Loft ventilation

[mleggatt]

Not too sure if this is the right forum and I've read through the FAQ but this doesn't seem to be covered.

We recently moved into a new house that has had the loft boarded out with chipboard along the floor and eaves.

The lounge has a fireplace and chimney breast which has an unused gas fire. In the lounge I noticed a strong draft coming down the stairs and up the chimney. To the point when I shut the lounge door I can feel the air pressure and hear the air whistling round the door.

When I checked one of the bedrooms upstairs I noticed hole had been cut in the celing plasterboard in the airing cupboard. There is also huge draft coming through the surround of the door on the airing cupboard.

The problem with this is the hot water tank is also in this airing cupboard and I imagine we are losing a lot of heat up the chimney.

I did consider covering the hole in the plasterboard but then thought it may of been put there for a reason i.e.. for ventilation to allow air into the space between the roof boards and the tiles. I did also wonder if blocking the hole in the ceiling up may cause the tiles to be lifted in high winds????

To resolve this I was thinking of getting a quote from a roofer to add some roof vents so that I could block the hole in the celing in the airing cupboard leaving the roof space ventilated. I don't beleive the roof tiles are felted underneath.

I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on this.

Thanks
Martin

 

[pinenot]

When you say new, do you mean newly built or just new to you? Because if the former then wouldn't the builders be the best place for an answer. I ask this not rhetorically, but as the quickest/cheapest way forward for you ...pinenot

 

[mleggatt]

sorry pinenot, when I said new I meant a house we have just moved into, the house was built in 1950s.

Martin

 

[Burnerman]

If your slates have no underfelt there will be a gale up there anyway.....block the holes up and save your heat!
Look at soffit ventilation for the roof void - and research chimney balloons to stop up the unused chimney.
John

 

[pinenot]

As I read your take on things, I wonder at the configuration too. Your hot water tank should have a good insulation to prevent heat loss, also although homes of this period (coal fired etc.) would have positive ventilation flowing through the airing cupboard, that's the reason for its name but that said airflow was within the house air, to minimise cold ingress. So I would block that hole up first, it serves no arguable purpose (did the house ever have a hot air blower system fitted? popular with councils and others about the turn of the eighties, as a form of heating upgrade, a pretty poor one as it turns out) the reason I ask the removal of these left 4" - 6" holes in the ceilings of cupboards, where the hot air ducting ran and never seemed to be filled in - just a thought. A chimney balloon would be a good idea if your keeping the fireplace as a feature, otherwise if and when you want to board it up, make sure you have it capped and permanently ventilated.
Assuming the roof is sound, blocking the airing cupboard should have no effect on it...these are my opinions, if any others have views on this please let us all know...pinenot

 

[mleggatt]

Thanks guys, we do already have a chimney balloon up the chimney but I think the force of the draft being pulled from upstairs goes around it. We just had the windows replaced with uPVC and I don't notice any drafts around them.

I'm going to remove one of the boards in the loft (screwed on to allow access to water tank) and confirm if there is roof felt and what the hole looks like from above as it maybe that this was just a gap left from some flue or other piping as mentioned.

This all started as the house had a pretty bad energy efficiency rating and a pretty high gas bill for the size of the property.

Thanks again.