Solid walls below subfloor - no airflow!

[mwebber]

I’ve got all the floorboards up throughout my Victorian semi, and have discovered that although the bearer walls are honeycombed, the main supporting walls that divide the rooms on the ground floor are completely solid with no airflow from one space to another.

This means that the two rooms with airbricks (living room at front and dining room at back) have some airflow, but the kitchen is entirely unventilated (no airbricks and sealed off from other spaces below subfloor) and same in hallway.

I’m adding airbricks where I can on external walls, but want to also allow air movement through the spaces.

Do I just drill/ knock a single brick out here and there along the walls? Or do I need to replace each brick I remove with a masonry air brick to maintain some sense of structure to the brickwork, given that they are the key supporting walls?

Or do I need to do something else?

Thanks all!

 

[jj4091]

Are you having problems that make you think you need to do this work?

 

[mwebber]

No… we moved in at the start of July and are renovating (it’s a proper doer-upper)

There are no signs that the limited airflow have been a problem thus far and it’s been that way for over 100 years… but we are insulating between the joists and will then seal with an airtight membrane before putting down overlay UFH.

Basically I’m concerned that perhaps there haven’t been problems up until now because there will have been a certain amount of airflow down from above through the very drafty flooring, and we are now totally sealing it off. I also intend to be here for a long time and don’t want to have to rip up the flooring/ UFH/ insulation if there is a problem down the line!

 

[^woody^]

Is the kitchen a timber floor? They are normally solid

 

[Mrs Ten Names]

If you do decide to remove bricks, any risk of vermin infestation can be limited by replacing the bricks with air bricks.
In the case of no risk of vermin infestation, just remove the odd brick.

 

[mwebber]

Is the kitchen a timber floor? They are normally solid

No, it’s suspended timber throughout. There is a small section within the kitchen which has a brick structure which looks like it has been knocked out and replaced with timber bearers and joists at some point, but no solid floor (except the outdoors toilet)

 

[Koolpc]

I cant see any harm in what you are wanting to do.

 

[^woody^]

Yeah just knock out a couple of bricks every metre. The end ones no more than 300mm from a corner.
At mid height, but the wall is higher than 700mm, then two rows of 1 brick at 1/3 the height may be better.