Air Tight Porch

[steved73]

Hi,
We have just had a new porch fitted measuring 3m x 1.5m. The problem is that opening closing the interior door is really difficult. As soon as you open the exterior door the interior door is fine.
The same is true when opening the exterior door. When the interior door is open the exterior is fine when the interior is shut it's a major effort. Due to the small space in the porch I'm assuming that trying to shut the door and push air into the porch where it has little room for air movement is the problem. The installer has basically said it's our problem and we should get a ceiling vent. The space above the porch is a pitched room with insulation/lagging. So my question is will an air vent make enough difference to allow the air to move sufficiently to allow the doors to be shut or do we need an external air brick?

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

what sort of letter-box have you got?

Is the porch heated?

 

[steved73]

The letter box is insulated and has opening flap on the outside. No heating inside

 

[JohnD]

try propping the flaps open and see if that cures the problem. If so, you could remove the springs so they swing freely.

As the porch is not heated, you don't need to worry about losing heat, and the extra ventilation will reduce condensation.

Rather than vent into the roof, which might cause condensation, it will be better to vent through a wall. I would probably use a core-drill to make (say) a 2-inch round hole in an inconspicuous place high up on each side, with a small grille to keep insects out, but if you do not already have a suitable drill (as used by plumbers for waste pipe) that might be harder for you.

 

[steved73]

Great, will give that a go.

 

[steved73]

unfortunately wedging the letter box open didn't make much difference. Will need to go down the root of putting a vent through a wall. I've got access to a large core-drill bit so hopefully that will do the trick