Advice on brick moisture vents

[wattlewemake]

I am wondering if there is any restrictions in moving brick vents. I know they are installed to allow the house to breathe and moisture to escape.

My house is a brick veneer and before I bought it there had been concrete paths installed against the walls. The vents are only about 15mm above the paths in places.
I have seen in a few storms that the water tends to get quite deep near these vents I am worried that the water might flow down into my wall cavities which would be a big no no.

I think my only choices are to 1.move the vents,2. grind the concrete or 3.rip up the paths and start again. #2 + #3 are options I dont want to think about due to the cost involved...

Any ideas?

Shane.

[SilentButDeadly]

Do you know if the vents or (more importantly) the path is above or below your run of dampcourse? If the path is above the dampcourse then you have a problem with or without the vents.

If you can then what about removing the 4" or so of the path closest to the wall and replace with a covered channel drain. Yes, it probably won't be cheap to buy the drain but it'll probably fix the problem......

[ozwinner]

Most vents sit on the footing which is where the DPC is.
I say most as I have seen a few below the DPC.
Moving the vents is no big issue, if you get under a house with vents in it, you will be suprised by the gale force wind under the house.

Al

[ausdesign]

Shane if it's brick veneer construction then there shouldn't be a 'cavity' at that point. If there is water ponding under the subfloor area it's not real good for the footings or the possibility of rot if the space is low to the ground. [although that's the idea of the vents to circulate the air]
If the concrete path is also directing the water down the outside face of the bricks to the footings that's not real cocha either - the path should slope [slightly] away from the building.

[wattlewemake]

Thanks for the replys guys.
The dampcourse is at the bottom of the vents.
In some places the bottom of the vents are at the same level as the top of the concrete.
It is going to be a hard job (properly) to fix as the path is butted up to the house and butts up to my fenceline which just happens to be a retaining wall.(im on the low side) I will move the brick vents up to stop most of the water and I think I will have to bite the bullet and rip up the concrete and relay it in a year or so. Angling the concrete away from the house is not really going to work as it is not flat - has quite a few areas where the water pools and also runs back towards the house.
Is a pain but I will just add it to the never ending list of jobs keeping me out of the shed.

Shane.

[thebuildingsurv]

If your floor joists run parallel to the conc path then you wanna keep them below the joist height or they will be blocked by the joists. You may be able to block them up if you can increase the amount in other areas. Attached townhouses etc will only usually have them front and back.