My house is an end of terrace and the front door leads directly onto the pavement. I have a cellar and there's a grate on the pavement in front of the door. I'm guessing it's where they used to deliver coal.
This grate leads into the cellar and I worry someone will fall down it if it's not properly maintained. Do I have to keep this grate?
Would it cause problems if I cemented over it or blocked it off in some way.
Does the cellar need to be ventilated?
Any advice from others in the know would be appreciated.
Ta very much in advance forummers xx

We have one of these grates, but it's on our land, not in a public right of way.

I looked a year or two ago at having it filled or covered and got two different reports from builders. One said we couldn't fill it as it was ventilation, the other said it would be fine. In the end I just secured it and left the air free to flow through it and then insulated the cellar so it wasn't an issue, but I suspect if you fill that in you may have to make sure the air bricks located in the cellar are free to breath to avoid any problems.

As for maintaining it, if it's in an area where the public have access to and someone injures themselves on it due to it not being properly maintained then I suspect they will have a valid claim against you. If someone does this, remember that most house insurance covers the holder up to £1,000,000 or similar, so you should be covered. Either way, I'd keep it maintained.

Terraced housed were built before they had damp courses and cellars need to be extremely well ventilated. If you are considering blocking off your cellar grate, make sure that you leave plenty of holes in the cap. I have seen people using bricks with the big holes to good effect.
Whatever you do don't just block it up completely. I have cemented a load of scaffolding poles under mine and screwed the old grate to them. The american bloke across the road filled his with cement in the winter, about 5 years ago because of the cold and spent 2 years chipping it back out because after a while it was the cause of all the dampness in the house. The UK has a damp climate and therefore we need extremely good air circulation in cellars, especially in the winter and at times of heavy rain.

I took the decision when I moved in here 15 years ago that the existing cast iron grate was a liability as it had started to fracture and is in the entry that provides shared access for 4 houses.

Having just had a new damp proof course, and also having checked that there were a number of clear ventilation bricks through the outside walls into the cellar I decided to replace the grate with a larger piece of aluminium plate that could be bolted down into the surrounding floor of the entry to provide better security than the grate too. I've had no problems since- but then I was careful to make sure that the cellar had adequate ventilaion.

hmmm...I'm still confused.
The grate is in the pavement so if have big holes in it someone could fall in it. Also when it rains.....water goes into the cellar and this is the main thing I want to stop. I'm not talking huge flooding or anything but there's definately a dampness from the water getting in.

How big is this grate???

The holes in mine wouldn't allow anyone to fall through them unless they were tiny, about 3 inches tall.

Even if I took the cover off my grate, you could step in it and your legs would go down it, but you'd stop at your waist.

Do you have a grate or a bear trap??

I was at a student house party once (many years ago!) and the cellar was all done up along with the rest of the house,my mate was rather drunk and was sat below the grate,when he got "rained" on,someone had gone for a p*ss in the alleyway between the terraces!! yuk.took him a while to figure it out and move.
Just thought I'd add that to the thread,sorry no help to the original question!

How big is this grate???

The holes in mine wouldn't allow anyone to fall through them unless they were tiny, about 3 inches tall.

Even if I took the cover off my grate, you could step in it and your legs would go down it, but you'd stop at your waist.

Do you have a grate or a bear trap??

well it is just a grate but I reckon I could get stuck in it up to my waist....(I'm 5'1")

well it is just a grate but I reckon I could get stuck in it up to my waist....(I'm 5'1")

Must be a bloody big one !! :p

do you stalk me tom?!:D

Until now if you know...You have taken the fun out of it.

eh?

:huh:

are there any builders/handypersons on here that could maybe come and have a look at this cellar grate and advise me on what to do?

chances are that you need the opening for ventilation, I built a single course of bricks with holes in (not technically air bricks, but do the same job) then put a paving slab across, this stops water coming in, is safer for standing on and allows ventilation. But I doubt you can do that with it being on public property.
Maybe you should contact the council and speak to them about it, as they will own the footpath and you'll require their permission before you can do anything.

Have a look at the deeds for your house and see where your boundaries are. If it's in the pavement outside your house, it may not be your responsibility or within your rights to do anything with it.

Makes a good entry point for burglars - as I've found to my cost

Makes a good entry point for burglars - as I've found to my cost
It depends, they have to be quite slim to fit.

I was aware of this though and have secured mine, you'd need some serious tools to get in and once in you'd stand a very high chance of injury through my lack of organisation in the cellar. I certainly wouldn't want to slide down there and move through the dark.

Following the dark cellar is a locked door and then my dog.

I reckon it's as secure as I'm going to get it and if they get passed all that they are very talented burglars and at least I'm insured.

But good point, if you have one of these, make sure it's secure.

Thanks for your warning Taxman.