Plastered Over Vent Hole in Wall

Kelkiwi

I have just discovered after stripping wallpaper that the previous owner has plastered over the hole on the inside of the wall that leads out to the vent bricks on the outside of the house, would it be advisible to open this back up again to have airflow in the bedroom or does it not really matter?

Cheers

aliasojo

As far as I'm aware (and I'm no expert), it's the airbricks that are under the floor that are more important and they should never be covered.

Airbricks in walls are sometimes a throwback from the days where houses had built in larders or cupboards in corners of room and the airbricks were supposed to help stop possible dampness around these areas. Over the years people have knocked the larders or cupboards out but the airbricks have been left.

I have 2 in my kitchen that were for this purpose but have been blocked up (after getting professional advice) as they were redundant and not required. Most houses these days do not have airbricks in rooms anymore, especially with the advent of trickle vents in windows..

bookduck

aliasojo wrote: »

...Airbricks in walls are sometimes a throwback from the days where houses had built in larders or cupboards in corners of room....

I have 2 in my kitchen that were for this purpose but have been blocked up (after getting professional advice) as they were redundant and not required. Most houses these days do not have airbricks in rooms anymore, especially with the advent of trickle vents in windows..

I have one in mine it is about 3 foot off the floor and has been designed to be a clothes dryer vent

robv_3

As above (aliasojo) BUT they may be required if you have open fire / log burner / gas fire / old boiler / etc in the room as all of these will pull air in from the room and it will increase the rise of issues with them covered.

aliasojo

When you say clothes dryer vent, do you mean a vent for the likes of a tumble dryer or just an airbrick in front of an area where you would stand an airer (clothes horse type thing - if people still call them that these days, lol)?

bookduck

aliasojo wrote: »

When you say clothes dryer vent, do you mean a vent for the likes of a tumble dryer or just an airbrick in front of an area where you would stand an airer (clothes horse type thing - if people still call them that these days, lol)?

Mine is a hole about 6-9 inches hight and width. a piece of board covers it. In the board there is a round hole which connects to a plastic fitting, which again connects to a tumble dryer hose.

apparently the hose should not be more than about 3 feet??? so there should also be a plug socket/spur around there too

aliasojo

Ah I see now. I have that too for my tumble dryer. As far as I understand it though, the OP is talking about airbricks and not holes that are specifically cut into the wall for venting appliances and the like?

bookduck

At the other end of the hole is an airbrick.

the wall is a cavity wall. Inside wall has bricks missing, while the outside has air brick(s), so there are no plastic pipe/'hole' outside

so the air flow would be out the dryer through the pipe into the hole and through the air brick into the air.

My air brick out of my kitchen is apparently for extracting vented air. It is even plastered on the inside of the hole too.

Another explanation, is to think of a wall safe. the front dial of the safe (dial) has the dryer air pipe coming into it, and the back end of the safe is an air brick

aliasojo

That's similar to mine, but I know the house wasn't built that way, the previous occupier was a builder who cut the vent hole and installed the pipe.

Was your house built with this originally?

bookduck

aliasojo wrote: »

That's similar to mine, but I know the house wasn't built that way, the previous occupier was a builder who cut the vent hole and installed the pipe.

Was your house built with this originally?

Yes, all the maisonettes were build that way. Think they were build in 86. To be honest the airbrick are so rough, lint collects around the small holes and blocks them up.

aliasojo

My pipe actually fits into the outer wall with a plastic cover on the outside which is quite practical tbh. The cover can be easily taken of if required and you can stick your whole hand and arm right into the vent hole and also up the flexible dryer hose (should you ever feel the need, lol).

Sorry to the OP for going slightly off topic btw.

I'm assuming that because the OP's query referred to a bedroom then none of we discussed will apply and it will just be a simple airbrick which was no longer needed.