Hello,
We are renovating a room at home and when we removed the baseboards, we found these drill holes behind them. What purpose might they serve? They are evenly distributed along the entire wall that goes against the outer wall. You can fit an entire screwdriver inside and there seems to be insulation between. On the outside, there are lightweight concrete blocks, and the holes appear to be at the same height.
We are renovating a room at home and when we removed the baseboards, we found these drill holes behind them. What purpose might they serve? They are evenly distributed along the entire wall that goes against the outer wall. You can fit an entire screwdriver inside and there seems to be insulation between. On the outside, there are lightweight concrete blocks, and the holes appear to be at the same height.
I have two guesses.
The first thing that came to mind is a ventilated baseboard. But that doesn't quite match.
In floor constructions where moisture comes up from below, you can lay a Platon mat, which is both sealed upwards and ventilates. The moist air under the Platon mat can circulate. To get rid of it without wetting the floor material, there is a gap in the Platon mat along the walls, and a ventilating baseboard. This is a baseboard mounted with e.g. 3mm spacers against the wall, creating a ventilation gap.
What I'm wondering is if it's something similar in your case, but the air in question is vented out through the wall, and if it wasn't a ventilating baseboard you removed, someone else might have replaced it earlier.
Second guess is that it's test holes from moisture measurement that may have been conducted. But I don't think they usually make so many holes for that, and I think they usually drill diagonally downwards to measure moisture in the sill if it's on/in concrete.
It may be important to find out the purpose of the holes. IF they are meant for venting out moisture, it can be very important that they are not sealed. The floor that is there may not have been there for that long, and the baseboard should have been replaced when the floor was laid. If it was a ventilated baseboard, you should restore that function.
The first thing that came to mind is a ventilated baseboard. But that doesn't quite match.
In floor constructions where moisture comes up from below, you can lay a Platon mat, which is both sealed upwards and ventilates. The moist air under the Platon mat can circulate. To get rid of it without wetting the floor material, there is a gap in the Platon mat along the walls, and a ventilating baseboard. This is a baseboard mounted with e.g. 3mm spacers against the wall, creating a ventilation gap.
What I'm wondering is if it's something similar in your case, but the air in question is vented out through the wall, and if it wasn't a ventilating baseboard you removed, someone else might have replaced it earlier.
Second guess is that it's test holes from moisture measurement that may have been conducted. But I don't think they usually make so many holes for that, and I think they usually drill diagonally downwards to measure moisture in the sill if it's on/in concrete.
It may be important to find out the purpose of the holes. IF they are meant for venting out moisture, it can be very important that they are not sealed. The floor that is there may not have been there for that long, and the baseboard should have been replaced when the floor was laid. If it was a ventilated baseboard, you should restore that function.
Is the floor that is there now original? Otherwise, I'm thinking that an older floor trim has been screwed and that some form of screw plug has been in those holes.
Thanks for the response,
The flooring currently there was installed by the previous owner and is an Ikea floor. We have temporarily removed it, and underneath is a plastic mat (probably original) glued directly to the concrete slab. The baseboard that we tore off was actually molding. There was a sticker on the back. The holes are relatively high up, so I guess they needed something wider to cover.
I've also wondered if it's some type of ventilation, but it seems strange with so many holes that just go straight into the wall (and probably stop at the blocks). When we renovated the kitchen that faces another exterior wall, there were no such holes.
I also feel it would be wise to find out what it is so we don't accidentally cover it if it is for ventilation purposes or similar.
The flooring currently there was installed by the previous owner and is an Ikea floor. We have temporarily removed it, and underneath is a plastic mat (probably original) glued directly to the concrete slab. The baseboard that we tore off was actually molding. There was a sticker on the back. The holes are relatively high up, so I guess they needed something wider to cover.
I've also wondered if it's some type of ventilation, but it seems strange with so many holes that just go straight into the wall (and probably stop at the blocks). When we renovated the kitchen that faces another exterior wall, there were no such holes.
I also feel it would be wise to find out what it is so we don't accidentally cover it if it is for ventilation purposes or similar.