Wall Vent question

bitethebullet

Hi all, Painting the kitchen wall today and when i removed the internal vent cover I found no duct. Just a large square hole from the outside. The problem here i think is that fresh air from outside is is getting in behind the drywall. What's the solution here? Do i need to add a duct and fill in around it with exp foam?
Any tips?

DublinDilbert

You'd see that in a lot of houses to be honest. Measure the gap, if its about 100mm you should be able to get a piece of 4" ducting or even waste pipe into the hole. Cut the plaster board to match. Make sure its angled downwards so if any water gets into it, it runs back outside the house. Once you've got the pipe in place fill around it with expanding foam.

You can also get nice round 4" vent covers that will clip inside the pipe/duct, which look much better than the normal large rectangular one.

DublinDilbert

You'd see that in a lot of houses to be honest. Measure the gap, if its about 100mm you should be able to get a piece of 4" ducting or even waste pipe into the hole. Cut the plaster board to match. Make sure its angled downwards so if any water gets into it, it runs back outside the house. Once you've got the pipe in place fill around it with expanding foam.

You can also get nice round 4" vent covers that will clip inside the pipe/duct, which look much better than the normal large rectangular one.

Alun

Our house is like that too, with the added complication that in half of the cases, the hole in the outside doesn't actually line up with the one on the inside! Cowboys, Ted

thejaguar

I had the same in my apartment - I just filled the gap entirely with expanding foam then cut a circle through the middle.

I'm sure there are various reasons why you shouldn't do that, but it was the easiest thing to do as far as I was concerned.

bitethebullet

DublinDilbert wrote: »

You can also get nice round 4" vent covers that will clip inside the pipe/duct, which look much better than the normal large rectangular one.

Great info thanks ....Have you a link for said covers?

Strip

Is this timber frame construction??

bitethebullet

no

DublinDilbert

bitethebullet wrote: »

Great info thanks ....Have you a link for said covers?

Lots of places sell them, and once you've a 4 inch pipe/duct installed these will just snap inside them. The old vent cover is much much bigger than the hole in the wall, these are much better IMO.

http://www.goodwins.ie/p-2353-circular-push-in-vent-pvc-white.aspx

bitethebullet

Doesn't seem to be a way to regulate the air flow with that push in vent though. I'd have some draught comming in otherwise.

DublinDilbert

bitethebullet wrote: »

Doesn't seem to be a way to regulate the air flow with that push in vent though. I'd have some draught comming in otherwise.

You can buy baffle plates which fit inside a 4" pipe and stop drafts coming in. If your getting a strong airflow coming in, you can also fit a downward deflector on the outside. The normal thing in Ireland to do (my own family included) is to just block the vent for the winter :rolleyes:

MicktheMan

DublinDilbert wrote: »

just block the vent for the winter :rolleyes:

...which is exactly when you need the ventilation:)

bitethebullet

Ok lads thanks for the replies. I'll post pics of the job to help out anyone with the same issue. Should I cut the 4 inch pipe so that it's flush with the plasterboard or have it recessed a little. I'm thinking flush?

DublinDilbert

MicktheMan wrote: »

...which is exactly when you need the ventilation:)

Yea i know, its a real Irish thing to do, sure why would you want fresh air coming in :rolleyes: I've seen members of my own family do it more than once.

bitethebullet

the fresh air trickle vents are on the way from Canada....expensive but they look the biz

http://freshairvent.ca/

homerefurb

I replaced all the 4" vents in my house with ones that I can close and open. The rectangular ones vibrated when it was windy and didn't seal properly. The only place I could get them was Amazon. They work great, just paste this into the search window in Amazon:

4 inch dia 100mm Adjustable Air Vent Ceiling grille outlet inlet

bitethebullet

They look great. I've cancelled the ones from Canada and went with those from amazon. They fit nice and snug into the 4" pipe yeah?

bitethebullet

I have the 4" pipe cut and placed in the hole. It can move though from side to side. Should i try and wedge it securely before filling it with the foam or would it suffice to just try and hold the pipe in place with one hand while filling it? Never used this expanding stuff before

Jimmy_M

the foam should hold it in place. Its strong stuff - dont go too mad with it if youre sliding something to fit neatly inside the pipe. It will squeeze the pipe if you use too much - ive seen it warp window frames.

DublinDilbert

bitethebullet wrote: »

I have the 4" pipe cut and placed in the hole. It can move though from side to side. Should i try and wedge it securely before filling it with the foam or would it suffice to just try and hold the pipe in place with one hand while filling it? Never used this expanding stuff before

Put a small wedge / piece of timber under the end closest to the room, so it slopes out. If it's very loose I'd put a small block of wood bedside it so it won't move.

You don't want it moving when your using the foam as it gets messy real quick. Use the gloves!

bitethebullet

bitethebullet

After foaming

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bitethebullet

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bitethebullet

Done deal

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Tommy Max

I noticed the same thing in all the vents in the house when I removed the grid to have a look.

It is just a hole with no sleeve ducting. Is this common in houses? And is it something that should be tidied up or could be causing condensation on windows in rooms.

Interestingly there was no wall vent in either the living room or utility room. Any logical reason why these would not have been done when house was built?

agentgreen

Hi,

I want to get some wall vents installed (house has none, and none in windows) without affecting the houses BER. The house is an old house that was done up and has a B3 BER, but the kitchen/living area gets quite smoking cooking and the air tends to just sit there. I dont want to have to keep opening and closing the window.

What type of handy man am I looking for or could someone recommend someone please? I'm struggling to find one online.

Thanks!

GreeBo

agentgreen wrote: »

Hi,

I want to get some wall vents installed (house has none, and none in windows) without affecting the houses BER. The house is an old house that was done up and has a B3 BER, but the kitchen/living area gets quite smoking cooking and the air tends to just sit there. I dont want to have to keep opening and closing the window.

What type of handy man am I looking for or could someone recommend someone please? I'm struggling to find one online.

Thanks!

Do you have an extractor over the hob?
Is it vented or just one of those charcoal recycling ones?
You are better off extracting out the smoke rather than just adding more air and diluting it

agentgreen

Hi, there is an extractor fan over the hob that extracts outside. I've tried cleaning the filters and outside you can smell the food coming from the vent, but there is still a lot of smoke after you cook and the smell just sits in the kitchen/living area, even with the fan full blast.

Last night we lit a wood stove and the area smelt of burnt wood this morning.

The air seems to be just sitting in this area.

Tommy Max

Does it affect heat loss and ventilation efficiency if there is no sleeved ducting in a wall vent?

Alkers

Tommy Max wrote:

Does it affect heat loss and ventilation efficiency if there is no sleeved ducting in a wall vent?

If you have a cavity in your wall, the lack of a sleeve will be allowing cold air into the cavity so yes.

Alkers

agentgreen wrote:

The air seems to be just sitting in this area.

If you have an extractor, you probably need a vent also, the idea being that as air is extracted from the cooker hood, fresh air is drawn in through the vent. Try to locate it away from the extractor to encourage air flow across the whole room.

agentgreen

Thank you, silly question, but can you recommend some one to me please or what trade is the best to specialise in this?

Tommy Max

yes anybody recommend any reliable good handyman in west Dublin or kildare area that would fix up the vents

agentgreen

Tommy Max wrote: »

yes anybody recommend any reliable good handyman in west Dublin or kildare area that would fix up the vents

Deansgrange/ South Dublin for me please

currants

agentgreen wrote: »

Hi, there is an extractor fan over the hob that extracts outside. I've tried cleaning the filters and outside you can smell the food coming from the vent, but there is still a lot of smoke after you cook and the smell just sits in the kitchen/living area, even with the fan full blast.

Last night we lit a wood stove and the area smelt of burnt wood this morning.

The air seems to be just sitting in this area.

Is the stove in the same area as the extractor?
It shouldn't be, its dangerous to run the extractor when the stove is lit. I hope you have a carbon monoxide alarm or two if it is in the same room. I wouldn't run the extractor when the stove is lit, open the windows instead.
The fact that smells are lingering the morning after is enough to tell you the room is not sufficiently ventilated. I'm not trying to scare you but be careful!

agentgreen

currants wrote: »

Is the stove in the same area as the extractor?
It shouldn't be, its dangerous to run the extractor when the stove is lit. I hope you have a carbon monoxide alarm or two if it is in the same room. I wouldn't run the extractor when the stove is lit, open the windows instead.
The fact that smells are lingering the morning after is enough to tell you the room is not sufficiently ventilated. I'm not trying to scare you but be careful!

100% hear you and agree with you! Just no idea how to sort it or what type of professional to engage. I had a look online but it all seems to be industrial.

agentgreen

agentgreen wrote: »

100% hear you and agree with you! Just no idea how to sort it or what type of professional to engage. I had a look online but it all seems to be industrial.

I also contacted a few companies but no one has come back to me.