Air Brick Issue in new build

[Diche]

Hi all, I'm looking for some help in regards to an issue I'm having with my house builder. I went for a site walk recently and saw this unsightly ditch at the front of the house. The reason its there is because the air brick is so low (you can just see it under the cabling). Now I know from looking on the NHBC site that if an air brick is placed like that then it does in fact need a ditch that deep and wide, however the drop is hazardous and its like walking a gauntlet getting into the house. First off any thoughts on what if anything the builder will say (as I have challenged the setup of it)? and are you aware of any solutions which are within code? I had a though of attaching a snorkel vent to the airbricks, raising the height of where the air would go, like an external version of the internal telescope vents they use with airbricks. The idea being I could then lift the area around it with soil or gravel. But I dont know if this would be an issue?

 

Any ideas or solutions (such as a grating over the ditch) would be much appreciated. 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

It's not that the airbrick is too low, it looks as if it's in exactly the right place to me.  The reason for the apparent ditch to the side of the entrance is that the entrance has been designed to comply with Part M of the building regs, which mandates that there must be wheelchair access.  This means that there needs to be a ramp up to the door, whereas before there may have been a front door step there.  The path is therefore higher, relative to the ground level, to allow the mandatory wheelchair access.

 

There also needs to be at least 150mm from the DPC level to the ground level outside, and if the door threshold is close to the finished floor level inside, then it would be normal for there to be a drop of around 150mm from the entrance path right outside down to ground level.

[Temp]

+1

 

Howmany air bricks are there? If you have several along that side of the house I doubt it would cause any problems if that one was blocked, perhaps by filling the "trench" with large decorative stones or a planter box.

[Diche]

Thanks both for your responses.

 

Are there any solutions out there to raise the level of the ditch? as mentioned in my post above, by attaching a snorkel vent to the airbricks to raise the point the air comes in, then fill in the ditch? its a deep ditch and not the most safe thing either if youre struggling with shopping or moving something big into the house

[Thedreamer]

Could clear some of that material out and then put in some chips ?

 

Is the house finish yet, would be surprised if they left the outside like that?

[Jeremy Harris]

9 hours ago, Diche said:

Thanks both for your responses.

 

Are there any solutions out there to raise the level of the ditch? as mentioned in my post above, by attaching a snorkel vent to the airbricks to raise the point the air comes in, then fill in the ditch? its a deep ditch and not the most safe thing either if youre struggling with shopping or moving something big into the house

 

 

You have to make sure that the ground level around the house remains 150mm below the DPC.  You can probably see the DPC as a line in the brickwork, at around or just below the finished floor level of the house.  The reason for this is to ensure that damp cannot penetrate in above the DPC - it's there as its name implies, to keep damp out.

[Gallow10]

Diche, what was the outcome to this? I ask as I have the same issue with my TW build.

 

Thanks