Upstairs airbrick

In days of yore they believed fresh air was good for you. You often saw this arrangement in bathrooms to get rid of humidity and smells. Even houses of the 1950's had this arrangement sometimes.

Re ventilating cavities. They used to have big air bricks for this in the past. Later it was much reduced. Nowadays the cavities are filled with insulation, sometimes completely,sometimes not. So thinking changed a lot over the years. But read up on vapour barriers.

Still important to ventilate under wooden floors and roof spaces.

Mine has this in a bathroom that was recently converted from a bedroom. I don't think the fact that the boiler's in the bathroom is connected with this, as the boiler is room sealed.

Huh! We've got air vents of about two-brick size in all three bedrooms in a 1970s house - but not the bathroom. Absolutely no need for them - witnessed by my blocking them up on the inner leaf (in a sort-of temporary fashion using some foam around a lump of Celotex) without any apparent change except reduced drafts and heat loss.

Wot? No Gaffer tape?

That's what's blocking the current arctic draughts through the one in my living room.

Crude gas water heaters used to be in bathrooms so you needed an airbrick. Can't remember the name of them, horrible things.

Often called Ascots. Because that company made them.

Or geysers. Because that's how they behaved sometimes.

Nick

Ah yes. Thanks :)

(And alive and well in many places it seems.)