Can fumes pass through shared walls?

John D v2.0 · 1 Jan 2017

For each side of a party wall in flat, the thinnest you'd get would be over 30mm of fire line plasterboard on metal studwork. In terms of stud walls, that's pretty tough and not what I'd call flimsy. In a house it's probably brick but not all flats have structural walls everywhere. My advise would be you're causing more damage to your Health from the stress of worry, so stop worrying.

Lower · 2 Jan 2017

My point is that the fumes you are worrying about aren't serious and dissipate quickly through the natural ventilation in a property.

More importantly, when people complain about paint and solvent odours, in my experience the fume level is usually so low it can't even be measured. The odour is a nuisance only and not a health risk. The fact you can't smell it means your worrying about something that isn't there.

Ps my company designs and installs paint booths for a variety of industries so I know a little about it...

Nickjh · 7 Jan 2017

Lower said:
My point is that the fumes you are worrying about aren't serious and dissipate quickly through the natural ventilation in a property.

More importantly, when people complain about paint and solvent odours, in my experience the fume level is usually so low it can't even be measured. The odour is a nuisance only and not a health risk. The fact you can't smell it means your worrying about something that isn't there.

Ps my company designs and installs paint booths for a variety of industries so I know a little about it...

I appreciate that the levels coming through will be low, but when people said yes it could come through the party walls, is this that it most likely will have (but in a low amount) or is it likely that nothing will have come through at all?
Would a brick party wall from a 60/70 year old house be a more effective barrier than a timber framed party wall?

Nickjh · 7 Jan 2017

John D v2.0 said:
For each side of a party wall in flat, the thinnest you'd get would be over 30mm of fire line plasterboard on metal studwork. In terms of stud walls, that's pretty tough and not what I'd call flimsy. In a house it's probably brick but not all flats have structural walls everywhere. My advise would be you're causing more damage to your Health from the stress of worry, so stop worrying.

I appreciate that the levels coming through will be low, but when people said yes it could come through the party walls, is this that it most likely will have (but in a low amount) or is it likely that nothing will have come through at all?
Would a brick party wall from a 60/70 year old house be a more effective barrier than a timber framed party wall?

Lower · 7 Jan 2017

Nickjh said:
I appreciate that the levels coming through will be low, but when people said yes it could come through the party walls, is this that it most likely will have (but in a low amount) or is it likely that nothing will have come through at all?
Would a brick party wall from a 60/70 year old house be a more effective barrier than a timber framed party wall?

Impossible to say. It depends on how well either option is constructed and sealed.

If you haven't smelt anything its likely nothing came through.

Nickjh · 8 Jan 2017

But in general wo

Lower said:
Impossible to say. It depends on how well either option is constructed and sealed.

If you haven't smelt anything its likely nothing came through.

But in general are modern flats very unlikely to have any transfer of paint fumes through a timber framed party wall?

Newboy · 8 Jan 2017

Any party wall between two flats will have to meet building regs. in terms of resistance to fire (and smoke) transmission.

There is virtually no chance of any fumes transmission through the walls. If the walls are timber with boarding over and then plaster skimmed then there is no chance of fumes transmission.

Stop worrying and enjoy life and the imminent arrival of a new addition to your family.

Nickjh · 8 Jan 2017

newboy said:
Any party wall between two flats will have to meet building regs. in terms of resistance to fire (and smoke) transmission.

There is virtually no chance of any fumes transmission through the walls. If the walls are timber with boarding over and then plaster skimmed then there is no chance of fumes transmission.

Stop worrying and enjoy life and the imminent arrival of a new addition to your family.

Hi many thanks for your post - I really appreciate it.

Does it make any difference that the party wall is very thin? When I walked around town today, I looked at several semi detached houses on the streets, and they had big thick party walls between the 2 houses and also made out of brick.

Newboy · 8 Jan 2017

Seriously, stop worrying. There is no problem with fumes passing through your wall. You probably inhaled more harmful fumes walking around town today than you will ever inhale as a result of decorating activities.

Enjoy life, stop worrying

Nickjh · 8 Jan 2017

newboy said:
Seriously, stop worrying. There is no problem with fumes passing through your wall. You probably inhaled more harmful fumes walking around town today than you will ever inhale as a result of decorating activities.

Enjoy life, stop worrying

But why did the other posters say that it could happen?
Also, I've read online about this happening to other people.
I know these walls are not required to be airtight.

Newboy · 8 Jan 2017

To be honest, I suspect that nothing I (or anybody else) can say will convince you.

In my view, you (and the rest if your family) are at zero risk of any health issues from the situation you have described.

There are far bigger things to worry about than paint & varnish fumes

^woody^ · 8 Jan 2017

Nickjh said:
When I walked around town today, I looked at several semi detached houses on the streets, and they had big thick party walls between the 2 houses and also made out of brick.

Did you pick the x-ray glasses up in the sales? Have you got a link, they could be damn useful.

noseall · 9 Jan 2017

Try not to leave the sanctity of your sanitized home, else venture out into the toxic badlands that is a busy public highway. Far more dangerous fumes there.
I bet you can get an army surplus HazMat suit somewhere on the internet.

Ian H · 9 Jan 2017

Our neighbours decorated their living room last year. We had the same concerns so moved house to be away from the fumes.

New neighbour just told me he wants to paint his skirting so I've requested he puts us up in a hotel for the duration of works.

diry · 9 Jan 2017

I've lived in a world full of

Acetaldehyde, Acetamide, Acetonitrile, Acetophenone, Acrolein, Acrylamide, Acrylic acid, Acrylonitrile, 4-Aminobiphenyl, Aniline, M-Anisidine, P-Anisidine, O-Anisidine, Asbestos, Benzene, 1,3-Butadiene, Carbon disulfide, Carbon monoxide, Carbon tetrachloride, Carbonyl sulfide, Chlorine, Chlorobenzene, Chloroethane, Chloroform, Chloromethane, Chloroprene, Cresol, O-Cresol, Cumene, 1,2-Dibromoethane, 1,2-Dichloroethane, Dichloromethane, Ethylbenzene, Ethylene glycol, Ethylene oxide, Fluidized bed concentrator, Formaldehyde, Hexachlorobenzene, Hexane, Hydrazine, Hydrogen chloride, Hydrogen fluoride, Methanol, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Methyl isocyanide, Methyl methacrylate, Methyl tert-butyl ether, Naphthalene, National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, 4-Nitroaniline, Nitrogen dioxide, Phenol, Polychlorinated biphenyl, Propionaldehyde, Quinoline, Sodium selenite, Startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions, Styrene, Sulfur trioxide, Tetrachloroethylene, Toluene, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, Trichloroethylene, Vinyl acetate, Vinyl chloride and Xylene (forgive me if I missed a few)

and I turned out just fine...

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Can fumes pass through shared walls?

John D v2.0

Lower

Nickjh

Nickjh

Lower

Nickjh

Newboy

Nickjh

Newboy

Nickjh

Newboy

^woody^

noseall

Ian H

diry

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