If you don’t have ventilation in your home the moisture in the air can’t escape. The humidity and moisture can eventually cause problems like damp and mould.
The solution is to have a well-ventilated home, and one way of providing ventilation, is to instal air bricks in your property.
Air bricks are made of plastic, terracotta or cast iron. They look like a standard house brick, but they have holes in them that provide ventilation.
You can install air bricks through a solid wall or a cavity wall, which is two walls with the cavity in between.
In this guide, we’ll show you how much air bricks cost, what affects the price, if you can save money on air bricks, how to find and hire a tradesperson to instal your air bricks and what questions to ask them.
Finally, we’ll answer your frequently asked questions.
Topics
How Much Do Air Bricks Cost?
The above table gives you the estimated costs of installing an air brick.
| Air Brick Type | Estimated Supply Cost | Labour Costs | Time Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic | £1.50 to £8 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 hour |
| Terracotta 215 x 65mm | £3 to £8 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 hour |
| Terracotta 215 x 240mm | £6 to £18 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 hour |
| Terracotta 215 x 215mm | £30 to £35 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 hour |
| Cast Iron 225 x 75mm | £40 to £100 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 to 2 hours |
| Cast Iron 225 x 150mm | £60 to £150 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 to 2 hours |
| Cast Iron 225 x 225mm | £90 to £200 each | £10 to £25 per hour | 1 to 2 hours |
As you can see there are three different types, plastic being the cheapest at between £1.50 to £8 each and cast iron the most expensive at between £40 and £150.
If a labourer installs you air bricks, they will typically charge between £10 to £15 per hour. If a builder does the job, they will typically charge between £15 to £25 per hour.
The time it takes to instal one air brick is between one and two hours.
If you need a tradesperson to install your air bricks, use HouseholdQuotes. Simply fill in the online form and tell us briefly what you need.
We’ll then find local tradespeople to give you no-obligation quotes.
Click To Get QuotesWhat Affects the Cost of Fitting an Air Brick?
Several different factors are likely to affect the cost of fitting an air brick. We take a closer look at these factors below.
The Number of Bricks You Need
The standard fitting for air bricks is around one air brick every two feet. If you take the average measurements of a property, it means that:
A terraced house of nine metres in length would have two air bricks at the front and two at the back. A total of four air bricks.
A semi-detached house of 12 metres in length would have four air bricks at the front and four at the back. A total of eight air bricks.
A detached house of 12 metres in length would have six air bricks at the front and six at the back. A total of 12 air bricks.
For example, if you were buying four plastic air bricks for a terraced house you will need to spend between £6 and £32.
If you were buying eight terracotta air bricks for your semi-detached house, you will be spending between £24 and £280.
If you were buying 12 bricks in cast iron for your detached house, you will pay between £480 and £1,800.
The Material You Choose
As you have already seen the material you choose affects the price. Plastic starts at £150.
Terracotta starts at £3 and cast iron starts at £40.
Fitting Accessories
You may need cavity liners and insects covers. Cavity liners start at around £10, and insect covers start at around £8.
Some brick vents need trays and others need clips. These can be purchased for a few pounds.
Location
If you live in London, the surrounding area, or the South East of England you will pay more for services. You can expect charges of 10% to 20% more than the average costs quoted in this guide for installation.
How Do I Know if I Need Air Bricks?
If your home is beginning to smell damp, your paint is peeling off the wall and you have mould spots on the ceilings or walls then you need to better ventilate your home.
You might find your floor becomes damp which will spoil carpets. Wet timber attracts insects so you might end up with an infestation.
Eventually, the timber will rot, and you will have to replace your floors.
It could be that you have ventilation bricks, but they have been covered up by subsequent building work, like an extension or the bricks are blocked by overgrown plants.
When you need a tradesperson to instal air bricks, use HouseholdQuotes. Fill in the online form and tell us what you need.
We’ll find local tradespeople to give you no-obligation quotes for your air brick installation.
Click To Get QuotesHow Can I Save Money on Air Bricks?
You could instal second-hand air bricks. You can typically get them at half price or less.
Look at Authentic Reclamation, Gumtree and ForSale.
If you want to buy new, research a few suppliers so that you can compare prices.
When you’re looking for a tradesperson to install your air bricks use HouseholdQuotes. Simply fill in our online form and tell us what you need (it takes less than a minute).
We’ll find you tradespeople in your area to give you no-obligation quotes.
Click To Get QuotesWhat Goes Into Fitting an Air Brick?
We take a closer look at what goes into fitting a terracotta air brick:
You will need to remove the bricks on the outside of the wall where the new air brick is to be placed. You could be removing two or three bricks depending on the size of the air brick.
Start by drilling holes around the first brick you want to remove. Chip out the mortar until the brick comes away.
You should now have a hole.
Remove the first brick and then the inner brick. If you have a cavity wall, you may need a drill with an extra-long drill bit.
Cavity walls will then need to be lined.
Using a newly mixed mortar and a trowel put the mortar at the base of the hole. Add some mortar to the top of the air brick and place the air brick in the hole.
Use the mortar to point the brickwork neatly.
If you want to add an insect cover you will need to take up the floorboards, locate the new air brick and screw in the insect cover over the hole on the inside. Some cavity liners have insect covers already installed.
How Do I Find and Hire a Tradesperson?
If you want a personal recommendation then ask family, friends, and work colleagues. They might be happy to recommend a tradesperson they have used recently or that they know personally.
You can also use HouseholdQuotes. Simply fill in our online form and tell us briefly what you need.
We’ll then find tradespeople in your area to give you no-obligation quotes, fast.
Click To Get QuotesEnsuring the Professional Is the Right Fit
Always ask a tradesperson some questions. The more you know about the job they do and the company they own or work for will help you decide as to whether to use them or not.
Make sure you get all your quotes in writing and make sure they each have the same job scope. If all the quotes have the same scope it will make them much easier to compare.
- Is there a minimum callout fee? If the job is small and takes less than a couple of hours you might find you are charged a minimum callout on top of the tradesperson’s hourly fee or fixed price.
- Do you have a website? A lot of tradespeople now have websites because they are a way to show potential customers what they offer, projects they have worked on previously and highlight customer testimonials.
- Are you a member of a trade association? If you are using a builder, then they could be registered with the National Federation of Builders. Members of the NFB will have high standards and care about their reputations.
- What experience do you have? If you want to use a builder with plenty of experience, then you should ask this question. It is likely, though, that a builder who has recently finished training will be able to install air bricks.
- Do you have Public Liability Insurance? All tradespeople need to have Public Liability Insurance in case an accident occurs during the work being carried out in your home. The insurance will cover them for claims made in the event of an accident or injury.
Final Checklist
Use the checklist below to go through the best steps to take when trying to find a professional installer of air bricks:
- Decide what type of air brick you need
- Shop around and get some prices
- Get some quotations for installation (HouseholdQuotes can help you with this!)
- Choose your tradesperson
Click To Get QuotesFrequently Asked Questions
How Many Air Bricks Do I Need?
Where Should an Air Brick Go?
They need to be underneath a suspended floor because if you instal them any higher you will get a draught inside your home.
Are Trickle Vents a Good Alternative to Air Bricks?
Will an Air Brick Stop Condensation?
Air bricks won’t solve a condensation problem alone if you have a lot of people living in your home, or you dry your clothes indoors. It will however stop condensation from building up in normal circumstances.
Bathrooms and kitchens should have fans and clothes should be dried outside if possible. You can have extractor fans installed for between £250 and £450.
You can read more about installing an extractor fan in our guide.
Should Air Bricks Be Above the Damp Course?
Is It Okay to Block Air Bricks?
However, if you have replaced your suspended timber floor with a concrete floor and the gap is now filled with concrete you can block the air brick. As there isn’t a void, there’s no need for air to circulate and you don’t need the air brick anymore.
Can I Instal an Air Brick Myself?
However, if you don’t have the time or you’re not used to DIY it is better to leave the work to a professional.
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