Salterian

Hi there,

I have just moved into an 85-year-old home. It appears the previous owner did not use a clothes dryer as there is no venting ductwork in the basement. Looking at my neighbors' houses, many of them have vented through a basement window by boarding up half with plywood and cutting a hole in the board. I would like to avoid this because A) it looks ugly, B) I don't want to sacrifice the light coming through the window, and C) the windows are on the opposite side of the basement.

So my question is, can I cut a 4" hole in one of the blocks of the glass block windows closer to the dryer? Could I remove one of those blocks entirely?

My go-to repair guy suggested cutting a hole through the brick wall and venting it that way, but I don't want to threaten the structural integrity at all. The house is in decent shape for how old it is, but I don't want to tempt fate for a 4" duct.

Thanks for all your help so far. This forum has been a great resource.

CraigFL

Like this?

https://www.gbi-glassblock.net/Glass_Block_Vents.html

Salterian

Well I'll be. Yeah, exactly like that. Have you ever replaced a glass block, Craig? Is it difficult?

itsreallyconc

we did at our house w/o a problem,,, just make sure you head it thru an open cell rather'n the webs,,, let me clarify bas'd on the above 2 posts,,, we ran our vent pipe thru the brick & block back-up,,, no glass blks at our house !