Air Vents

F

ftb2

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I have moved into a new apartment and the bedrooms front onto a busy road. The problem with the noise levels is that they are made all the more worse by the air vent in the room, which I know is a standard building requirement and I am aware of the scare stories regarding carbon monoxide etc.
Does anyone know of a safe way to either block the vent or leave vent partially open. the windows are double glazed so the vent seems to be the only plausible way of cutting down on the noise from the road. Any ideas???
 
There's been plenty of threads relating to this problem - seach back and have a look at what was dicussed.

'Ventaxia' are a well known supplier concerning ventilation, they have a product here that should so the trick. It also has the advantage in that it is a passive, thermally activated unit, it seals iteself in cold weather.

[broken link removed]

To be honest I'd day it's a pretty pricey item, other than that you don't have many choices if you want to maintain ventilation. Blocking a vent in a bedroom is not the end of the world, provided there's not heat producing appliances in there (gas boiler, which there more than likely won't be). It will increase the likelihood of condensation / mustiness.
 
Thanks Quinno. I had a look at that site and while the products appear to be just what I am looking for, unfortunately Ireland seems to be one of the few countries that distribute them and I wouldn't be confident about importing one and finding someone familiar with fitting them in this case.
 
The ventaxia website isn't up to date - if you ring them up they'll more than likely supply you with what you're looking for - they were pretty helpful when I rang their Dublin office.
 
Unless you have an open combustion in the room you absolutely need no holes in the wall. Vents are not required by the building regulations if there are means of adequate ventilation.For example windows of the right dimension that can be opened. 0.1 air exchanges per hour is adequate , even in Ireland.We breath the same air and have to adhere to the same physical laws allover the world.Go to http://www.heizungsbetrieb.de/ , these are the cracks to ask.Click the "english" window and go to "ventilation". Ireland is about the last European country where people are made to believe that holes in the wall are an adequate form of ventilation. Because it's the cheapest for the builder to build a house. Instead of installing a proper heating system and windows in the right size that can be opened.
 
I have the same problem in my apartment. Its really cold cos the wind just comes straight in through the vents. I changed them to be the ones that you can shut but it doesnt seem to be making any difference. Ill be opening them tonight and shoving a towel in! my hands are like ice blocks and i am sure my next heating bill will be huge!
 

had the same problem in my living room with easterly winds howling through the vent! Tried the cheaper option, rather by changing the vent covers I scrunched up some newspaper and stuffed them in - it still lets in a light draught but the room is nothing as cold as it was and I don't have to sit there in my scarf and gloves
 
I though that the main reason for air-vents was to release radon gas which is naturally occuring and not necessarily for boilers as they are only in 1 room (usually) in a house.

Christy
 
Our house has a flueless gas fire which requires two vents of a certain minimum size, one high and one low, so that convection removes the CO fumes. And that's straight from the manual for the fire rather than Irish builders.

I'm going to look at replacing the covers so that they can be opened and closed as necessary, as the draught that comes in through them can be dreadful at times.
 
The wall vents ARE absolutly (!!!) necessary if there is an open combustion in the room.Read my previous post again.
Radon gas should be tackled at source, similar to a ship's hull that is leaking the leak must be closed and not the efficiency of the baling pumps increased.
 

Good idea, did that last night. Feeling warmer today!

We have our gas boiler outside so i dont know why we needed a vent in every room...

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
I was talking to my brother yesterday about this who is an engineer and he said that vents in rooms are for the release of radon gas. You can put down some sheeting (during construction) that will reduce radon but will not eliminate it. If you happen to be in a high radon area and your vents are blocked it can be very serious. You can get your radon levels checked which might be worth it.

Christy
 
Hey Christy

Good to know. I might try and get my hands on a radon tester. I read up a bit about blocking them on the net last night and i kinda got the impression that if you absolutely had to block them it is ok but you need to make sure some air is getting in to the room, so open a window for an hour in the evening time, that kinda thing.

Cheers
 

Just to confirm that I said that vents are not NECESSARILY for boliers & not that they are not necessary for boilers, of course they are necessary for boilers.
 
I got your point Christy (smiley)!
But letting enough radon into the building to become dangerous is stupid enough. Having holes in the walls to dilute the radon is like these "light" filter cigarettes that have holes in the filters to dilute the nicotine and tar content in the smoke. Give it up is my advice, tackle the problem at source and - if in doubt- meassure the radon.
 
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