New build houses and air vents

Lumen

murphthesmurf wrote: »

Any recommendations?

Put a vent in the room the fire is in. I'm slightly shocked that you don't have one already.

Or better still convert open fire to stove with external air supply.

I moved from a house with open fire to one with stoves; they're just as cosy and you don't need a fireguard.

1874

Lumen wrote: »

Put a vent in the room the fire is in. I'm slightly shocked that you don't have one already.

Or better still convert open fire to stove with external air supply.

I moved from a house with open fire to one with stoves; they're just as cosy and you don't need a fireguard.

He said he is renting,

Lumen

1874 wrote: »

He said he is renting,

Ok. Well in that case it may be that the landlord is legally required to install a vent.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/repairs_maintenance_and_minimum_physical_standards.html

"The landlord must ensure that electricity or gas supplies are safe and in good repair, and that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting."

prosaic

We're in a new build house over a year now.
Heat Recovery Ventilation system piped to every room. If it's one of these the OP has, the fan power can be adjusted to level that is enough to remove humidty. When we moved in, the settings were wrong and the system was permanently on boost (high fan power) due to having humdity sensor setting way too low.
Someone in one of the other houses said the builders forgot to plug in the power to the unit so they had no ventilation for a few weeks and it was mouldy inside.
With a gas stove, you also need a passive vent (plain old kind) in the kitchen area. Dumb regulation imposed by RGI. There is a carbon monoxide sensor in the kitchen and plenty of ventilation so the passive vent is a terrible idea.

1874

Lumen wrote: »

Ok. Well in that case it may be that the landlord is legally required to install a vent.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/repairs_maintenance_and_minimum_physical_standards.html

"The landlord must ensure that electricity or gas supplies are safe and in good repair, and that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting."

ok, I meant it wouldnt be advisable for him to start that work himself

Goldengirl

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Goldengirl

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Graces7

Askthe EA wrote: »

Thats why I asked about air to water system. There shouldnt be vents in modern houses (or so I thought).

WHen I asked the council once if the house I was renting would qualify for RAS they said no as it had no air vents. Had to have them n every room. Health and safety...

This place has a vent in each room and like the OP i found the one above my bed like being outside in a wind. So I have covered it with plastic well taped down.
I get the concern re the need for ventilation and about the fear of carbon monoxide poisoning but the bedroom door is always open and there is a carbon monoxide alarm in the kitchen where the gas cooker and solid fuel stove are.

SwimFin

ABS Ventilation 6'' (ø150mm) Round Adjustable Air Vent

Whilst not a black hole vent this replacement vent has considerably reduced 'draughts'

Alkers

Goldengirl wrote:

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These vents are designed to work with a central extract system which sucks air out of bathrooms and kitchens, drawing air in through the vents in bedrooms and living rooms, which open more if the humidity in the room increases. You're also supposed to ensure there is 15-25mm (iirc) of a gap under internal doors to ensure adequate ventilation through the house. I don't they will work as intended without the extract fans.

Lumen

Graces7 wrote: »

WHen I asked the council once if the house I was renting would qualify for RAS they said no as it had no air vents. Had to have them n every room. Health and safety...

This place has a vent in each room and like the OP i found the one above my bed like being outside in a wind. So I have covered it with plastic well taped down.
I get the concern re the need for ventilation and about the fear of carbon monoxide poisoning but the bedroom door is always open and there is a carbon monoxide alarm in the kitchen where the gas cooker and solid fuel stove are.

Maybe you should read the thread you're posting in.

listermint

Goldengirl wrote: »

This is a great thread, thank you to all and op.

After reading ,am thinking of getting those Aeroco vents or the single heat recovery vents in to all the bedrooms.

At the moment we have ordinary plastic grill type ones with a slideover close cover and more often than not close them because of draughts and gales blowing in . Of course as a result have been having issues with mould and condensation around the windows which are old doubleglazed pvc. We hope to change these for better quality windows when we can. Insulation is pretty good and we will be getting more put in the attic.

My question is, would these vents then be the first thing we should try?

Let me guess you have those ****e flat rectangular slide vents ?

They are rubbish I see current builders on brand new homes and insulation installers putting them in. They are crap they allow draughts in all over the place and are noisy.

Replace them with 110mm round vent covers much cleaner and more control . Make sure your vents have piping to the outside

Graces7

Lumen wrote: »

Maybe you should read the thread you're posting in.

There is nothing I can do about the structures here as I am renting so all I can do is ensure both safety and comfort which I am doing admirably.

Marcusm

Goldengirl wrote: »

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It's not the age or physical properties of the window which is causing the mold, it's the lack of ventilation! There's little point in having the vents if you block them up. There might be a draught but there certainly won't be a gale. A hermetically sealed room or house is an unhealthy one.

Lumen

Graces7 wrote: »

There is nothing I can do about the structures here as I am renting so all I can do is ensure both safety and comfort which I am doing admirably.

You could make a baffle out of a couple of pieces of card and insert it into the vent.

That way you'd still have healthy airflow but no draughts, and you wouldn't need to keep doors open at night.

mloc123

Marcusm wrote: »

It's not the age or physical properties of the window which is causing the mold, it's the lack of ventilation! There's little point in having the vents if you block them up. There might be a draught but there certainly won't be a gale. A hermetically sealed room or house is an unhealthy one.

Not strictly true... Old style aluminium windows are prone to it. In our old house we had some of them along with PVC. Same ventilation in all rooms but the aluminium window frames would need regular cleaning over winter as they conduct heat unlike PVC or wood.

Marcusm

mloc123 wrote: »

Not strictly true... Old style aluminium windows are prone to it. In our old house we had some of them along with PVC. Same ventilation in all rooms but the aluminium window frames would need regular cleaning over winter as they conduct heat unlike PVC or wood.

But these ones are pvc and thus the physical properties are not causing the mold build up!

Goldengirl

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Goldengirl

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runawaybishop

Goldengirl wrote: »

Thanks Simona1986. Hoped that these single ones suggested by Loyatemu , could be a viable alternative to a central hrv unit, if a
little expensive. Don't know how much it costs to retrofit a central system in upstairs bedrooms?

A lot cheaper upstairs with attic access as you can easily run ducts. Irish companies can be expensive. Sourcing the unit from the UK and getting is installed in my experience is about a 3rd the cost of getting an Irish supplier to install and commission.

I think I spent 2.5k fitting a full system to my 2 storey new build, but I installed it myself with help from a friend in the trade.

Irish_rat

I think my problem is being close to the motorway, should I just replace the one in my room with a noise cancelling one?

Also mine is A2 rated so all these timber frame houses have vents

mloc123

Marcusm wrote: »

But these ones are pvc and thus the physical properties are not causing the mold build up!

Missed the PVC part... Had just read "old double glazed"

Toastytoes

Irish_rat wrote: »

Also mine is A2 rated so all these timber frame houses have vents

We have an A3 timeframed new build and it has a mechanical ventilation system and none of those old style vents thankfully. Anywhere we’ve ever rented that had them vents were a nightmare, draughty and the vents rattling on the walls with a gale blowing through them.

Alkers

Goldengirl wrote:

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It does seem that they can offer hrv on a per room basis. Price isn't thst OTT in comparison but you will need to run power to the vent also

SwimFin

An investigation of draught reduction measures and their impact on building air quality

beauf

Good link thanks