External vent, Not bulit right??

projectgtr

Im looking for a bit of advice, Ive been tracking down draughts in the house with the cold weather hitting us, when i came to the vent in each room i removed the plastic cover it was basically a big hole cut into the wall. i could see right through to the external brick vent, no ducting , nothing! So the external vent is not only supplying air to the internal vent but the whole air gap between the external brickwork and internal walls!

Oustside i have vents like this only a bit bigger than a brick (210mm x135mm)


So am i right in thinking all these vents must be ducted(white section in pic) like this to prevent the air gap being exposed?


So lastly if im right can i retrofit these or am i going to have to remove the external vent and reinstall one like above with a duct? Also where whould i be able to buy these?

Thanks in advance for any help

Alun

You're lucky. Most of the vents in my house either don't line up, or in one case, there's actually no hole in the interior block wall!

quazzy

Similar thread here.
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057508087

I have a similar problem but never got around to sorting it out.

Will try something in the coming weeks.

sgarvan

All the vents in my house were the same. Some didn't line up either so I had to re-align them. The whole internal wall that the vent was on was freezing. I placed a 4" Wavin pipe between the inside & outside vent and filled all around it with expanding foam.

projectgtr

quazzy wrote: »

Similar thread here.
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057508087

I have a similar problem but never got around to sorting it out.

Will try something in the coming weeks.

sgarvan wrote: »

All the vents in my house were the same. Some didn't line up either so I had to re-align them. The whole internal wall that the vent was on was freezing. I placed a 4" Wavin pipe between the inside & outside vent and filled all around it with expanding foam.

Cheers lads for the replies, i guess this was a product of houses being thrown up. The pipe sounds perfect but the only problem is the external vent is rectangular so i need some type of adapter to do it right. Has anyone any ideas where i can buy the air bricks with adapters i doubt the usual DIY places would stock them, would biulders providers stock them or would i be looking to order online, id definitely need 6.

DublinDilbert

projectgtr wrote: »

Cheers lads for the replies, i guess this was a product of houses being thrown up. The pipe sounds perfect but the only problem is the external vent is rectangular so i need some type of adapter to do it right. Has anyone any ideas where i can buy the air bricks with adapters i doubt the usual DIY places would stock them, would biulders providers stock them or would i be looking to order online, id definitely need 6.

I wouldn't bother with an adapter, i would just use the pipe and seal it in place.

If you can get a slight angle downwards (to the outside) on the pipe so if any rain gets in, it will run back out.

Many local hardware stores will sell 4inch-110mm sewer pipe by the foot, i know mine does, €1.5/foot. Save you buying a length of the stuff, although in a builder providers a length is only a little over €10.

For sealing the pipe in place you could use a small amount of expanding foam injected from the inside, but not too much that it will come out through the exterior vent. If the opening in the outer wall is very big I would just use some sand/cement and sit the pipe into that.

I've done this a few times and it works out very neat, as you can also get baffles that will pushing inside the 4inch pipe to reduce airflow if required.

Right2Write

Jesus, hard to believe that simple stupid short cuts were taken like this. Minimal effort required to install a bit of ducting when laying blocks. If they were taking these short cuts, I'd be wondering about the standard of insulation and how many wall ties they put in etc.

cletus

I had a similar issue, vent from the external wall was never brought through to the internal wall. Luckily I have a timber frame house, so I was able to cut out the internal section, run 4" wavin into the gap and seal each end.

My external vent was rectangular too, didnt bother with an adaptor

sgarvan

Cover the external vent with a sheet of newspaper. Put the pipe up against it and spray away. The newspaper will stop the foam going out the external vent. When complete you can put your hand in the pipe and tear the paper away