It would seem - why ventilation in the country? There is a lot of fresh air around, just open the windows and breathe! But no. Drafts cannot be avoided, and there is no way to control the air flow. Most of the country houses are preserved for the winter. "Visiting" summer cottages for the New Year holidays, many owners feel the musty atmosphere and heavy air, the smell of mold. This is the result of the lack of air exchange, therefore ventilation in the country house is needed.
In ancient times, when houses were built entirely of logs, no one thought about how to make ventilation in the country. Because "live" wood let in fresh air from the street. It penetrated both the window cracks and the caulked joints between the logs. The unplastered walls maintained optimal humidity and temperature. An important element of the ventilation of the country house was the stove. Exhaust air was drawn through the chimney.
Thus, the construction of a house built according to old models implies natural ventilation.
The toilet in the country house also needs ventilation, especially if the country house is used all year round, and feces accumulate in a cesspool. How can you make effective ventilation in your favorite summer cottage, spending a minimum of money?
Stoves and fireplaces for ventilation of small summer cottages
Modern execution of old building technologies: this is a one-story house made of timber, with a fireplace or stove and always wooden window frames. Such a country house is well ventilated without special investments.
The wall material will not let the summer heat into the rooms. In winter, the stove will serve as a cooker hood and a heater at the same time. But to assemble such a ventilation system for a summer residence with your own hands, you will need the skills of a stove-maker.
A good ventilation option in the country can be a fireplace. The air inflow will go through cracks in the frames or open vents (if the windows are made of plastic). Blowing out - through the chimney.
At the same time, the problem of heating for a country house, used all year round, is being solved.
Such a system is suitable for a building made of any materials, a small area and used mainly in the warm season.
Mechanical ventilation system for summer cottages
In the country, mechanical ventilation is justified in the following cases:
- large house;
- 2 or 3-storey house;
- the house was built using frame technology, which excludes natural air exchange.
Forced ventilation in a country house can be done completely mechanical or combined.
The combined system is easier to install, it will cost less, including during operation.
Forced air outflow
The supply part of the combined ventilation of a country house can be equipped with your own hands.
If the windows are plastic, supply valves are installed in them. These devices are on sale, they are inexpensive. There are various models of window inlet valves. They are attached to the upper cross member of the window sash.
The inlet valve can be inserted directly into the wall of the house. This is a fairly simple mechanism, consisting of a pipe for which you will have to make a hole with a diameter of 5 cm and a damper that regulates the intensity of the air supply.In winter, the damper is closed as much as possible to avoid cooling the room. You should not purchase complex valves with filters, because clean country air does not need to be purified.
Air outflow is provided mechanically. And only skilled craftsmen can handle this work of installing ventilation in a country house with their own hands. Exhaust ducts run from places of greatest air pollution (for example, a kitchen) into the attic. An exhaust fan is installed here, which blows the exhaust air outside. A negative pressure is created in the house, due to which fresh air is drawn in through the supply valves.
Cons of mechanical extraction:
- during a long absence of the owners, the house remains without ventilation;
- ventilation ducts must be hidden under beams or boxes;
- additional power consumption for air extraction;
- it is advisable to select structural elements with the help of a professional.
It is better to entrust the calculation of duct thickness and fan power to a fan engineer.
Forced air flow
You can go along the more expensive path by equipping with your own hands a forced air flow into the ventilation system of the summer cottage.
A supply unit is installed at the level of 2 meters from the soil surface. Air from the street is collected in the chamber, where it is heated (if necessary) and supplied to the rooms by a fan.
There are two ways to heat the air:
- electric heater;
- heating pipe.
The second is much more practical, but it must be designed simultaneously with the planning of the heating system.
The outflow is provided by ventilation vents in the kitchen, bathroom or toilet (if located in the house).
Do-it-yourself supply ventilation of the summer cottage
Do-it-yourself supply ventilation for a summer cottage is a complex and rather expensive process. But some folk craftsmen, thinking about how the ventilation of the dacha is done, come to original solutions. Air supply is carried out using an air intake. It is mounted from the north wall. The installation consists of a pair of duct fans and two pipes through which air enters the body of an old, but sealed refrigerator. Here are connected 2 radiators from the car, connected to the recuperator. 2 - 4 pipes (depending on the power of the installation and the area of the room) with ventilation grilles are sent to each dacha room. Supply grilles are placed 0.2 - 0.3 m from the floor.
Air outflow is carried out in a natural way. The increased pressure inside the rooms squeezes air into the corridors, kitchens and bathrooms. Ventilation pipes are installed here.
The zealous owners use the spent warm air in cold weather to heat the greenhouse. Those who want to take advantage of their experience will have to run the ventilation pipe not up through the roof, but in the direction of the greenhouse. The air will be evacuated forcibly by the "snail" pump.
Summer cottage floor ventilation
To ensure good ventilation of the country house, you should also take care of air exchange in the underground. Ventilation of the floor in the country house protects it from rotting and the whole house from distortions, extending the service life.
If the basement is not planned, ventilation of the floor of the country cottage is provided by a system of vents (holes) in the basement. Most often, country houses are built with basements. Air vents are left at different base / plinth heights, which improves air flow. The size of the vents is usually 10 x 15 cm. The number of holes is calculated depending on the terrain, architecture of the building, wind rose and climate.
Ventilation of the floors of wooden summer cottages consists of wall grilles, which are mounted above the air vents in the floor (also called ventilation sockets).
The grill should be placed at the junction between the boards.
This makes it possible to make a recess in a smaller board, so the strength of the floor does not suffer.
Before installing the outlets, it is imperative to calculate the air flow pattern, which depends on the arrangement, type and power of heating devices.
Do not put carpets, cabinets or sofas on top of the ventilation grilles for the country floor.
Ventilation skirting boards will also help to improve air movement in the subfield of the country house.
Holes are drilled in the skirting boards through which air circulates freely from the room to the subfloor. This is a simple and affordable method of constructing ventilation in a country house with your own hands. The holes in the skirting boards should be up to 1.5 cm in diameter. They are installed along opposite walls. Sometimes a skirting board is only required on one side of the room, and a ventilation pipe is used for sufficient air movement. Its exit is located 1.5 meters above the roof.
Try to make such ventilation of a country house with your own hands, just ask a specialist to carry out the necessary calculations.
Diy ventilation in the country toilet
Most country toilets are built like a cesspool, which has a serious drawback - it is fetid gases that appear as a result of the fermentation of feces. It is impossible to hermetically close the pit, therefore ventilation is necessary in the country toilet.
You can do all the work on installing the ventilation of the toilet in the country with your own hands. The ventilation of a country toilet is usually a single pipe leading out of the pit along the back wall of the toilet. It ends 75 cm above the roof level. Pipes made of PVC or asbestos cement with a diameter of 10 cm are used. Metal brackets are convenient as fasteners.
A special ventilation hole is provided in the cesspool, where the branch pipe is installed even before concreting. However, sometimes such a ventilation scheme for a country toilet is not always effective and odors penetrate into the booth. You can assemble the ventilation of the country toilet stall with your own hands. To do this, you need to purchase:
- two pieces of PVC pipe 0.5 m and 2 m with a diameter of 11 cm;
- corner joint 90 degrees;
- umbrella or deflector;
- decorative lattice;
- fasteners.
An exhaust hole for ventilation of the toilet in the country is drilled into the wall, as close to the roof as possible. The hole diameter must match the pipe diameter. The pipes are connected with a corner, a short section is inserted into the hole. The excess pipe section is sawn off from the inside of the room. A deflector or umbrella is put on the upper cut of a long pipe, using a level, it is necessary to check the vertical position of the pipe, after which it is attached with long screws and clamps to the wall. A ventilation grill is installed at the pipe outlet inside the toilet. So that there is no barrel in the gap, they are filled with silicone or polyurethane foam.
To ensure the flow of clean air into the booth, a small hole is made on the opposite wall (from the one where the chimney was inserted). It should be no higher than 0.2 m from the floor level and covered with decorative ventilation grilles.
The ventilation of an outdoor toilet will work according to the following principle: fresh cool air enters the booth, rises up along with unpleasant odors and goes out into the street. But before you make ventilation of the toilet stall in the country, you need to take care of removing gases from the cesspool. Otherwise, hand-made ventilation of the country toilet will not be effective enough to fight the stench.
