Gable vent on side of house connected to nothing??

Cropduster172

Cropduster172

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Apr 20, 2021
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PA & CMC, NJ
OK, so our beach house was built in 1976 I believe. Upstairs/downstairs twin. Originally sided with T111 but was subsequently resided with vinyl siding probably in 1998 or so.
I thoroughly get gable vents on the front and back of homes as a passive attic ventilation method. But a gable vent on the upper portion of the side of a house is baffling to me...and it is venting nothing, you can see just tar paper underneath.
The vent to the left is for our range hood. To the right of the window is the dryer vent. The attic/roof is vented with metal roof vents and perforated soffit. What was the purpose of this gable vent bezel with no visible duct or opening behind it??
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Danno said:
Damaged siding repair?
Change in plans when built?
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A neighbor tells me it's for the downstairs unit should they wish to add a vented appliance later on. Not so sure I believe that. I had it sealed completely behind it with window flashing tape and the dryer and range hood vents sealed with caulk as one or more were the source of leaks from thunder storms.
 
Cropduster172 said:
OK, so our beach house was built in 1976 I believe. Upstairs/downstairs twin. Originally sided with T111 but was subsequently resided with vinyl siding probably in 1998 or so.
I thoroughly get gable vents on the front and back of homes as a passive attic ventilation method. But a gable vent on the upper portion of the side of a house is baffling to me...and it is venting nothing, you can see just tar paper underneath.
The vent to the left is for our range hood. To the right of the window is the dryer vent. The attic/roof is vented with metal roof vents and perforated soffit. What was the purpose of this gable vent bezel with no visible duct or opening behind it??
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What is on the other side of that wall?
 
BMWTurboDzl said:
Makes sense that it would be an opening for a range hood. Perhaps a Microwave through wall unit.
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Are they even ducted to the outside as a rule? Also, if that were the case, why wouldn't it be used for my stove and range hood? It's a commercial DCS gas range and a commercial Broan range hood...I think 650 or 700 cf/minute ducted to a 6" duct and louvered vent.
 
Cropduster172 said:
Are they even ducted to the outside as a rule? Also, if that were the case, why wouldn't it be used for my stove and range hood? It's a commercial DCS gas range and a commercial Broan range hood...I think 650 or 700 cf/minute ducted to a 6" duct and louvered vent.
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No they're not typically ducted outside but some models have the option. I don't know why it wasn't used for your range hood. That's a question for the installer. Perhaps there's something in the wall space. Who knows.
 
BMWTurboDzl said:
Perhaps there's something in the wall space. Who knows.
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That's what the neighbor had suggested...that a duct for the downstairs unit was already run. I can't visualize how that works. It can't run through the studs and it can't run through the ceiling/floor joists. So it could only run under the downstairs floor joists in the crawl space or straight up between two studs...but that would be in the downstairs units dining room.
 
Some building codes require pulling air from outside for HVAC. There would also be ductwork from exterior vent to furnace or air handler. I have seen after building inspection completed the ductwork removed and exterior vent covered. I don’t know if this is what happened in this situation.
 
Chevyc10 said:
Some building codes require pulling air from outside for HVAC. There would also be ductwork from exterior vent to furnace or air handler. I have seen after building inspection completed the ductwork removed and exterior vent covered. I don’t know if this is what happened in this situation.
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That is a possibility as our HVAC system is a horizontal unit to fit in the attic and that gable vent is located about 20' away. But it draws air from a ceiling vent with the furnace filter in it located on our hallway ceiling. Also, why draw cold air in winter in NJ in order to try and heat it...unless it's designed to mix with interior air?
 
Cropduster172 said:
That is a possibility as our HVAC system is a horizontal unit to fit in the attic and that gable vent is located about 20' away. But it draws air from a ceiling vent with the furnace filter in it located on our hallway ceiling. Also, why draw cold air in winter in NJ in order to try and heat it...unless it's designed to mix with interior air?
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What I described earlier did have a return in heated/cooled home. Duct system to outside had dampers or ERV designed to pull small percentage of return air from outside. I never liked installing them on my homes or businesses. It’s like car HVAC pulling air from outside. Takes longer to heat or cool vehicle and harder on system. On my vehicles I set on recirculate inside air. After building inspections completed I would put large piece of fiberglass insulation in ductwork. Blocking outside air from being drawn in. Leaving ductwork to outside in place. If I were to sell home or building and ductwork to outside missing I would have to replace ductwork before sale could go through. Which would be large expense.
 
Chevyc10 said:
What I described earlier did have a return in heated/cooled home. Duct system to outside had dampers or ERV designed to pull small percentage of return air from outside. I never liked installing them on my homes or businesses. It’s like car HVAC pulling air from outside. Takes longer to heat or cool vehicle and harder on system. On my vehicles I set on recirculate inside air. After building inspections completed I would put large piece of fiberglass insulation in ductwork. Blocking outside air from being drawn in. Leaving ductwork to outside in place. If I were to sell home or building and ductwork to outside missing I would have to replace ductwork before sale could go through. Which would be large expense.
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This does make sense, however, I don't believe any opening was cut into the original T111siding...but that's not to say there is not a duct behind the T111...who knows?
 
Cropduster172 said:
That is a possibility as our HVAC system is a horizontal unit to fit in the attic and that gable vent is located about 20' away. But it draws air from a ceiling vent with the furnace filter in it located on our hallway ceiling. Also, why draw cold air in winter in NJ in order to try and heat it...unless it's designed to mix with interior air?
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Modern furnaces draw combustion air from outside, however this is via PVC pipe and not a gable vent like pictured.
 
tbm5690 said:
Modern furnaces draw combustion air from outside, however this is via PVC pipe and not a gable vent like pictured.
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The furnace I had installed in 2022, is NOT designated as high efficiency. It's a Bryant 80% efficient gas furnace which vents through a galvanized roof stack. It only draws air from a filter box in the hallway ceiling. It replaced a similar Payne unit which was 24 years old... likely the original...not sure about that though.
 
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