Air vents in 1930's terrace - can I seal them up?

[Terstons_girl]

Hi all,

I have a 1930's terrace house which has airvents in the exterior walls in the bedrooms. I assume these date from when the house was heated by real fires and were needed for ventilation. Now the house has central heating and double glazing can I just seal these up? And if so is it OK to seal them on the interior wall only and leave whatever there is on the exterior wall? (Not that I've actually noticed any vents on the outside).

Thanks

Terstons_girl.

 

[RigidRaider]

I was waiting for one of the experts to come along and answer this but I'll chuck in my ha'p'orth anyway...

I would block them inside the rooms but I would use sliding vent covers, which can be opened and closed as required.

Coal was cheap when those houses were built.

 

[Static]

They are still used in modern construction. You generate ALOT of water during the day and modern central heating and double glazing can make condensation worse. The vents are there to help the flow of air circulate, yes you can block them up but you should try to keep a window open for a few hrs a day in each room.

 

[Nige F]

Not one to disagree, static. but the last house I was unfortunate enough to live in with those 9x9 vents in the bedrooms was a cauncil one and it was bloody freezing in the winter of `63 when I was 9 ....now it`s probably been refurbed and sold ...not to us,I`m proud to say....my old dad bought on the free market,back in 69...and on a decorators wage ....nowt wrong with being frugal

 

[RigidRaider]

The OP is right, I'm sure: those houses would have had a fireplace in each room. So a fair amount of air would have been going up the chimneys and these vents could have been a way of ensuring adequate air replacement so as to avoid pressure drop in the house and badly drawing flues with smoking fireplaces. I would block them inside.

 

[Static]

One of the first things i did when i bought my 1930s bungalow was remove the high level vents in the bedroom
Its more a warning that sensible ventiation is always required in older houses.

 

[Terstons_girl]

Thanks guys - think I'll probably block then up then. Cheers, Terstons_girl.

 

[SimonWray]

One thing to consider is whether you have a gas fire (also perhaps other gas appliances) in the room - I have a feeling that you should have some form of ventilation like an air brick or vent near the appliance... can any of the pro's confirm that?

 

[jamesn6]

I have just the opposite problem!

I would like to open up the air vent in the bathroom as its gets a lot of condensation and there is not an extractor fan.

The air vent was blocked up and tiled over but we have removed the tiles.

The air brick is clearly visible on the outside and we still have vents in the bedrooms which have never made them drafty.

Will it be straightforwadr do you think? I guess that the hole was just filled up with cement.

Thanks.

 

[happyhero]

but don't they say that you should not block them as they allow airflow to get to the timbers/joists and if they are not open you could get some sort of rot setting in on these timbers?

 

[JohnD]

That's the airbricks that ventilate the space under the floors.

 

[Moz]

Dont seal airbricks..... FFS ..lol

 

[Olitaylor]

HI,

I've been reading up a bit on ventilation - my house has none, not even trickle vents in the widows, and we suffer from condensation unless the window is left open and the bathroom is like a sauna after a shower.

The basic rule of thumb is that if you have a fuel burning appliance in the room, you need adequate ventilation to prevent the build up of carbon monoxide and other gases.

Additionally, lack of ventilation = moist warm air = growth of lots of moulds and fungi which just aren't healthy.

You should be able to achieve an adequately ventilated house and keep it warm - you should definitely have ventilation in moist air areas such as the bathroom.

Can you lock your windows open a crack? Do they have trickle vents?

You may be able to add trickle vents to windows by simply drilling holes in the frame and screwing on the vent covers. Suggest further research on this as it's something I heard about only this morning and it seems worth looking into.