Brick Wall Venting?

[Mike Lamb]

90 yr old bldg. These soldiers with open mortar are for cavity wall venting? They were sporadic but mostly located near kitchen areas.

There were also many along the unfinished basement wall areas.

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[kurt]

Sometimes they were for venting the old kitchen stoves.

[Bill Kibbel]

The bond pattern doesn't indicate it to be cavity wall construction.

[Tom Raymond]

They dumped the kitchen exhaust into the withe space? Yuck.

[kurt]

They dumped the kitchen exhaust into the withe space? Yuck.

Yup.

It's triple or quad wythe. Inner wythe material was left out in a haphazard pattern to provide a path out.

Some of them were for decorative gas fireplaces; weird cavity vents.

I thought it was a Chicago thing. Never seen it elsewhere.

[hausdok]

That's double-wythe construction, no?

OT - OF!!!

M.

[kurt]

Usually triple, solid. Soft brick, soft (K or L) mortar.

Sometimes double, no cavity, solid. Depends on how high up the wall it is.

[Mike Lamb]

At least 3 wythe. I'm just guessing at cavity walls. The same vents near the basement ceiling level throws me. Many kitchen areas skipped this detail as well.

[Marc]

Never seen a cavity wall down here before. One question: Where a cavity wall exists, are both sides of the cavity load bearing?

Marc

[kurt]

Nope. At least, not in Chicago. The inner wythe is the load bearing component; the outer wythe is, essentially, brick veneer.

[John Kogel]

Not one of your better shots, Mike. Must have been a narrow alley. []

[Mike Lamb]

Not one of your better shots, Mike. Must have been a narrow alley. []

It was about a 6' gangway between properties which is wide for Chicago.

[kurt]

At least 3 wythe. I'm just guessing at cavity walls. The same vents near the basement ceiling level throws me. Many kitchen areas skipped this detail as well.

After >20 years trying to find uniformity in their use, I cannot. There is no apparent consistent use anywhere in the city.

[Garet]

We've got similar ones in Denver. They always seem to come in pairs at about the lower and upper ends of the upper cabinets. I've always assumed they were for creating a 'cool' cabinet in the days before refrigeration was common.

I say "Seal them up".