Air vent in my living room is freezing !!

clutcher

Hey, I just moved into a new house yesterday, its a new build and it is fitted with a solid fuel fire, there is Gas central heating and a boiler in a cupboard in the living/dining room.
There is an air vent up beside the window in the living room end of the living room/kitchen.
On searching through some forums online I can see that the vent is there usually when a Gas fire is installed. I dont have a Gas fire but the draught coming in from the vent is seriously cold and will only get worse coming towards christmas I can only imagine!
Is it safe for me to cover the vent up? I know it may be there for a reason but thought I would find out what the good people of the MSE thought.
Any help or advise would be gratefully received and if you need any more info just give me a shout.

Tanks in advance

keystone

Air vents are there for a reason. Usually to provide ventilation. If you block it up don't be surprised if you start getting black mould growing and condensation problems - especially if you dry clothes on the rads.

Cheers

aboard_epsilon

solid fuel fires require the vent also ..

but some solid fuel fires have kits available that can get their air from the outside ..if you get the kit then you don't need the vent.

but the vent is there to meet planning permissions etc ..its up to you .

PS ..i didn't know they built any houses new with solid fuel fires ..are you a miner in a colliery region .

all the best.markj

dander

Is the vent high up then? With a low vent it can work quite well to lean a board over it, at an angle so you're not actually blocking the vent - so the air has to circulate round the sides, rather than blowing straight out in an icy blast. It keeps the ventilation, but diffuses the air flow.
Unfortunately I can't think of a way to achieve the same effect if the vent is above floor level.

Mankysteve

The vent will more than likely be there for the fire. In house of days gone by extra ventilation for solid fires wasn't really need due to teh house be quite drafty already with modern insulation level and double glazing there wont be much air flow.

I could speak to a suitable qualified persons about requirements and a heat exchanger installed in the room would be one way to get that additional airflow without loosing the fire.

Canucklehead

Hi,

One of these might help if you want to burn turf .



GSR

Payless_2

It may be there because Warm Front had installed cavity wall insulation. Warm Front were going to do ours but wanted to put vents in the sitting room (because there was a gas fire) and in the bedroom (because there was a blocked off decorative coal fire that hadn't been used for 25 years!) I decided not to bother and after reading th OP's post I'm glad I didn't

shelly

Our house is nearly 5 years old and it too has a solid fuel fireplace. When we moved in 3 years ago there were 2 vents, one either side of the fp and as we don't intend ever having an open fire we blocked them up pretty much straightaway.
Haven't noticed any problems with either mould or condensation since doing so.

Gizmosmum_2

You can get a vent with a baffle in the middle that deflects the air a bot giving the air flow without hypothermia Don't block it up carbon dioxide kills

Canucklehead

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi,

One of these might help if you want to burn turf .



GSR

You mean like the one in my link??

GSR

julianashcroft

When I moved into my first house years ago, it was a new build and had vents in each room, which were a building regulation requirement. They work very well at letting the heat escape from the house. I removed the internal vent covers and fitted Hit and Miss Vents like this one so I could close the vent when I want in colder weather. My gas boiler was vented to the outside and took in its air from the outside, so there wasn't any danger of noxious gas build up.