Damp,condensation old air vent

[sublimagic]

Hi Guys new to the forum have a problem with a little penetrating damp & or condensation on a cold spot on external wall.

brick built house with cavity wall in the bedrooms and bathroom and down stairs pantry they have air bricks that go all the way into the rooms themselves.

There is also one of these in the living room close to floor level however its been plastered over inside (not by me) and left open outside. this leaves that area of the wall alot colder than the rest leading to the damp/condensation issue just in that 1 spot the rest of the house is ok.

Now would I be better opening it up again, dont want to do that really for keeping the house warm and I dont think its needed as we dont suffer from any other damp spots. or am I ok to brick or seal the outside air brick up?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ree]

Why not post pics of the interior damp area, and at ground level outside the damp spot area?

Do you have a high air brick in the living room?

Is the floor solid or suspended?

Perhaps read the Similar Threads at the bottom of this page?

 

[sublimagic]

Its a solid floor and no high air brick, just this, just above the damp course. will take pics tomorrow when its light again, but got home today (no heating on) and the wall was dry I have taken the wallpaper off as it was full of mold and wet, had the heating on for an hour and touched the damp spot was wet through again so its defo condensation, looks like they took the plaster vent cover off the inside filled with concrete then plastered over but leaving the outside air brick in place open. in effect its a concrete wall patch in the middle of my warm brick wall creating a cold spot so condensation forms there.

is my logic sound? so if I remove air brick and brick up it will cure this?

 

[Bosswhite]

I would guess that the air brick in the living room was for a Gas Fire at some time in the past,

as for the air brick in the Pantry this would be to circulate and keep the pantry cool, cheaper than a fridge.

 

[Burnerman]

It was pretty common years ago to do this, if the house was expected to have an open fire or whatever - just to allow sufficient ventilation into the room.
In fact, there was ventilation like this into the upstairs rooms, and on occasion above the internal connecting doors too.
If you have a modern boiler that takes its combustion air from the outside, then the consensus is that the airbrick can be sealed on the inside but left open on the outside to ventilate the cavity, which is obviously a good move and you say has been done, but the cold spot remains. Just as a try and see measure, why not fit one of those sliding louvre vents on the outside that can be closed and opened as necessary?
However, if you have any appliance such as a wood burning stove or a gas fire / back boiler, then ventilation may well be required still.
Is the ground level outside well below the DPC just to rule out rain splash?
John

 

[sublimagic]

ground lvl is 2 courses below the DPC and is grass, thanks will try the sliding vent first.