Re-installing air brick

[jsmac]

Hello everyone,

In our ongoing attempt to strip back some very bad building decisions that have been made over the years we pulled off several square meters of plasterboard that were on top of a brick wall in the lower ground floor. There was rock wool insulation between between the brick wall and the plasterboard that was quite damp. The wall is now happily drying out but the bricks certainly didn't benefit from being entombed and damp for a number of years.

To our surprise we uncovered a small aperture about 8 x 10 inches. Could this have been where an air brick was? The outside wall has been rendered so the opening has now been hidden.

I presume that if this was indeed an air brick that it was performed an important function and we should look to reinstall it?

As always the thoughts and recommendations from PPUKers would be most welcome.

Best,

Scott

 

[Kearn]

seems unlikely to be a single air brick to me, due to its large size, and portrait orientation, but I could be wrong. Some more info on age of house, location in building, height off the ground etc would help diagnosis...

How old is the wooden frame which lines the cavity? potential previous window? any clues or markings on the wood?

Whether it needs reinstating really depends on what it was there to do originally!

Hope this bumps your post also...

 

[plasticpigeon]

It is hard to see how bashed the bricks are around the opening. As it is a lower ground floor, could it have been a coal chute?

 

[jsmac]

Thank you for your replies.

I should start by correcting the measurements I provided earlier. The main wooden aperture is actually 13 x 16.5 inches on the inside of the frame.

The timbers that are in the inside are supporting a wooden board that is rendered outside. It is just to the left of the stairs that lead to the lower ground. The opening is about 6 feet from the floor and just above ground level outside.

We think that the original part of the house that has the lower ground floor was built in the mid-19th century. The wooden frame appears to be quite old but there are no markings on it. There is a wooden beam that runs above that opening and along the length of that wall. Perhaps Kearn's suggestion that it is an old window is correct.

The coal chute is at the front of the house in the path leading up to the front door. The hole and the original cover is still there, as is the coal storage under the stairs leading up to the front door.

 

[88v8]

A window looks more likely. The frame sits proud as if it were set in a plastered face, the nail marks might be where there was architrave.

Architectural archaeology.

Ivor

 

[jsmac]

Archaeology, indeed.

Very curious. It seems like a strange place to put a window - at ground level at the side of the house - but then there isn't much about this house that we've uncovered that hasn't been at least a little strange.

Now that we've established (as best as we can, anyway) that this was a window then should think about installing an air brick or two in order to increase ventilation to the lower ground floor? There aren't any that we can see and so we're wondering if there would have been any originally?

The ceiling of the lower ground is above the ground level outside and there is one sash window at the front of the house in the lower ground but it has been allowed to deteriorate to such a state that it doesn't open and will need to be rebuilt.

We've cleared out many decades of bits and pieces that were stored down there (some interesting, some not). And now that the coal cellar isn't full of hundreds of tins of old paint, textiles and rotten wood (possibly furniture? It was impossible to tell) it is slowly drying out. Some rain gets through the coal hole so that is another issue that we're looking to deal with.

 

[Kearn]

Very curious. It seems like a strange place to put a window - at ground level at the side of the house - but then there isn't much about this house that we've uncovered that hasn't been at least a little strange.

What's the chance that the external ground level was originally much lower? Even if not then light and ventilation into a partially submerged cellar isn't unlikely.

We have an early Georgian extension (on a slope) with cellar fully underground - but this isn't how it was built and the current theory is that originally the rear and sides were exposed externally and future centuries of 'development have led to the side edges becoming underground as ground levels/extensions have been added... reason I mention this is that we have four openings in the cellar side walls at 'normal' height, now blocked in but originally would've been open window ventilation.

 

[Kearn]

should think about installing an air brick or two in order to increase ventilation to the lower ground floor?

That would only be a very good idea! Also consider that in order for air to flow it's needs to get in and out in different places - if the sash is being rebuilt then adding vents would be a good idea. Keeping the door open or adding vents would also help.

 

[parkview094]

What do your neighbours have there?
The brickwork looks a little battered around the wooden frame, so I question whether this was indeed original or potentially just a later addition anyway? Could we see a view showing more of the surrounding wall?

 

[jsmac]

Thank you everyone for your replies and suggestions.

Parkview - Our house is the only one of it's kind on the street and indeed anywhere locally. In speaking with the man who has been running the local architectural salvage shop for many years we learned that up until relatively recently there were two similar(ish) houses on the street but that they were in such a state of disrepair that they were knocked down in the 1980s to build a new row of houses. I've attached a photo (c.1900) that we found of the street. It's tragic that the houses didn't survive.

Our house is the one at the end of the terrace that you can just about see behind the street lamp. It is rendered like the two houses next to it but we believe ours pre-dates those and that the rear extension of our house was built when the two houses next door were built. The neighbours have a more typical layout where there are stairs from the front of the house that access the lower ground.

I will upload a photo that shows more of the wall when I next get a chance.

It is an interesting thought that perhaps the ground levels outside were originally much lower. We will soon begin digging out the earth that is up against that wall so it will be interesting to see if the exterior render extends much further down.

Adding vents in or around the lower ground window when the sash is rebuilt is a good idea. Thanks, Kearn.

As always thanks to everyone for the wealth of experience available on PPUK.

Scott