of the two directions that have to be perpendicular. I may try to make use of my hand-drill drill stand to see if I can place it against the wall to guide the drilling operation.

I think I can also make the opening in the sheathing about 1/4" bigger on all sides to compensate for errors in alignment. The vent housing has a flashing/sheild about 2" wide to cover the opening in the sheathing.

Any suggestions?

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Comments (2)

snoonyb
12 years ago
Cut the inside hole, 1/4" larger. Use a square to mark the corners on the inside of the exterior wall, then drill your holes.
jerry_nj
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, sound simple enough...wonder why it didn't occur to me : ) That's why I come here.
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