DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I have had all the house scimed (plastered) and i had the chimney blocked in the front room,although there has been no problems (4 weeks after blocking it up) i was told i could see damp patches 6/12 months on.

Do i need an airbrick fitted to the chimney breast or as someone else advised .....take a brick out, out of the chimney in the loft area.

Which is the best option,brick out of chimney breast, or out of the chimney breast in the loft are?

You seem to have been given some sketchy information.

Basicly a chimney should NEVER be blocked off without the flue being ventilated as condensation can occur in the flue which will wet the masonry and sometimes cause salt stains to occur on the plaster.

taking a brick out in the loft will do nothing if the ground floor fire place has been blocked off.

You need to ventilate each unused blocked off fireplace opening with at least 1, 150x225mm plaster vent and either have a pot with a cowl for each flue on the stack or if capped, airbricks in the stack again for each redundant flue.

So thats a vent point at the bottom (each blocked off fireplce) and a vent at the top (to each redundant flue in the stack). Doing this provides a through flow of air.