Coal chute cover
 

I own an old Victorian house that has a coal chute that leads into the
cellar. The chute cover is made of cast iron and has a number of holes
through it, possibly for ventilation (???). When it rains, water can
pass through the holes into the cellar. Will this cause problems with
damp?

Coal chute cover
 

Coal chute cover
 

On 11 Dec 2006 04:46:06 -0800, wrote:

|I own an old Victorian house that has a coal chute that leads into the
|cellar. The chute cover is made of cast iron and has a number of holes
|through it, possibly for ventilation (???). When it rains, water can
|pass through the holes into the cellar. Will this cause problems with
|damp?

Round our area most coal chutes have been blocked off with masonry, as they
are now redundant, why not consider that. It would be a good idea to leave
the cast iron cover in place as an interesting feature.
--
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Coal chute cover
 

Dave Fawthrop wrote:

Round our area most coal chutes have been blocked off with masonry, as they
are now redundant, why not consider that. It would be a good idea to leave
the cast iron cover in place as an interesting feature.

I would not recommend this. The holes in the coal hole cover are most
likely providing vital ventilation to the cellar, and blocking them up
will probably cause it to get far damper than a few drops of rain every
now and then.

My coal hole is still as it was when the house was built (1870) and
although the cellar is not exactly habitable it is relatively dry as
cellars go. In neighbouring houses where the coal hole has been blocked
off the cellars are damp and smelly - in next-door-but-one the aroma of
damp cellar hits you as soon as you walk into the hallway!

Bear in mind that the cellar is a hole in the ground with wet earth
beyond all the brickwork. A bit of rain coming in is insignificant, but
obstructing the flow of air can wreak havoc. It can also affect the
well-being of the downstairs joists and floorboards as well.

Coal chute cover
 

Coal chute cover
 

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
wrote:
I own an old Victorian house that has a coal chute that leads into the
cellar. The chute cover is made of cast iron and has a number of holes
through it, possibly for ventilation (???). When it rains, water can
pass through the holes into the cellar. Will this cause problems with
damp?

Dunno; presumably if it's been like this for 100+ years it would have
happened by now?

Reminds of a tale... a few years back a friend was walking down a street
nearby late one night, chatting to someone walking with him and vaguely
aware of a woman on the far side of the road walking a dog. Suddenly
there's a shriek from across the road and an almight racket from the
dog... they immediately look up, but the woman has just completely
vanished into thin air: they can still hear the dog going totally
ape-****, and muffled wails coming from the direction the woman had been,
but no sign of her whatsoever.

Fearing a possible alien abduction, the friend crosses the road and finds
that the old dear has fallen straight down a coal chute in the pavement,
which someone had left the cover off. She was a large lady, and was
totally wedged in, about halfway down; with the dog having gone down
afterwards and landed on top of her.

Apparently the extraction ended up being a fire-brigade job; she wasn't
injured other than a few cuts and bruises.

It's a strange place for a coal chute - in a pavement! They've always been
in the wall (i.e. vertical) in the houses I've live in which had coal
cellars.

Mary

Coal chute cover
 

On 11 Dec 2006 09:39:01 -0800 someone who may be "Martin Pentreath"
wrote this:-

I would not recommend this. The holes in the coal hole cover are most
likely providing vital ventilation to the cellar, and blocking them up
will probably cause it to get far damper than a few drops of rain every
now and then.

It will do if alternative ventilation is not provided. However
suitable ventilation can be provided, the hole closed off (leave the
grille and use translucent material for some light) and the cellar
then becomes a useful addition to the house, though perhaps with a
low ceiling. As well as storage this area can be equipped for things
like laundry, though a pumping unit is usually necessary to deal
with waste water.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Coal chute cover
 

"Mary Fisher" writed in
t:



It's a strange place for a coal chute - in a pavement! They've always
been in the wall (i.e. vertical) in the houses I've live in which had
coal cellars.

Where I grew up in North London, they were either immediately in front of
the front door, or in the pavement, in line with the front door. (And they
were still, by and large, in use!)

Coal chute cover
 

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 20:46:48 UTC, Mike the Unimaginative
wrote:

Where I grew up in North London, they were either immediately in front of
the front door, or in the pavement, in line with the front door. (And they
were still, by and large, in use!)

Same here (south coast, small terraced Victorian houses).

--
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Coal chute cover
 

"Mike the Unimaginative" wrote in message
.. .
"Mary Fisher" writed in
t:



It's a strange place for a coal chute - in a pavement! They've always
been in the wall (i.e. vertical) in the houses I've live in which had
coal cellars.

Where I grew up in North London, they were either immediately in front of
the front door, or in the pavement, in line with the front door. (And they
were still, by and large, in use!)

I've never lived in north London :-)

In Yorkshire, where coal was very much part of our lives in many ways, they
were in the house wall. Come to think of it, cellars were under the house
only, they didn't extend under the pavement.

I learn something new every day :-)

Mary