radiators under windows and airbricks

[what..the?]

My house has very think walls and is being internally insulated as well to keep the air warm inside, but I notice two things the builders/fitters do which are:

Radiators under windows - I hear this is supposed to circulate the hot air is this true or do we just lose the hot air out the window?

Airbrick's - have been placed in the rooms, they are just large holes at the moment as the walls are made up and mixed rock. But the location of these weren't as expected they are high up the wall say over 6 ft at least, I expected floor/shin height and in one instance it's again near a radiator (below) and assuming hot air rises won't I lose the heat again or will it just circulate and hot air?

Thanks in advance

Thanks for any assistance, I don't want to get nippy.

[boxtops]

I've always understood that rads under windows circulate the hot air - and also warm the cooler air against the glass. I've only ever experienced air bricks at floor level but higher sounds sensible to me, they can be quite drafty!

[The Builder]

Good double glazing plus thermal curtains or blinds help a lot to reduce heat losses, Mrs What.
Another traditional reason is that it frees up the other walls for placing furniture against.

These air vents.............. has anyone told you why they're there? For your woodburner? Or maybe you don't have enough opening windows to meet Building Regulations rules for ventilation?

[bookbinder]

Regarding the air bricks high up on a wall: I have seen these in a bungalow (in the UK) that was built in approx. the 1970's, so your builders aren't doing anything naughty. The bungalow in question had one of these in the living room, and one in a bedroom. The occupants covered the one in the living room with a sheet of plastic, because they said that they got a draught from it, but otherwise there didn't seem to be any marked advantage or disadvantage.

[what..the?]

well the house is quite damp and has suffered poor ventilation in the past which is why they are there, plus new drip feeds will be added to existing windows and the internal insulation to stop condensation on the cold damp walls.

So should I be ok opening the window when the heating is on?

[boxtops]

Yes, I do.

[The Builder]

Your drip-feeds will be "trickle vents". Excellent they are too. You may not need to open the window with them fitted.
Even converting damp, old barns, I've never fitted air vents for damp and condensation control. (Except, by law, for open fires, w/burners etc)
Holes in the wall (vents) are just considered unacceptable today. People eventually just get fed up with the draught, and bung them up.
I'm always going on about "Passive Stack Ventilation" which takes stale, condensate-laden air up to the roofspace and away........... through some simple ducting. It doesn't have to be that complicated. Just something along those lines. Common sense really.
If your house has trickle vents and bags of insulation ...... AND, most important of all ........... extraction at all points where vapour is likely (kitchen, bath, utility room etc) then there should be no future problems. It all rather depends on how they've gone about insulating and damp-controlling the building. I have to say, in my experience, if they have to consider leaving holes in the walls, then perhaps they're not quite so confident in their system.

[what..the?]

I think it was from talking the project manager in the early days about the damp and condensation before we were going to put the insulation in I knew I already had a wall condensation - turning the mould issue and with my mold allergy I couldn't afford that so I asked for solutions and this is what was suggested it was later considered to get rid of them but then I saw the builders had put them in. If the house is old and mouldy is this not the best option in case the damp proofing and mould restraints don't work as well as I would have hoped, or should I ask them to block them up now? I will have drip feeds but I don't always actually open all the windows all the time but I'm getting better at it these days.

[what..the?]

thanks boxtops :)

[The Builder]

Fair enough Mrs Watt. If you'd rather keep the airbricks for now, you could have them covered on the inside with sliding "hit & miss" vents (maybe satin chrome or stainless steel rather than white plastic.)
That way, you could open and close them.

[what..the?]

i was hoping for these vents but I understand they wont cut the draft out completely because i still have a hole in the wall. Do people have metal effect vents on a white wall? i will have white walls and white plug/light switches, so maybe it should match, don't know.

Do you think there's a chance things will nest in there, i hope I can remove a vent either end to clean out anything. I once had a bathroom fill with bee's that came in via the extractor vent lol