New windows... Vents!

[Mumteedum]

I've had new windows and after a catalogue of errors they corrected finally I'm now wondering about the actual windows themselves. They've got vents in. Nobody mentioned it or asked me about it. I assumed naively it must be a new reg thing but on reading up, it's not.

Tonight it's really windy and the vents are really draughty and God it's so loud. Whooshy windy blowy noise around the vent. I'm so fed up.

I signed the job off as ok today as they'd fixed the list but this is something else now.

Is this normal? I wanted new windows to make house warmer and quieter not the reverse! 😭

You can get covers for the vents, the manufacturer should be able to supply them

These kind of things

www.titon.com/uk/products/window-door-hardware/window-vents-window-door-hardware/sf-xtra-vent/

Thanks..yes they are covered but it seems to be blowing around edge...I was trying to read up on them but these are not ones that are on or odd. It's like just a plastic insert thing? I don't get the point.

Looks like outside there's a protruding bit with the actual vent? It's so loud..

On or off... Not odd.... though I do think they're odd. And cold and noisy!

Really fed up about the whole installation

Our windows have vents, but you can shut them - though it's not a tight seal, some air will get through. They're meant to help reduce condensation I believe, & certainly handy for getting some air into the room without opening windows.
Its absolutely chucking it down here, has been since tea-time; & I've shut the vents as it was too cold.

Ugh new windows! I had secondary double glazing put in and now have terrible condensation problem in that bathroom. Leave the vents there. House needs to breath.

I have new windows and they've all got scratches and chips in them- in dispute with window company who say that's fine if not visible from 3 metres away! Looks like having to go to trading standards - are any window companies any good???

But I do have vents and they seem pretty air tight,though hard to tell on the ones with massive gaps around the frames or the cracked frames 😅

Definitely shouldn't be whistling though, I'd get the company back even if you have signed off!

it might not be the vents. Our windows whistle and don’t have vents. I think it’s just that they are badly installed

@HouseIsOnFire sorry you're going through that. It's so stressful.

It's not whistling so much as just noisy..like t he e wind is hitting the vent and making a err windy whooshy noise..dont quite know how to describe it.I live on a hill so get a lot of wind. They didn't discuss vents. There's no open or close. It's like just a flat plastic insert but the wind is blowing through the edges in middle.

I've got vents in all my windows, live on a stupidly windy hill (everything has to be nailed down), and I don't have noise from my vents (most of which I've closed) - could they have been fitted poorly?

Mine are basically just a slot in the frame at the top, covered by a bit of right angled aluminium on a hinge - so I flip it down to open the vent, or up to close it (it's got padding so it seals the edges of the slot)

On the outside of the house they look like just a 3/4inch bit of trim across the top-middle of the window frame - so rain (and I suppose wind) can't get in - are you missing some kind of protection that means more wind is coming in than should, perhaps?

Are the vents mentioned on the spec/quote?

Did you choose other windows without a vent and then they installed ones that do have them?

I've had a few window quotes recently and they all said that vents were required now. I haven't double checked this, but seems an odd thing to tell me if they aren't a legal requirement?

OP, did you use a national company or local? Only asking for recommendations.

I have vents on the windows in my flat....the windows are modern, double-glazed, plastic things (fitted before my time). The vents are very narrow and can close, but yes, they whistle if the wind is in a certain direction, very noisy. The noise seems to come from the wind hitting the outside of the vent even though it's closed and completely airtight.

I feel for you, there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to prevent the noise except get used to it, far from ideal.

I thought they were required now too

I'm sure it's not a requirement. We have recently had windows installed, no vents, and it's an airtight house built as close as possible to passive house standards so vents in the windows would be pointless

They are the most ridiculous things ever. So the manufacturer makes a lovely weathertight window with double glazed panels, then cuts a hole in the top with a bit of mesh and flimsy plastic cover over it. Just because some people do not have the sense to open and close windows for ventilation at times.
Sounds like yours are faulty OP and I'd be getting back to the manufacturer, and also wanting to see where in the contract it says they would have the fecking vents.

Had windows installed recently. Just before the install, the company called that they now need to add vents due to a new regulation and was I okay to proceed. Sounds like the company should have done same for you here.

FYI new regulation came into effect in June: www.hanleytrade.co.uk/blog/trickle-vent-regulations-2022/

They’re definitely required now, but it’s possible to change the ones you have with ones that open and close.

I actually have no paperwork at all only finance agreement and intial quote in an email. I feel like I've been really stupid but they said they'd send it and I have nothing now I've checked. When I signed job off he said he'd send on guarantees etc.

They do seem to be overseen by another body and they rang to ask for feedback so I will call them back tomorrow.

Thanks @JiggingJigsaws ... I was wondering if they could be changed for better vents.

Vents were not mentioned at all. Old windows didn't have them and I just asked for exact same window configuration as before.

It is a new reg thing, you do need vents, the regs changed very recently, after we had some done, and before the most recent, though we chose to have them even before the regs change. Our installers put in plastic vents which you can set to downdraught, updraught, or closed. It may be possible to change yours.

Our installer doesn't like them, his problem is he says you can only get rather crummy ones, but the ones he used seem to be fine. We had them in all the windows even before the regs becaus this is an old house and needs ventilation. I do close them when it's really cold/windy (we're on a windy ridge too!), though even then I open them for at least part of every day.

Well the saga continues.

I got used to the upstairs vents to an extent but when it is windy the noise wakes me up and it's very annoying.

The new issue is that fensa did an inspection and said the small windows above the new sliding doors should have vents. The company now have to change them to ensure it meets fensa regs. They're suggesting that rather than refit those windows, they retro fit a vent in one of my old windows that they did not fit.

I don't want ANY of it doing. If I refuse though, I assume I don't get fensa registration certificate (although one was automatically issued). The company also put pressure on me by saying if it isn't done their business is screwed as they'll be deregistered. This pissed me off.

What should I do? I'm sick of the whole thing.

That's a lie. I remember a company telling us that if the windows they were replacing had vents then the new ones needed them too. They couldn't show me the paperwork.

Vents are awful IMO.

This sounds bizarre. Ask them for a copy of the legislation. Don't believe anything they say. Check everything.