Vent covers in block/brick house

[drelly]

I live in a 2-storey 1960's brick house with a block base. There are a series of vents with a concrete grill all around the base of the top floor. Mostly it's ok but on the easterly side, the wind can blow rain inside which seeps down into the block work and eventually comes out wrecking the paint work and producing little "fuzzy" white "growths". The previous owners tried to remedy it by covering the vents with tin but that doesn't really solve the problem. In fact, any moisture that does get in is now less likely to evaporate out. What I really need is a vent cover like a mini awning that comes down low enough so those horizontal easterly storms can't blow rain in but doesn't seal the hole and lets the house breathe. Does anyone know if there's a commercially available product that could help with this?

[artemis]

The fuzzy white stuff is efflorescence. You can get special sealants which help. Check that the water is not being drawn up from below as well as through the vents, or you may find you are solving the wrong problem.

[drelly]

Pretty sure it's the vents as it's quite high up the wall. I managed to find a good NZ guide to efflorescence here in case anyone else is interested. There must be some sort of commercially available vent cover???

[MarkS]

Hi drelly

You could try a sheet metal workshop and give them the vent dimensions to make galvanised steel or aluminium vent covers which could be fixed with concrete fasteners. I wouldn't think these would be too expensive. There are several different sized vents depending upon the house age, etc so finding a commercial cover could be difficult. I have never seen any. Good luck with it.

[drelly]

Hi Mark,

Thanks, I've been advised to do the same by an aluminum joiner I know. Will look into it and report back in case anyone else is interested.

[revdev]

Hi Mark,

Thanks, I've been advised to do the same by an aluminum joiner I know. Will look into it and report back in case anyone else is interested.

That would be great Dave if you could.

I have a block of flats that have a few broken ventilation bricks and have been wondering about the best way to fix these. The metal vent covers sound ideal.

Cheers
G

[MarkS]

No worries.
If, at some later stage, this house was to become a rental I'd go with galv steel because it's harder to damage.
Cheers
Mark