Anyone know what ventilation is required in a room in a new build apartment?

Americaninexile

Hi all,

Bit of advice required re Building Regs.

What is the minimum ventilation required in a room/bedroom in an apartment that has Gas Heating in it? Is it ok to have tiny vents in just the windows or should there be actual vents in the wall to the outside?

(For the sake of clarity - each wall I'm talking about is an exterior wall i.e. it's not connected to another room but to the outside.)

Many thanks in advance.

AIE

robd

The room with the gas boiler must have a full size vent, which cannot be closed. Window vents not acceptable.

Window type vents are fine in all other rooms.

Danbo!

It is recommended to have a vent with a free area of 1/20th of the floor area for decent ventilation.

This is for a standard habitable room not taking into account the method of heating or whether or not there are gas fired appliances in the room (these are vented themselves anyway)

(Free area is the open area of the vent ie total vent size minus the grilles.)

EDIT: Bear in mind in Ireland this is a regulation, however it is rarely regulated. You need a copy of Technical guidance Document F: Ventilation if you want to know about each type of room and exceptions to rules, etc...

Americaninexile

robd wrote: »

The room with the gas boiler must have a full size vent, which cannot be closed. Window vents not acceptable.

Window type vents are fine in all other rooms.

Cheers mate but that doesn't seem to tally with what's in the Regs.

I presume (a) below refers to a vent in the wall and (b) refers to a window.

DWELLINGS

Habitable Rooms

1.5 In a habitable room other than a utility room, a kitchen, or a room containing a kitchen the following provision for ventilation should be adequate:

(a) a ventilation opening suitable for background ventilation having a total area not less than 6500mm2 (squared), and

(b) a ventilation opening suitable for rapid ventilation having a total area of at least 1/20th of the floor area of the room.

Stee wrote: »

It is recommended to have a vent with a free area of 1/20th of the floor area for decent ventilation.



This is for a standard habitable room not taking into account the method of heating or whether or not there are gas fired appliances in the room (these are vented themselves anyway)



(Free area is the open area of the vent ie total vent size minus the grilles.)



EDIT: Bear in mind in Ireland this is a regulation, however it is rarely regulated. You need a copy of Technical guidance Document F: Ventilation if you want to know about each type of room and exceptions to rules, etc...

Cheers Stee, would you be able to give your opinion of the above regs as compared to my original post which asks is a small vent in a window adequate as the only background ventilation in a habitable room? Basically I'm looking to know would such a room, with so little background ventilation, be within the regs?

Danbo!

Any idea of the floor area of the room? And can you describe the window vent a little more?

Americaninexile

Stee wrote: »

Any idea of the floor area of the room? And can you describe the window vent a little more?

I'm not really sure of the size of the room mate but...

One room is single bedroom (normal size, wouldn't fit a double bed)

One room is a double bedroom (again normal size double room)

The last room is a sitting room (good size, maybe 15/20m2).

The vent in the windown is tiny, it runs maybe 12/15 inches long with the slightest gap, nowhere near big enough to stick your finger in.

Danbo!

Americaninexile wrote: »

I presume (a) below refers to a vent in the wall and (b) refers to a window.

Yes, the 'rapid ventilation' is for you to easily control airflow in the room, so it usually an openable section in the window, where as the background ventilation is a vent that ideally is open all the time, usually high up on a wall.

Americaninexile wrote: »

The vent in the windown is tiny, it runs maybe 12/15 inches long with the slightest gap, nowhere near big enough to stick your finger in.

I assume this is built into the frame and it is known as a trickle vent. If this is 15 inches long (380mm) and maybe 10-15mm wide (?) then the area is 3800-5700mm², which does not satisfy building regulations. Personally, I'd fit a wall vent, but if that's not option i'd just ensure the trickle vent is kept open.

Victor

Moved from Accommodation & Property.

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Where does the gas boiler draw air from and vent to?

Mellor

Stee wrote: »

It is recommended to have a vent with a free area of 1/20th of the floor area for decent ventilation.

This is totally wrong. And tbh, looks like you took a quick look at the regs and didn't understand it.

Luckily, the OP understood the TGD F text and was able to clarify it.

Americaninexile

Mellor wrote: »

This is totally wrong. And tbh, looks like you took a quick look at the regs and didn't understand it.

Luckily, the OP understood the TGD F text and was able to clarify it.

Hey Mellor - thanks for your response but I'm not too sure what you mean.

Am I correct in thinking the window must be 1/20th of the floor space but there MUST also be other "background" ventilation?