Is it possible to shut down a ventilation shaft in an apartment: legal nuances of the issue and rules for strobing

House-building systems and communications were originally planned for placement in each apartment of an apartment building. These are gas and water supply systems, sewerage and ventilation, and the electric network. However, in many projects of apartment buildings, architects have designed not quite a convenient arrangement of certain types of communications, among which are wentshacht, do you agree?

In these cases, when the apartment is overhauled, the owner needs to make changes to the initial project or redevelop. But many changes must be coordinated with the management company, the main architect or the executive authority of the district.

It is about the changes that require coordination, we will talk in this article - we will consider in detail whether it is possible to ditch the ventilation shaft during repairs and how to do it correctly. We also focus on the legal nuances of this rather topical issue.

How is the wentshacht in the apartment?

The ventilation shafts were designed in such a way as to ensure free circulation of air in the room. That is why sometimes they take place in different parts of the apartments, sometimes the Doges are highlighted with a special box.

A purely technically branched network of ventilation ducts is connected in the ventilation shaft, from which there is already a branch to the attic or roof. However, in new projects of houses, air intake is made at the level of 2-3 floors, then it is cleaned, moistened and sent through the ventilation box to all floors of the house. And the exhaust system, working in parallel, is installed on the roof. It removes heat from the exhaust air and then removes it.

In panel houses, a ventschacht is a structure of concrete blocks mounted on top of each other. For the implementation of normal ventilation, the shaft must be perfectly vertical.

The duct of the ventilation shaft can have an extremely inconvenient location in the room, creating interference with the communication lines.Moreover, its integrity should not be violated

The ventilation shaft starts from the basement and, passing through all the floors, goes to the roof - it is here that in the future air flows will be evacuated from the shaft.

As for the parameters, the section of the mine and the shape depends on the project, according to which the construction of the apartment building was carried out. The material from which it can be made is concrete, metal or plastic. The design itself must be made in accordance with sanitary and fire safety standards, as well as using non-combustible materials.

Since the main task of the ventilation shaft is to ensure the circulation of air masses in the premises of the building, it must comply with a number of requirements:

• be clean of debris;
• be airtight;
• have free space defined by the project.

The implementation of the first paragraph of the list is achieved by timely work oncleaning the ventilation ducts, which, at the request of guidance documents, should be carried out at least 1 time per year.

The tightness of the mine is also checked during work. After all, any violation of the integrity of the ventilation shaft leads to a malfunction in the air circulation. Also, the presence of foreign objects in the mine can contribute to the violation of air exchange.

The joints between the individual modules of the ventilation shaft must be sealed with concrete. In metal mines, joints should be made on flanges.

When carrying out repairs, it is advisable to study the ventilation layout so as not to damage it during work. Also, it is not worthwhile to further exploit the wall section of the ventilation duct (to exclude the hanging of fixtures, hooks, cabinets, etc.)

The functioning of the mine is regulated SNiP 41-01-2003 and a number of regulatory requirements for the operation of the ventilation system, for operational safety, according to the standards applicable to residential apartment buildings.

Work with the ventilation shaft

Cutting walls for various needs using special electrical tools is called strobing. The need for it most often arises when laying wires and pipelines. So, during repairs in the apartment, specialists initially draw up a plan diagram of the location of the wiring.

The standard number of lighting lamps, sockets and switches are not always convenient to use and often do not meet the requirements of the landlord. The convenient use of electrical appliances depends on the location of these points on the mains. Therefore, when designing new electric points for their convenience, there is a need to prepare channels for laying electrical cables. It will then be required wall chipping for wiring, including the walls of ventilation shafts.

Also, gating is carried out for the internal placement of water pipes. This work may also negatively affect the general ventilation system.

To understand whether it is possible to carry out work on the gating of a ventilation shaft in an apartment, you need to look into two main documents:

• Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
• Normative documents in construction, in particular, concerning ventilation systems.

They describe in detail all the nuances in the design, construction and operation of ventilation shafts.

The initial communication during construction meets the requirements of SNiP without violating the integrity of the ventilation shaft and is carried out with strict observance of the norms

Summarizing the information from these documents, it can be noted that:

• any change from original project must be agreed with the housing authorities (management company, executive authority of the city), otherwise it will be considered unauthorized redevelopment (article 29 LCD RF);
• violation of the functioning of communications of an apartment building entails administrative liability;
• the use of ventilation shafts for personal use is prohibited (even for hanging racks), - they can be used only to ensure air exchange;
• other communications inside the ventilation shafts are prohibited.

In some houses, the ventilation shafts are in the form of a duct indoors. They create an irregular shape of the room and reduce its total area. As a rule, such mines are located between the kitchen and the bathrooms. In this situation, the passage of communication systems directly through the ventilation shaft is also impossible.

It is worth noting that some workers still lay communication lines (water and gas pipes, power cable) through the mine, saving on material. The holes are sealed with foam and plastered. However, such a clear violation of the tightness of the ventilation shaft can lead to the fact that all the smell from the lower apartments will seep into the room. Communication wiring in this case is possible between the wall and the duct of the ventilation shaft in the floor of the room. In any case, communications should be fenced off with a specific building structure.

Consequences of strobing a mine

As mentioned in the article, the use and operation of ventilation shafts is regulated in strict accordance with SNiP 41-01-2003.

And, from the point of view of this document, gouging of ventilation shafts is strictly prohibited. Since any intervention leads to a breach of tightness and, consequently, to the failure of the entire building-wide ventilation system.

Communication through the ventilation shaft box, as shown in the photo, is unacceptable. This performance of work violates the tightness and leads to disruption of the ventilation system of the building as a whole

In accordance with the Housing Code, the person through whose fault the ventilation system was disabled will incur an administrative penalty and is obliged to restore the damaged section of the ventilation shaft as soon as possible. The penalty for gating the ventilation shaft is 2500 rubles.

How to make a strobe correctly and legally?

If it becomes necessary to lay pipes or wiring electrical networks in this place, it is necessary to thickening of the wall of the ventilation shaft using gas blocks or other building materials.

After the artificial thickening is created, the necessary communications are already laid in it. Such an operation is not recognized as interference and it is absolutely legal.

The main nuance in the legislation is the permission of the following actions with the ventilation shaft:

• vent expansion hole for grill installation or under a special fan;
• small hole shift ventilation shaft to the side.

These works should be carried out by a person who has an idea of ​​how the ventilation shaft is arranged, and who is familiar with the ventilation network of this house.

The photo shows one of the options for conducting communications - around the perimeter of the ventilation duct. Such wiring is also prohibited, but with careful gating, laying of communications and further plastering of this channel without leaving visible traces and without harming the ventilation system, there is a place to be

In order to carry out a hole shift, it is necessary to drill and assemble a special satellite channel, which will be a continuation of the ventilation shaft along the wall in the room.

If the satellite channel is improperly installed and the ventilation shaft is damaged, unpleasant odors from neighboring apartments will come into the room.

We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with transfer rules air vent in the kitchen.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

About making changes to the ventilation box and plumbing boxes in the house is described in the following video:

This video shows how you can close an existing hole in the ventilation shaft with installing outlets there. At the same time, the authors of the video also argue that this is strictly prohibited:

On the restoration of the ventilation box after its dismantling in the following video:

Thus, shredding a ventilation shaft is considered an illegal operation. Despite the rather large thickness of the box in some houses, any impact can cause mechanical damage, which in the future will lead to improper functioning of the ventilation system. As a punishment for damage to communal utilities, a fine and restoration of the ventilation shaft are provided.

If after reading the above material you have questions or want to supplement the publication with interesting information based on personal experience, leave your comments, ask questions and participate in the discussion in a special section below.