Well all, hoping you can help.

The air vent in my renal is just a massive hole, I don’t want to freeze my balls off this Christmas, or worse, have what heat I’m sticking into the house escaping.

I’m sure it shouldn’t be just a big hole, anyone one have any ideas what to do?

Thanks

25 comments

  1. That’s all they ever are.

    You can buy vent covers that open and close, but I’d talk to your l.l. before putting one on.

  2. >I’m sure it shouldn’t be just a big hole

    Nope.
    That’s what all vents are. A hole from inside to outside.

    Generally the grate on the inside should have a slidey thing to close it off or allow airflow.

    But other than that? That’s pretty normal.

    You can stuff the hole if you really want.

  3. > I’m sure it shouldn’t be just a big hole, anyone one have any ideas what to do?

    One mans rent is another mans hole, slap it up on daft

  4. The vent in my house says “Do not cover”
    Is it a big deal if I do cover the vent though? What’s the issue? I do not have a fireplace in the room.

  5. I can feel the draft from here, I’ve ones on my windows that I open at night and close during the day, well mainly just my bedroom because it’s the only room with mould issues that I have to watch out for. But having something open all the time like that just turns the house into an icebox, I’d definitely be getting onto the landlord.

  6. A lot of people in this thread should know that blocking vents encourages damp, and increases the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

  7. You can get a vent cover with a slider that allows you to open and close those things. Older Irish construction was ridiculous though. They just whacked in a big hole as ventilation like that.

    You can also get a heat recovery vent that can be installed into those ducts. It will allow the air to change while recovering most of the heat and also controls the flow better.

    Ideally, something like that should be fitted as you do need the ventilation just not as crudely as that.

  9. All the ones in my house have a little sliding vent so I can actually “close” them somewhat.

    There must be some brutal cold coming off that as it’s literally an open hole in the wall.

  10. What else did you want it to be? That’s a vent hole…. The difference is this time you can see it….asthetic solution: unscrew the panel and turn it upside down so the vent slats point upwards.

  12. That how most of the builders in this country install them. Consider yourself lucky if they deigned to stick a plastic pipe in it – which they are supposed to. You can get baffles to replace the straight pipe and you can get a downward facing vent on the outside to prevent gales blowing in them – both of these reduce noise while allowing airflow. Don’t on any account block them – exception being in a gale if it’s coming in through it I guess!

  13. Yes.

    Insulation is important – triple glazed windows, a-rated wall insulation, insulated attic, super expensive door.

    Ventilation is also important – big ass hole in the a-rated wall.

  14. I once had an apartment that just had little slats as the cover, meaning cold air would always flow in. When it was windy, it would mean the room and entire flat would become freezing. Made no sense

  15. I’ve seen worse, just a rough hole as if a cannonball went through it, absolutely baffling. We stuffed newspaper into it and taped it up because we didn’t live there long but you could get proper insulation materials and then of course open the windows twice a day for a minute for actual ventilation

  16. Yep, nothing special. Those fancy plastic yokes just mask what is a hole in your house. Brilliant for when the weather gets unbearably cold! Heat escapes out that like a mofo! Seal it up my friend!

  17. Stick in some bits of card that half cover the pipe inside but staggered up and down. That way you wont get drafts through the vent as you’ll disturb the flow but air can still passively move through. Blocking it would be an awful idea you’ll go to sleep one day and not wake up because the boiler decided it wants to kill you with carbon monoxide.

  22. Spray foam

    You can mechanical ones that open when the humidity is too high but they are not standard

    You should also have a carbon monoxide alarms

  24. I find it hilarious when I see people spending thousands of euro on insulation then proceed to turn the house into Swiss cheese with these vents all over the place. I don’t care what the “experts” say I’m not having it..

  25. I don’t understand why the houses in this country are so freaking poorly constructed. It’s a mild climate, so if the houses were actually built well, then you’d actually need very little heating to keep them comfortable.

    It’s one of the very few things I find challenging about living here, especially when the rents are so insane. The standard of comfort seems very low compared to most developed nations. People think having mold in their home is normal.

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