Air bricks - good or bad ?

prowla

I have to have them in my house because of my gas boiler, but when/if that goes, they're being bricked-up; they just cause cold draughts in winter and allow rain splashes to get in.

FreeBear

MouldyOldDough said:

I have always assumed that double glazing is designed to seal in heat buy stopping draughts - so what's the point of spending thousands on replacement windows (sometimes with triple glazing) - just to ruin it by having a vent open 24/7 trickling cold air from outside - into your nice warm home ?

Current building regulations mandate "background ventilation" which the replacement industry has concluded to mean trickle vents. Few will accept that background ventilation can be provided by other means (e.g. PIV or MHRV systems). Some won't even accept that the rules on background ventilation do not apply if you replace just one or two windows, or that they can be omitted on windows facing busy roads.

I got my last few windows replaced just before the new rules came in to force. Even then, I had a few suppliers telling me I had to have trickle vents fitted - They got told where to shove their quotes !

John_the_Boy

Strangely enough when we had our windows replaced 6 years ago the company asked if I really wanted trickle vents as it didn't make sense putting them in if we weren't suffering from condensation and that they could also retrofit if I found I needed them. They said they didn't have to put them in on like for like replacement windows.

I took them at their word and have not had any issues not having them fitted. 

Albermarle

prowla said:

I have to have them in my house because of my gas boiler, but when/if that goes, they're being bricked-up; they just cause cold draughts in winter and allow rain splashes to get in.

Must be a pretty old boiler !

Albermarle

MouldyOldDough said:

I have always assumed that double glazing is designed to seal in heat buy stopping draughts - so what's the point of spending thousands on replacement windows (sometimes with triple glazing) - just to ruin it by having a vent open 24/7 trickling cold air from outside - into your nice warm home ?

It is a good question.

Everybody recommends to stop draughts, by sealing doors, windows etc., but then you see others saying the house must be well ventilated. So the two do not match, and in fact there is a trade off between keeping the house warm, and letting some fresh air in/old air out.
With an older larger house you usually need to concentrate more on keeping the heat in, whilst with a small modern house/ flat you probably need to make sure there is some ventilation.

MouldyOldDough

Albermarle said:

MouldyOldDough said:

I have always assumed that double glazing is designed to seal in heat buy stopping draughts - so what's the point of spending thousands on replacement windows (sometimes with triple glazing) - just to ruin it by having a vent open 24/7 trickling cold air from outside - into your nice warm home ?

It is a good question.

Everybody recommends to stop draughts, by sealing doors, windows etc., but then you see others saying the house must be well ventilated. So the two do not match, and in fact there is a trade off between keeping the house warm, and letting some fresh air in/old air out.
With an older larger house you usually need to concentrate more on keeping the heat in, whilst with a small modern house/ flat you probably need to make sure there is some ventilation.

What about a 1950's semi? 

Phil4432

I'd say its a balance between ventilation and heat retention.  The problem with sealing a lot of older houses, is that they then have condensation and mould issues.

Windows should be opened when cooking, bathing, and in the morning after sleeping.  The house should be vented every day, and then not allowed to get too cold.  General guideline is around 14C at least.

We get condensation and mould under our bay window area, I check and clean every month or so and run a dehumidifier. 

So if fitting new rads, best have one at the bay window.

FreeBear

Phil4432 said: We get condensation and mould under our bay window area, I check and clean every month or so and run a dehumidifier. 

So if fitting new rads, best have one at the bay window.

Got an older house here (1920s bay fronted semi). Having spent quite a bit of time insulating and draught proofing some of the rooms, I've been moving radiators to internal walls. Get a small amount of condensation on the bay window when it is particularly cold outside, but haven't noticed any on the wall below. If/when condensation & mould becomes an issue, I'll add a layer of insulation to the wall rather than putting a radiator there.

If you have a curved bay, finding a suitable radiator that will fit could be very expensive !

mexican_dave

Double glazing for draught proofing and heating retention, on this matter Building Regulations seem schizophrenic! They want sealed double glazing, no draughts, frames that don't conduct heat, etc, BUT then thay want you to fit an extract fan in the bathroom; utility/WC; and sometimes insist "trickle vents" as they did with me, despite my windows having "night vents?" on the window latches (keeping the windows ajar, but fixed).

ComicGeek

mexican_dave said:

Double glazing for draught proofing and heating retention, on this matter Building Regulations seem schizophrenic! They want sealed double glazing, no draughts, frames that don't conduct heat, etc, BUT then thay want you to fit an extract fan in the bathroom; utility/WC; and sometimes insist "trickle vents" as they did with me, despite my windows having "night vents?" on the window latches (keeping the windows ajar, but fixed).

It's because the average homeowner doesn't understand how to adequately manage ventilation themselves, and therefore part of the reason Building Regulations exist is to protect them from themselves and force 'best fit' solutions on everyone - it's just not helpful when you are able to look after yourself and the government's 'best fit' solution isn't actually the best fit for you.