trickle vents pls help!!!

trottel

Hi,

i am buying a 2nd hand house. my engineer said there are only trickle vents in the house. 2 open fireplaces in two rooms, 3 bathrooms, and one oil stove in the kitchen. the house is 6years old. is it dangerous to live with just window trickle vents? do we need to install new vents?

pls help me, as i dont know.

thank you!!!

rayjdav

Short answer YES, it is acceptable.
Under TGD (Technical Guidance Document) F 2002, which your house falls under, it being 6 years old as you say, trickle vents are allowed, together with Mechanical ventilation to Bathrooms/sanitary and kitchen/utility areas.

trottel

thank you so much!!

also one more question, the engineer cant find any septic tank pipe vents. only the manhole. does septic tank need vents?

thank you!

rayjdav

If traditional septic tank, yes there should be vents from the tank itself, and also from the percolation area, sometimes only at the end of the percolation run..
I assume your engineer has done a planning search on the house, given that it's only 6 years old. Is it a septic tank or treatment system? Planning files will tell you exactly what should be there/where and may save a lot of searching under long grass:D

trottel

rayjdav wrote: »

If traditional septic tank, yes there should be vents from the tank itself, and also from the percolation area, sometimes only at the end of the percolation run..
I assume your engineer has done a planning search on the house, given that it's only 6 years old. Is it a septic tank or treatment system? Planning files will tell you exactly what should be there/where and may save a lot of searching under long grass:D

yes the engineer made a planning search. but he mentioned to me that he couldnt find the vents, so that mean it could be a treatment system that doesnt need vents, yes?

thank you so much for answering my questions, you are a great help!

Carlow52

trottel wrote: »

thank you so much!!

also one more question, the engineer cant find any septic tank pipe vents. only the manhole. does septic tank need vents?

thank you!

from ur first post
why did your 'engineer' say 'only trickle vents'

re this post
are u sure u have a septic tank, is the house on its own etc?

How do u know its a manhole for the septic tank?

What kind of engineer do you think you have advising u?

trottel

Carlow52 wrote: »

from ur first post
why did your 'engineer' say 'only trickle vents'

re this post
are u sure u have a septic tank, is the house on its own etc?

How do u know its a manhole for the septic tank?

What kind of engineer do you think you have advising u?

Hi Carlow,

1. cause my engineer is the opinion there should be proper vents in the kitchen, utilty, livingroom (fireplace) and bathrooms. not just trickle vents.

i was confused and not sure about it, so this why i posted it here.

2. yes it has an septic tank, its on the building plan, and the house its on its own. i could find the manhole beside, where the septic tank should be. but i couldnt find any pipe vents but there should be percolation runs, as it is stated in the building plan too.

i am not sure either if there should be vents for the septic tank.

c i dont know, i am first time buyer, and not 100% sure about all this, this why i posted it here, and hoped to get all my questions answered before signing the paper.
the engineer got recommened to us, but it seems maybe it was the wrong choice?! :-/

so you think its all fine yes?

thank you!

trottel

window trickle vents

rayjdav

To satisfy yourself on the septic tank issue, can you get your hands on Certs Of Compliance from the original build? As this is a relatively new house, a condition of planning would have been for the applicant to submit a cert of Compliance with planning permission on completion of the installation of the septic tank/treatment system. This will answer your questions as to what exactly is certified to have been installed.
Each system out there, and there's loads, have their own ways of operation and design so, to save wasting time, get this to know whats there, and then from that you can understand if there should be vents etc etc etc....

Carlow52

trottel wrote: »

Hi Carlow,

1. cause my engineer is the opinion there should be proper vents in the kitchen, utilty, livingroom (fireplace) and bathrooms. not just trickle vents.

i was confused and not sure about it, so this why i posted it here.

Septic tanks outside my area of ltd knowlwdge so Pass:)

on the vents
As noted in post 2 above if the build is to the 2002 spec then there needs to be mechanical ventilation as noted.

Part F ventilation for both 2002 and 2009 are here http://www.environ.ie/en/TGD/

Part J here http://www.environ.ie/en/TGD/

tells u whats needed for fireplaces etc

trottel

HI i just got the Certs Of Compliance. and we know now, that the builder at the time, just put an septic tank. NO percolation area.

how much would that cost to do? as my solicitor need to tell that the bank, and might dont give us the mortgages, as it doesnt complie with the building regulations.


thank you!

rayjdav

A septic tank with NO percolation area, in a house that's only 6 years old?? Ask yourself, if the builder never put in a percolation area, which not to understate it, is slightly important:rolleyes:, what else did he not do?? Where has all the foul effluent been disposed of?? Are there local private wells in the vicinity of the tank?

Technically for a percolation area you WILL need planning (the original permission expires after 5 years). Now Councils have a tendancy to insist on treatment systems. This means that you will now require a site suitability test to be carried out and this will determine the type of percolation area required, thereby letting you know the cost associated with it. Domino effect syndrome... By the way, planning usually takes 3 months, and that's assuming there are no FI requests along the way..

Maybe I've misunderstood the setup but if not, I'd ask a lot more serious questions before you pay anything towards this 2nd hand house, good deal or not. Your issue on trickle vents pales into insignificance with this info.

If I was you I'd be asking the engineer to do a far more thorough investigation of the house and all associated with it now, assuming you are serious about buying it..

trottel

Thank you so much for the answer. its breaking my heart, as this house tick all our boxes, and we did fall in love with it at the first sign .

we are very serious about buying this house. but with this problem, being very serious, i might have to pull out of the sale.

thank you so much for your help!

martinn123

In agreeing with all that rayjdav, has said above, I am sure your Solicitor has explained that as the house does not comply with Reg's he cannot close the sale.But remember the responsibility to ensure all is well lies with the vendor.......You are getting dragged into costing percolation areas etc, tell the vendors to remedy the problems, and produce Certs of Compliance,as you cannot draw down any funds from the Bank.That will give you time to explore any other areas which may be deficient, by having a thorough survey....Its disssapointing when the house is the one you want, but no Bank will advance funds in the circumstances you describe. In my Opinion.

trottel

Yes i got my solicitor is on that. I just have an awfull feeling the guy wont do it. but then hey...good luck selling it.
The estate agent we dealing told before they wanted to rent it if nobody buys it, but its in a small village, dont think he will find tendants to pay so much rent to cover the mortgages. So he really doesnt has an option.
I keep you guys posted how the vendor dicided.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help!:)