Vent in Utility Room- Do I need To Keep It?

[scottie]

Well we have this rather large vent built into the exterior wall of our utility room. This is in the lower level of a split-level house and the utility room is finished. Is this something we actually need to have in the wall? Can I cap it off and or remove it and patch the hole? It is allowing an amazing amount of COLD air into the lower level this winter, which is where my DDs bedroom is. I also just dont like looking at the darn thing
The room does have a door on it, but we prefer to leave that open almost all the time to hear the washer/dryer, allow air to circulate etc.
My assumption is the builder put it in as a saftey feature, thinking the door may be closed all the time and there is a gas furnace and water heater in there? But I just dont recall seeing something like this in other split-level homes I have been in (not that I have been in a lot).
Here is a picture of it and the link in case the picture doesnt work

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/showphoto.php/photo/37286/sort/3/cat/500/page/1

 

[Dokietoes]

If there is a gas water heater and furnace/boiler in there then the vent is there to provide combustion air.

 

[luvmy3]

We have a vent in our utility room also. It is downstairs in our home too. You cannot cover it if your furnace and hot water tank are in there.

 

[scottie]

If there is a gas water heater and furnace/boiler in there then the vent is there to provide combustion air.

We have a furnace and hot water heater in there, both powered by Natural Gas.

If the door to the room stays open to the rest of the home allowing air to circulate into it, would it be ok to cover the vent for just the winter?

 

[luvmy3]

We have a furnace and hot water heater in there, both powered by Natural Gas.

If the door to the room stays open to the rest of the home allowing air to circulate into it, would it be ok to cover the vent for just the winter?

I don't think so. Call the gas company but my guess is its against code to cover it, even if its temporary. I think that the vent is there to also account for any carbon monoxide and vents it to the outside rather than into the house.

 

[golfgal]

The furnace and hot water heater should have their own vents to the outside. If a builder put that in to provide ventilation I seriously doubt that meets code anywhere.

It looks like a dryer vent. Is it possible that the previous owners had 2 dryers? I would get an HVAC person out to do a check of your systems to make sure everything is vented properly and if so it should be ok to cover that.

 

[luvmy3]

The furnace and hot water heater should have their own vents to the outside. If a builder put that in to provide ventilation I seriously doubt that meets code anywhere.

It looks like a dryer vent. Is it possible that the previous owners had 2 dryers? I would get an HVAC person out to do a check of your systems to make sure everything is vented properly and if so it should be ok to cover that.

It depends on how old the house is. Now I believe you need to have seperate vents when you build, but when my house was built it was not against code to have a room vent to the outside.

ETA I forgot to add that the furnace does have a vent that goes up through the chimney too.

 

[DVCKennyD]

Chances are, the vent can be removed without creating any problems for the furnace and water heater. It is definitely there to provide fresh air for proper combustion, but if it is removed, the equipment will obtain it's air from another source.

More info. is needed to give you a definitive answer... Does the house have a vented crawlspace? How airtight is the rest of the house... Typical "older" style windows and doors provide plenty of leakage and will only get "draftier" when the equipment runs if the vent is removed.

My advice would be to try it first... Cover up the vent temporarily and see what happens.

KennyD

 

[luvmy3]

OP If you try it please post back. We also have a draft down in the family room where our utility room is off of. If it turns out its safe and okay to cover, I will have dh do ours.

I just assumed if we covered it we'd run the risk of CO or gas fumes venting into the house if anything ever happened to the furnace.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I would get someone out there to tell you for sure. I totally wouldn't experiment on your own.

If you DO experiment on your own, PLEASE get a CO detector!

 

[golfgal]

It depends on how old the house is. Now I believe you need to have seperate vents when you build, but when my house was built it was not against code to have a room vent to the outside.

ETA I forgot to add that the furnace does have a vent that goes up through the chimney too.

No, it isn't against code to have a room vent but the furnace and water heater have to have their OWN vent outside. It has always been that way and in older homes the vent was a chimney stack.

 

[luvmy3]

No, it isn't against code to have a room vent but the furnace and water heater have to have their OWN vent outside. It has always been that way and in older homes the vent was a chimney stack.

Yes, I assume that the OP does have the seperate vent and the room vent like I do.
I just read recently, although I forget where, is that you can no longer vent the furnace through an existing chimney there needs to be a seperate "chimney" for it. We have one chimney for our fireplace and within it is the vent for the furnace, I don't think houses can be built like that anymore, at least around here.

 

[golfgal]

Yes, I assume that the OP does have the seperate vent and the room vent like I do.
I just read recently, although I forget where, is that you can no longer vent the furnace through an existing chimney there needs to be a seperate "chimney" for it. We have one chimney for our fireplace and within it is the vent for the furnace, I don't think houses can be built like that anymore, at least around here.

They probably could be built like that but why spend the extra money on the bricks for the venting when you can do that with something less expensive, which is why they aren't done that way any longer. With the PVC or whatever piping that is available now, you don't need a brick chimney to vent any longer.

 

[DVCKennyD]

As somebody who is in the HVACR field and does this type of work for a living, I am going to go out on a limb and say that each device(furnace,water heater, etc...) has it's own flue and that the vent in question is in no way related to removing the by-products of combustion, more commonly referred to as CO or Carbon Monoxide.

OP, how handy are you?? You can easily tell if covering this vent will cause you any problems, and you can do so safely. If you are not comfortable with this, by all means call out somebody... However if you feel you are capable, just shove a damn towel up that sheet metal elbow from the vent to temporarily plug the hole. Then observe...

Close the utility room door( not fully latched) and turn on the furnace blower first. Does the door pull closed when the blower starts? If so, the unit is starved for return air from the house or has a really dirty filter. This would be a function of poorly designed ductwork. Really nothing you can do except add ductwork on the return side. If the door does not close, great.

Next, shut off the blower at the stat( fan on/off switch) and do the same thing again. Close door almost latched and observe what happens when the burner fires... If door closes fully, then the house is pretty tight and I would probably just leave the vent as is. However, if it does not close, then you just answered your question.

Having a CO detector in the house is a no brainer anymore and there really is no excuse for not having one.

KennyD

 

[DVCKennyD]

Yes, I assume that the OP does have the seperate vent and the room vent like I do.
I just read recently, although I forget where, is that you can no longer vent the furnace through an existing chimney there needs to be a seperate "chimney" for it. We have one chimney for our fireplace and within it is the vent for the furnace, I don't think houses can be built like that anymore, at least around here.

It is common to install a chimney liner(metal duct insert) in an existing masonry chimney when replacing a furnace. New construction usually utilizes a metal type vent called a "B- vent" which is a double walled flue pipe. If the equipment is 90% AFUE then it will utilize a PVC plastic pipe for it's vent as the flue temps are much lower.

KennyD

 

[GeorgeG]

Depending on local codes, the furnace and water heater must be vented. Many codes allow for the door to the utility room to act as a vent by being slatted. A vent to the outside would be necessary if the door to the room was solid. Carbon monoxide will vent up the chimney. If it backing up, the chimney should be checked.

There will usually be at least some carbon monoxide in a utility room, kitchen, or even around a fireplace. Detectors should not be placed in close proximity to those areas. The gas department in the utility I worked for responds to carbon monoxide calls all the time. One time they responded to a house that had a CO detector going off. The house was closed up tight because it was cold outside. All the appliances checked out okay, but the two or three residents were very heavy smokers. Eventually, there was enough build-up of CO from the smoking that the detector went off. When all of us breath, we exhale small amounts of CO. Usually, the normal traffic in and out of a house will provide enough fresh air for a house with good appliances and normal activity. Any large appliances that emit CO should be vented to the outside or via a regularly refreshed indoor source of fresh air.

 

[luvmy3]

It is common to install a chimney liner(metal duct insert) in an existing masonry chimney when replacing a furnace. New construction usually utilizes a metal type vent called a "B- vent" which is a double walled flue pipe. If the equipment is 90% AFUE then it will utilize a PVC plastic pipe for it's vent as the flue temps are much lower.

KennyD

Thanks for that info. We are planning on replacing our furnace and I was reading about it which is how I came across the info on the code for venting. I wasn't sure how that would effect replacing a furnace in an existing home as opposed to building new.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Chances are, the vent can be removed without creating any problems for the furnace and water heater. It is definitely there to provide fresh air for proper combustion, but if it is removed, the equipment will obtain it's air from another source.

More info. is needed to give you a definitive answer... Does the house have a vented crawlspace? How airtight is the rest of the house... Typical "older" style windows and doors provide plenty of leakage and will only get "draftier" when the equipment runs if the vent is removed.

My advice would be to try it first... Cover up the vent temporarily and see what happens.

KennyD

look on the outside of the house. Does the vent have swinging louvers that close or is it wide open with some sort of screen to keep rodents out?

If it has louvers and they only swing outward when air is forced out from the inside then chances are good that it was for a dryer. If they close restricting most the airflow if the air was to move from the outside to the inside, there is no way it is for fresh air combustion supply. Or that is what it was intended for and was constructed improperly.

Mikeeee

 

[DVCKennyD]

look on the outside of the house. Does the vent have swinging louvers that close or is it wide open with some sort of screen to keep rodents out?

If it has louvers and they only swing outward when air is forced out from the inside then chances are good that it was for a dryer. If they close restricting most the airflow if the air was to move from the outside to the inside, there is no way it is for fresh air combustion supply. Or that is what it was intended for and was constructed improperly.

Mikeeee

Mikeeee,

Good point... I was going to ask the OP if he/she had a picture of how the duct was terminated on the outside.

KennyD

 

[scottie]

I snapped a couple of more pics, two showing the venting from the furnace and water heater and one showing the vent cover on the outside of the house. My goal for now is to be able to leave the vent covered this winter then I dont mind opening back up in the spring if needed. And if I can remove it then all the better. Hopefully these will help some:

Links to Photos:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/showphoto.php/photo/37287/sort/3/cat/500/page/1

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/showphoto.php/photo/37288/sort/3/size/medium/cat/500/page/1

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/showphoto.php/photo/37289/sort/3/size/medium/cat/500/page/1

Photos: