Cold drafty air vent

oxfordmark

Hey

We have an Airvent in the living room and bathroom. Both are letting in cold air even when closed. I know it's not ideal to block them, but are there any better vents to install?

I have had to stand a box in the way to stop the draft.

Cheers

flashg67

I know it's not recommended either, but I have an air vent in my front room that really let a draught through. Blocked it up 14 years ago with a piece of wood and had no problems with damp etc etc

Aylesbury_Duck

You can get vent kits with good baffles in them to reduce the effect of wind, which you could replace your current vent with. That would be better than blocking it. Google vent kit baffle and you will see a variety of shapes and sizes. Most are telescopic so can cope with any wall thickness.

Alternatively, you could make your own cheap baffle by putting some loft insulation in the vent. Don!!!8217;t pack it in, cut and place a piece to fit the aperture. It will block the worst of the draught without completely stopping airflow. You can monitor the effects on condensation, dampness, etc and remove it if necessary. A free potential solution.

oxfordmark

I have loads of insulation, I was thinking of putting some of that in the wall just to try and stop the cold. Might try that.

EssexExile

As long as you've not got an open fire just try it.

konark

These vents were common in old houses when people had real fires and there was a belief that having cold air blowing around the house was good for you.

They make a mockery of any attempt to insulate the house so are best bricked or boarded up.

traineepensioner

I think that these air vents are required for some gas fires and wood burning stoves. Our heating engineer had to fit a vent for our gas fired stove because it was over a certain Kw rating.
You should be OK blocking/baffling it as long as you have no gas fire in that room. if you do have a gas fire I would seek further advice from a gas safe engineer.

Eenymeeny

Ours was fitted when we had a gas fire in use years ago. I covered ours with bubble wrap and masking tape loosely around the edges. Easily removed if you find you have damp issues and so far no problems.

FreeBear

traineepensioner wrote: »

I think that these air vents are required for some gas fires and wood burning stoves.

Air vents are required for all non room sealed fires (gas, oil, wood, coal). Not sure about the regs for small gas fires, but for wood/multifuel stoves, anything over 5Kw must have a vent.

Current regs also require the fitting of a Carbon Monoxide alarm in any room that has a fire - It is a good idea to have one in each room that the flue passes through and it could save a life. And if the OP plans on blocking up the one in the living room, please get a CO alarm if you haven't already got one.

A vent in the bathroom - Meh....

oxfordmark

We just have an electric heater now. The boiler is In our conservatory.