Weep Vents

K

KOS

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Can anyone tell me what the purpose of weep vents are in a house and what do they look like?
Are they essential for ventilation and air flow in a house and if they are not there is it a problem?
 
Weep holes, in my experience, are simply open vertical joints in brickwork below the damp-proof-course. They are there to drain any moisture out of a cavity wall in order to avoid any moisture getting above the dpc and thus becoming rising damp. I don't think I have seen any for 40 years or more.
 
Well there are in all our neighbours houses and we have a few (very few) in ours and we all have timber frame houses. What are they for in these houses and has anyone come across them in timber frame construction. I would have thought that they are useless if plastered over and this seems to be the case in our house. Is there a way to install them if they have been ommitteed from the house or are we stuck with the situation?
Any advice appreciated.
 
Hi Kos.....the purpose of weep vents are too allow any moisture to drain from the cavity between the timber frame and the outer leaf (i.e. the brick or block outter leaf). It is hard to believe it but a huge amount of moisture can penetrate the outer leaf of a building. This has been proven by tests carried out by the British Board of Agrement.

Therefore weepholes are a nessecity for sure and if these are all blocked there may be the possibility of moisture buiding up in the cavity...but this would have the be extremely bad as when the moisture builds up in the cavity it would leak out the nearest weephole...and usually there are a required amout per meter of wall lenght according to building regs...

I live in a timber frame house and I, along with all the other houses in the estate have them.
 
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