Air brick in "built-in" cupboard?

[mark482]

Not sure if this is the right forum, sorry if not...

I have removed a "built-in" cupboard put in by the previous owner. It's a 1930's house with brick cavity walls. The cupboard had been built with plasterboard screwed/nailed/glued/anything he could think of onto batons, and a false ceiling of tongue-and-groove put in on batons (the owner seems to have gone wild with tongue-and-groove false ceilings, it's *everywhere* ). Anyway, apart from fun things like bare wires from the light fitting in the original ceiling, pull-cord light switch with no cover only accessible by ripping out the false ceiling etc. etc. the false ceiling had been ventilated by an air brick in the outside wall, two bricks taken out of the inside wall and a "sliding on/off" (don't know the proper name) vent on the plasterboard.

The question is - do I need this ventilation for a cupboard (I have taken out the false ceiling), or should the interior wall be bricked back up? Also, I was thinking about getting the cavity walls insulated - how do air bricks/internal vents affect this?

 

[JohnD]

was it a pantry/food store?

There used to be a regulation requiring them to be ventilated (in the days when people used such things and didn't have fridges and freezers)

 

[mark482]

It's in the bedroom - an alcove in the corner of the room.

 

[Nige F]

It`s a vent because the room don`t have a fireplace ..............seriously.......back then fresh air was in vogue, not like now with airtight houses sealed and puffs of vapour dispensed to mask the ransidity FFS I was @ a M8`s flat @ weekend it was 16degrees outside and nice breeze........inside it was 20degrees and a fan switched on ...shut up as tight as a drum Anyways our old cauncil hause had fireplaces in dahnstairs and 1 of the 3 beds upstairs..the other 2 had those air bricks @ high level...instead of a fireplace.....and you got given a house on one condition ...........you paid the rent cash each tuesday Bit different now, eh Guys...Block it up and get the smell dispensers out

 

[mark482]

Thanks for the advice and history lession