Unknown Vents

[Stottcaf]

I mentioned in my previous post that our new house was rather cold throughout winter & I'm trying to improve the outlook for next winter.

We have a through living/dining room and at both the front and rear of the house there are rather drafty vents, ones that don't appear on any of the other houses on the terrace.

http://pinterest.com/pin/130956301637423726/

As you can see, there are the original air bricks that vent below the ground floor, however these newer vents come directly into the rooms.

Does anyone have any idea what these new ones are for? More importantly can they be blocked up as they let in so much cold.

 

[foxhole]

Please clarify, can see two underfloor vents at base of wall and you mention other vents [plural] but can only see one.Seems to be an outlet possibly from a fan/tumble dryer? as there seem to be fluff hanging from it, would indicate air movement is to the outside?

 

[Stottcaf]

There is an identical vent at the front of the house, hence vents.

They are in the corner of the dining room, and corner of living room, and the inside is a sliding vent like this one.

I was thinking maybe they were put in when gas fires were installed for additional ventilation.

 

[jj4091]

You may well be correct, my mother in law had to have them fitted for that reason & they are a bloody nuisance causing cold drafts.

 

[foxhole]

Rooms need ventilation, without it you are liable to get condensation and damp areas with mold growth.

 

[Stottcaf]

But there is already ventilation from the air bricks around the house.

Plus as I said no other house on the street has these & they are all identical build Victorian terraces.

 

[kbdiy]

But every occupant uses the house in a different way so it may be that previous occupants created damp conditions (eg drying washing indoors) and didn't have sufficient ventilation to extract the damp air so these vents were fitted. Can also occur if double-glazing has been installed so sealing in the moist air. The vents are there to overcome that.

 

[JohnD]

your house has had extra ventilation added quite recently. It was probably done to combat damp.

the underfloor ones are to ventilate the underfloor; the room ones are to ventilate the room. Has the house been fitted with modern draught-resistant windows? Is there a gas fire? What sort? What floor covering do you have? Is the downstairs room open-plan to the stairs?

 

[Stottcaf]

Currently:
- double glazing, no trickle vents
- no gas fires (there used to be 2) only one unused open fire
- gas fired central heating - boiler in utility.
- through living room/dining room. Used to be one room, gas fires took out at same time as knock through.
- stairs / front door in seperate hall. With exposed floorboards.
- carpeted floating wooden floor in living/dining room

I would say by the paint on the inside vent covers that the vents are from before the previous occupier owned the house & removed the fires/wall.

 

[JohnD]

If the gas fires have been removed, put a hit-and-miss vent over one of the internal vents. This will allow you to close it to prevent a through-draught. I'd suggest doing the one one the windy side of the house.

If you have an open fireplace and working chimney, it will suck a lot of warm air out of the room. You can buy a chimney balloon, or block it provided it is done in a way that is easily visible and easily removed before a fire is lit again (if ever) The blocking should allow for some ventilation; a chimney must be ventilated top and bottom or it will get internal damp.

If in winter you find the wndows get condensation on them, increase the ventilation. You have an old house so it needs good ventilation or it will be damp.

If anybody in the house like to drape wet washing around or over radiators, increase the ventilation ten-fold.

Exposed floorboards are cold and draughty.