Within the last year we moved house into a newish build (circa 96).

In the lounge there is a vent grill near the skirting, which
corresponds with a matching grill on the outside wall. In the summer we
didn't notice it, but now it's getting colder we can feel a massive
cold draught being generated by it.

Why do such vents exist? It is to prevent damp problems?

Can we cover it over in the winter? Surely it will send our heating
bill through the roof if we don't!

Many thanks

wrote:

Within the last year we moved house into a newish build (circa 96).

In the lounge there is a vent grill near the skirting, which
corresponds with a matching grill on the outside wall. In the summer we
didn't notice it, but now it's getting colder we can feel a massive
cold draught being generated by it.

Why do such vents exist? It is to prevent damp problems?

Can we cover it over in the winter? Surely it will send our heating
bill through the roof if we don't!


It might be for a gas appliance in the room ? I found a 6 inch sqare
whole when I did my kitchen, the buiders had not botherd filling in
around a pipe.

wrote in message
ps.com...
Within the last year we moved house into a newish build (circa 96).

In the lounge there is a vent grill near the skirting, which
corresponds with a matching grill on the outside wall. In the summer we
didn't notice it, but now it's getting colder we can feel a massive
cold draught being generated by it.

Why do such vents exist? It is to prevent damp problems?

Can we cover it over in the winter? Surely it will send our heating
bill through the roof if we don't!

I had one cut into the floor when I recently had a gas fire installed.

wrote:
Within the last year we moved house into a newish build (circa 96).

In the lounge there is a vent grill near the skirting, which
corresponds with a matching grill on the outside wall. In the summer we
didn't notice it, but now it's getting colder we can feel a massive
cold draught being generated by it.

Why do such vents exist? It is to prevent damp problems?

Can we cover it over in the winter? Surely it will send our heating
bill through the roof if we don't!

Many thanks

If there is a gas appliance in the room it might be for ventilation for
that, in which case it could be dangerous to block it up. If there is no gas
appliance in the room it should be safe to block it up. Air bricks which
ventilate the space below wooden floors should not be blocked up otherwise
the joists may become damp and then rot.

If there is a gas appliance in the room it might be for ventilation for
that, in which case it could be dangerous to block it up. If there is no gas
appliance in the room it should be safe to block it up

Hmm. No gas appliance but we have a "real" fireplace with an open
chimney. (although have to use smokeless fuel).

Actually that's a point. Do chimneys let out huge amounts of heat too?

On Oct 30, 3:07 pm, wrote:
If there is a gas appliance in the room it might be for ventilation for
that, in which case it could be dangerous to block it up. If there is no gas
appliance in the room it should be safe to block it up

Hmm. No gas appliance but we have a "real" fireplace with an open
chimney. (although have to use smokeless fuel).

That's what it's there for, then.


Actually that's a point. Do chimneys let out huge amounts of heat too?

You are joking, aren't you?

MBQ

wrote in message
ups.com...


On Oct 30, 3:07 pm, wrote:
If there is a gas appliance in the room it might be for ventilation for
that, in which case it could be dangerous to block it up. If there is
no gas
appliance in the room it should be safe to block it up

Hmm. No gas appliance but we have a "real" fireplace with an open
chimney. (although have to use smokeless fuel).

That's what it's there for, then.


Actually that's a point. Do chimneys let out huge amounts of heat too?

You are joking, aren't you?

MBQ

Yer'Know .... I'd started to answer that posting , using almost the same
words, then; instead of hitting 'SEND' , I hit 'CANCEL' - thinking ;"they
must be joking!"
I suppose such people have the vote?

--

Brian

You are joking, aren't you?

MBQ

Yer'Know .... I'd started to answer that posting , using almost the same
words, then; instead of hitting 'SEND' , I hit 'CANCEL' - thinking ;"they
must be joking!"
I suppose such people have the vote?

Erm, nope. I wasn't joking! (Although I admit it does sound a
particularly dense question!)

I lived in a house with a fake fireplace for 20 years, and for some
reason it just never occured to me that the chimney in our new house
was open to the elements.

OK, so I will open myself up to further abuse:
Why do we need a vent in the wall, as well as a chimney?
How do people stop precious heat escaping up the chimney in the winter?
(Presuming we never / rarely have a fire in there)

wrote:
You are joking, aren't you?

MBQ

Yer'Know .... I'd started to answer that posting , using almost the same
words, then; instead of hitting 'SEND' , I hit 'CANCEL' - thinking ;"they
must be joking!"
I suppose such people have the vote?

Erm, nope. I wasn't joking! (Although I admit it does sound a
particularly dense question!)

I lived in a house with a fake fireplace for 20 years, and for some
reason it just never occured to me that the chimney in our new house
was open to the elements.

OK, so I will open myself up to further abuse:
Why do we need a vent in the wall, as well as a chimney?

The chimney is to let smoke/fumes out. The vent is to let fresh air in
(so that smoke/fumes don't come into the room and poison you).

How do people stop precious heat escaping up the chimney in the winter?

They insert some sort of blanking plate. Don't make it too air-tight
(you want to keep the chimney ventilated), but reducing the cross
section of the chimney will help.

(Presuming we never / rarely have a fire in there)

DON'T forget to remove the plate before you light the fire!

wrote:
Within the last year we moved house into a newish build (circa 96).

In the lounge there is a vent grill near the skirting, which
corresponds with a matching grill on the outside wall. In the summer
we didn't notice it, but now it's getting colder we can feel a massive
cold draught being generated by it.

Why do such vents exist? It is to prevent damp problems?

No, it's there to allow you to live.


Can we cover it over in the winter? Surely it will send our heating
bill through the roof if we don't!

If you cover it, you won't get any more heating bills at all.

They were largely unneccesary in old houses, what with loose fitting doors
and window frames that allowed gale force winds through, this coupled with
lots of other draughts allowed the fire to perform perfectly well, once pvc
came along and insulation, draughtproofing and all manner of other devices
to keep fresh air out, people were dropping like flies until someone
realised that fires/chimneys need ventilation at both ends.

On 30 Oct 2006 08:29:43 -0800, a particular chimpanzee named "Martin
Bonner" randomly hit the keyboard and
produced:

wrote:

OK, so I will open myself up to further abuse:
Why do we need a vent in the wall, as well as a chimney?

The chimney is to let smoke/fumes out. The vent is to let fresh air in
(so that smoke/fumes don't come into the room and poison you).

Strictly speaking, it's not. The fire would use all the oxygen in the
room and would then smoulder until such time as the emergency services
discovered the bodies of the occupants and the incoming oxygenated air
would restore the fire. There would have to be a blockage, a
downdraught, or the flue not drawing properly for the gases to come
back into the room. The air inlet is to allow enough replacement air
so that the occupants can breathe as well.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"

On 30 Oct 2006 08:11:03 -0800, a particular chimpanzee named
randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

How do people stop precious heat escaping up the chimney in the winter?
(Presuming we never / rarely have a fire in there)

In traditional houses with open fires, they didn't. They threw more
coal on the fire and wore a lot more clothing away from the fire. In
modern houses, you either don't have open fires with open flues
(instead having your appliance within the room to maximise its useful
heat with ventilation close to the appliance), or at least make them
carbon-neutral (log-burning stoves).

Your house must have been built to the Regulations in force prior to
1995. It would be nigh-on impossible to get a dwelling with an open
chimney to comply with the Building Regulations of 1995, much less
todays.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"

In article .com,
writes:
Actually that's a point. Do chimneys let out huge amounts of heat too?

If you mean when they aren't being used to vent fumes, then yes.
When doing heatloss calculations for a room, an unused but still
open fireplace wastes around 1kW of heat which goes up the chimney.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Hugo Nebula wrote:
Martin Bonner wrote

The chimney is to let smoke/fumes out. The vent is to let fresh air in
(so that smoke/fumes don't come into the room and poison you).

Strictly speaking, it's not. The fire would use all the oxygen in the
room and would then smoulder until such time as the emergency services
discovered the bodies of the occupants and the incoming oxygenated air
would restore the fire. There would have to be a blockage, a
downdraught, or the flue not drawing properly for the gases to come
back into the room. The air inlet is to allow enough replacement air
so that the occupants can breathe as well.

Aren't you over simplifying just a bit? Does a smoke bomb test
always work, or is there sometimes spillage? Besides the
proportion of room air which enables combustion, there is a much
greater quantity of air which has to be available to be warmed
and rise up the chimney carrying the products of combustion.

Houses used to be much more draughty, and the air simply found
its way in. Now everything is sealed, proper provision has to be
made.

I recall my parents had a pair of telescopic plastic vents which
popped up out of the floor near the fire, and drastically reduced
the freezing draught under the door.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.