Airbricks

moneyistooshorttomention

How many airbricks should a house have?

I ask because an intermittent problem smell is happening again in my house and it's pretty strong/not very nice. I'm wondering if that is the cause of it (ie inadequate number of air bricks).

It's a 1970s bungalow, cavity wall (with insulation) made of those concrete block things and with concrete floors.

I am rather wondering if there's no membrane thing (or whatever it is one is supposed to have under concrete floors). It was built by a builder I wouldn't rate....:cool:

There is no trace of damp anywhere I can see.

Grenage

Potentially no airbricks, a solid floor wouldn't need any ventilation. Can you localise the smell, or is there a pattern to its occurrence?

Witless

As per Grenage - why would you need airbricks for solid floors?

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd been used to a house with a noticeable number of airbricks (though it was a Victorian terrace with wood floors).

Also could see precisely two airbricks (one front of house/one back of house) and so assumed that even a house constructed this way needed them.

So - I guess that means the two here already are quite adequate and, indeed, surplus to requirements.

So guess the message is just leave them be unblocked and don't bother adding any more. Thanks - now I know.

****************

Re the smell - it comes and goes a bit and is throughout the house. I think what I'm smelling is a plaster sort of smell.

I had the house replastered throughout when I bought it and fake plasterboard ceilings put in throughout (as there was that "stuff" on the original ceiling - the old-fashioned wallpaper type stuff). In the event - I wouldnt employ the "guy that said he was a plasterer" again iyswim - and so wonder if he maybe used the wrong type of plaster and that's what is causing this.

The replastering must have been concluded around 4 years ago now - and so all smell from it should have long since gone imo. The walls/ceilings are just plain painted throughout now - standard Dulux paint.

iammumtoone

I think you need to narrow down when the smell is occurring and what is happening at those times.


I get smells in my house one that stinks happens at the same time of day, this believe this is due to neighbours cooking :eek: it can't be anything they are eating with that smell, they have various pets so I assume its something they cook up for them.


Another time I can get a smell after very heavy rain, it goes again soon after.

moneyistooshorttomention

I've read of a "after heavy rain" type smell - which might prove more difficult to narrow down - as I'm in West Wales (ie it rains a lot here).

I don't think it's that - though I think it's worth writing down incidences of it in my house diary.

I've also come across mention of Crown paint - hence I mentioned that the paint in my home is Dulux.

I'll see if a diary helps track it down - though obviously I'm not willing to put up with ANY smell ever - as I didnt have that problem in my last house - so would carry on "working on dealing with it" until it's gone in this house.

It only took me 5 years:eek: to get OpenReach to accept I wasn't going to give up calling them in repeatedly until I had normal Broadband at last. Now that that has (successfully) concluded and I've got normal Broadband back - this is the next thing to "get back to normal" (ie no smell ever) on.

It's definitely not neighbours thankfully - as this is what I call a "really detached" house (ie feet away from nearest neighbour).

Weather right now - no rain for last couple of days and it's "summer weather" here today.

jennifernil

Leaking drain somewhere?

moneyistooshorttomention

There's no smell outside the house and the drains look clear as far as I can tell.

Inside the house - the kitchen and bathroom are adjacent on one side of the house. But the smell is throughout the house and it is a "plaster" type smell (not "drain" like).

Ocasionally the smell in bedroom has been more of a talcum powder type smell - and can't be residual smell from elderly woman that last owned the house - because absolutely everything has been ripped out inside the house and house replastered - apart from the internal doors and most of their handles.

Witless

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Ocasionally the smell in bedroom has been more of a talcum powder type smell - and can't be residual smell from elderly woman that last owned the house - because absolutely everything has been ripped out inside the house and house replastered - apart from the internal doors and most of their handles.

I could be wrong (& hope I am) but have you ruled out the possibility of paranormal presence?

A talc smell is something I'd associate with an elderly woman.

Has anything changed in your life recently?

http://www.assap.ac.uk/newsite/articles/Paranormal%20smells.html

moneyistooshorttomention

Actually - googling did bring up that talc smell has that as one possible explanation.

I've managed to get through into my 60's without anyone at all ever that's close to me dying - incredible as that is beginning to feel to me and really wearing to both my elderly parents (who've both "had enough"). All 3 of my family "should" have been dead years ago logically speaking (father, mother and younger brother - courtesy of how bad his health is). None of them are. One friend is dead (a woman who was much older than myself) - but they aren't a very close friend and died decades ago now. I've got to the stage where I find it really odd that people I know and have positive feelings to (or one might presume I did - in the case of my brother - and they'd be wrong) just don't seem to...

Though it's true that this house formerly had an elderly woman living here - and I just hope she didn't actually die here. I can recall that the week I moved in (whilst friend that was helping me was still here) there was a very distinct noise that my friend took as being the last occupant "announcing their presence". I just turned round and said "This is MY home now - so can you go please?" and there hasn't been anything in the years since. It may or may not have been the last occupant welcoming me to their former home - and letting me know not to believe what the next door neighbour told me as to how things are (I was aware I was hearing a pack of lies from the neighbour whilst they told me them LOL).

So - the smell is actually much more often than not a nasty distinct house smell when it happens and does smell a lot more like plaster than anything else and usually it's a little bit of a "damp" smell (but this house doesnt have any damp). So I am sure it's not an "other-worldly" explanation in this case.

This may possibly be something other people wouldnt/dont register. A lot of other people here are going to be used to concrete block houses with concrete floors. I'm used to brick walls and wood floors - and that is how I think houses should be personally - but if that's what here/I had to buy it - then what can ya' do? #shrugs.

Now my last house on the other hand - and there was "summat afoot" with that house (or, to be more precise, with its location). I had several unusual experiences there that certainly didn't have a logical explanation - though I tried to find one.

So - yes ...there is a logical explanation in this case. It's just a matter of finding it. eg one of the things I wonder is if the man who-called-himself-a-plasterer and replastered my house throughout used the wrong plaster. I eventually realised he certainly wasnt a plasterer (even though that's his normal job) and generally "not the worlds brightest button".

RosesInTheHospital

I also get a smell like fresh plaster when I hang my washing inside the two rooms that were renovated and plastered 2 years ago. I assume its just the walls absorbing some of the moisture of the clothes?