strange pipes in external wall ?

blocky71 · 26 May 2009

Hi all
I`m currently viewing some properties with my daughter with a view to buying her first house. We viewed this house but i cant work out why or what these pipes are or were for?. They look like old extractor vent outlets but there`s four in total which is odd for starters and they`ve all been blanked off, a couple with cement and a couple with expanding foam. The original air brick has also been filled in?. On the inside wall there`s nothing, meaning the pipes either only go into the exterior brick or they may have just been plastered over on the inside?. This is the only house in the row thats still brick faced, all others have been rendered and dont have any vents so i cant compare. Any advice as to what or why they are there would be appreciated. //www.diynot.com/network/blocky71/albums/

hotrod · 26 May 2009

Very strange

They look like and appear about the right size as the cores for tumble driers, minus the plastic vent with the anti-baffle face which would go on the exterior wall. But why 4 and very strange to have 2 at 1st FL.

That property looks like it's had a fair bit of remedial work done. The brickwork above the sandstone lintel has obviously been replaced at some stage - movement? It's got a right hotchpotch of a brick bond at DPC level for some reason and has had a remedial DPC injected at some point. Has it got a concrete ground floor, or is it the original timber floor?

blocky71 · 26 May 2009

Hi hotrod, thanks for reply. Two pipes are as you say about 4 inch diameter like extractor fan ducting, the other two are smaller like guttering downpipe. The downstairs window is new and bigger than original, i`m guessing that could be reason for new "above lintel" brickwork. I hadn`t spotted the dpc work you noticed. Floors are timber. I wondered about movement due to the state of the ledge under window. I originally thought it had cracked in 3 places but on further inspection of other houses it seems to be fitted in 3 pieces albeit not very well on this property!. I originally thought at the right price i`d remove these ugly pipes and re brick back up but i`d still prefer to know why they were there in first place?. Other than that it seems a tidy first time buy but with shoddy work like this it makes you wonder what else is lurking!.

planemad · 26 May 2009

I'm not sure what, but something don't quite look right on the first picture.
Maybe its the window area looking out of character.

Looking at the first pic, everything seems wonky.

blocky71 · 26 May 2009

Thanks guys
I think its a bad idea to venture any further into this..... I`ll start the hunting again tomorrow, OH JOY

^woody^ · 26 May 2009

The only thing that comes to mind is some poor attempt to install a breather pipe to deal with local dampness - similar to the old "ceramic pipe" or the rehashed "Holland Damp System". But even so, they are in the wrong place, and not enough of them and they should not be plastic!

JonB · 27 May 2009

Had something similar in a house I had they were gas wall heaters, the flu came out about 18" above the floor. They were removed when Rads were put in.
JonB

stephenf8542 · 27 May 2009

Yeh I had that in my old house when I was young before central heating was the norm.We had indivdual gas heaters in each room with a flue from each radiator

gday2uk · 27 May 2009

Yep, they look like flue outlets for wall hung gas heaters like the Baxi Brazilia. Would make sense that there's one in every room.

onebobo · 27 May 2009

gday2uk said:
Yep, they look like flue outlets for wall hung gas heaters like the Baxi Brazilia. Would make sense that there's one in every room.

Yep, they are gas space heaters.
I was earning £13 a hole in the early eighties and that's why i am the richest plumber in Britain

blocky71 · 28 May 2009

13 pounds a hole?..... sounds like our local massage parlour

seriously though thanks for the advice. It would mean there were 2 heaters in each room but they`re fairly large rooms so its possible. The bugga`s turned our offer down anyhow

bogbasher · 29 May 2009

Is that two cracks in the groundfloor windowsill ?.

blocky71 · 2 Jun 2009

I thought that bogbasher but the sill is 3 pieces joined together, why its such a bodge job i can only guess. I think its been removed and re fitted to make room for larger window. Guess the guy had dodgy eyes and no spirit level!

bogbasher · 2 Jun 2009

The detail in the pictures look a bit blurry. Have they been photoshopped ?

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strange pipes in external wall ?

hotrod

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