Help!.. hole through concrete floor..

[337]

Hi,

Hope this isn't considered a newbie question.

I have just removed laminate flooring from my lounge, ready for carpet to be laid later this week, but found an unexpected hole through the concrete floor.

It's about 5" square, wood lined and drops about a foot to a gulley, which seems to line up with the only air vent on the front wall of our house.

Any ideas why it's there?

And can I block it up, or does it need to have a grate or something over the top?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[JohnD]

is there a fireplace in the room? Gas or coal? How near is this hatch to the fire?

 

[337]

The centre of the fireplace is about 5 feet along and a foot back from the hole. We have a woodburner in there, which was here when we moved in, not sure what was there before.

House was built 1984 if they helps any.

 

[JohnD]

then I reckon it will be an airvent, intended to bring fresh air direct to the fireplace without causing draughts in the room due to sucking in cold air. An open fire takes a vast amount of hot air up the chimney, and this usually makes the room very draughty, with cold air being pulled in to replace it due to the suction (the alternative is to have a smoky room).

The vent ought to have a brass grill over it, and preferably a method to close it when the fire is not in use.

You see these vents by fireplaces in large, expensive "stately homes" quite often.

If you now have an iron stove and keep its door shut, it will not suck so much air so the problem will not be so bad.

If you had these vents in all the rooms, then I would be thinking of warm-air heating

 

[337]

The stove sits on a solid slate hearth now, so there's nowhere now for the air to go through to the fireplace. Do you think the vent on the outside wall, only about a foot from the hole was a later addition?

I'm really hoping for a nod to cover the hole, as the previous occupants had covered it with the laminate and any grate is going to look a little odd in the carpet, although it could be obscured by furniture.

 

[JohnD]

I can't thgink what else it could be.

You could try peering down it with a torch and mirror, or dangle your camera/webcam down there. Or get someone to shout down it and see if the noise comes out through an airbrick.

Last time one of these cropped up, the householder made a wooden cover for it which should be OK.

Is there any apparent air movement?

 

[337]

Very cobwebby!
I can clearly hear the missus talking through the grill outside.

Thanks for all your help, i'll knock up a wooden cover for it, get the carpet down and forget all about it.

Thanks again John

 

[BigRobCanUFixIt]

Very cobwebby!
I can clearly hear the missus talking through the grill outside.

Thanks for all your help, i'll knock up a wooden cover for it, get the carpet down and forget all about it.

Thanks again John

For the hole or the misses hehe