I had a friend who built a framed piece of wooden lattice work that fit exactly in that space, painted it the same color as the wall and threaded lights through it. She used Command hooks to secure it in place. It was open enough that she could hear and sort of see people in the next room but they did not have a clear view of her and the kitchen.

Throw some 2x4s in, Sheetrock and paint. Pretty simple. I wouldn’t though, seems like it would make a small kitchen even smaller and more cramped.

Duct tape is always an option to damp metal vibrations

I can see the tab that is retaining the bulb cover in the picture you posted.

Stick a butter knife in there and use it to gently press the tab toward the center while also pulling down a bit.

And for the love of god, please clean that nasty thing while you're up there.

I haven't moved in fully yet, but will check when I go back next!

Cheers to all. Sounds like I should have an electrician come by at least the first time and then take some time to learn basic electrical. The BD book seems like a good place to start. Thanks a bunch.

The hole would mostly be full of dowel. Tape the opening during curing.

Definitely an interesting idea. But wouldn't the epoxy Drip out of the hole cause it's liquid? Or would you seal the hole with tape while hardening the epoxy? I will also drill the holes bigger in the back either way (mortar or epoxy) to make the sealant itself like a dewel.

Glass and plastic is most likely one assembly. The whole thing will pull down with metal spring clips holding it up. If it's been there a while, might have to get something thin to work around the edges and break it free.

I’m guessing it is installed with “scissor springs” I don’t know what els to call them. See if you can get a thin putty knife between the plastic and the ceiling and gently pry at it from the middle. Also try gently pushing up on the glass. It may come loose and turn sideways or tip up to be removed.

I'd be tempted to drill the existing holes out a little larger and epoxy large wood dowels into the voids, then predrill and lag bolt into those. Like 3/4" dowels.

Alright thanks a lot for the advice. I will try the mortar cause I have no other choice unfortunately but I will take care when doing the pull-ups. And when I deal with brick walls again I know what to do from the start.

Personally I wouldn't trust it. You've compromised the bricks in those locations already. Brick is very brittle, it's difficult to mount to properly.

I don't really have another place to put it so would you say component mortar would be suitable? I just googled a bit more and it's definitely brick.

Probably a brick wall then. You'll want some kind of expanding metal anchor to insert into holes you drill. Don't try to use the existing holes, don't drill new holes within 6 inches of the old holes.

Interior load-bearing wall, not wood framed as far is I know. It's not my house and there is a wallpaper on it so I can't really get a good look on it other then through the holes I drilled. The dust coming from it is red in color (kinda like rust). I can scrape off part of the surface easily with a metal tool so it's pretty soft. The house was build on the 1950s in Germany if that helps.

Edit: just googled wood framed facade and I am pretty sure it's not. The holes are about 10-15 cm deep and even at the end of the hole there is still stone. So it's probably mortared bricks

Without knowing more about the wall it's impossible to say. "Sandy stone" isn't really a good description. Is it mortared stone blocks? Is it wood framed with stone facade? interior or exterior wall?

I don’t know what any of these are but I’ll have a look, thanks.

I can’t access the duct while the fans in place, but with the fan unscrewed it’s pretty quiet, I can somewhat trigger the noise while holding the fan in place.

Can you get the noise to stop by using something (like your hand) to stabilize the duct? How have you confirmed the noise is from air passing through the duct and not the fan itself?

As a side note, exhaust fans are notoriously noisy. They are often undersized with a high speed fan. The quietest ones use a larger duct and slower, bigger fan. Insulated, flexible duct can also help.

Thick felt, thick nanotape, silicone-based lubricants, Big Stretch or other acoustically insulative sealants, mass loaded vinyl, etc.

If no additional height is acceptable, considered engineered wood instead of tile. It won't be a great insulator but better than tile.

Can you insulate from underneath? Just crawl under and put a few batts of insulation under it.

Look into Schluter ditra heat.

https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/Floor-Warming/c/FW

Could put a decoupling membrane down first. Isn’t much extra work.