Smoke/Weed Smell Coming Through Chimney Breast

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13 May 2018
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Manchester, UK
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United Kingdom
We live in a terrace and on one site, our neighbours smoke a lot, both cigarettes and weed.

The smell isn't overpowering but it's particularly noticeable in our master bedroom which has fitted wardrobes on the party wall that we didn't install.

There were some large (grapefruit-sized) holes along the top of the wardrobes where they met the plaster wall and a lot of tissue had been stuffed into gaps running along the top of the wardrobe running horizontally.

We removed the tissue and filled these voids with expanding foam but the problem persists.

We can't really smell smoke/weed anywhere else in the house, even the living room which shares the same chimney breast as our bedroom.

Any suggestions on how I can diagnose the point of entry for the smell?
 
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Floor and ceiling joists into the party wall and the top of the party wall where it meets the underside of the roof.
 
Right, so the best way of doing that would be to remove the bottom of the wardrobes from within and then try to access the area of the floor beneath them?
 
Whoah .... I'm only pointing out the three most likely routes in these situations. I can't be responsible for implementation or ripping the bedroom up.

There will always be potential small holes and cracks in plaster, walls and ceilings, along with gaps in floor boards. It's a difficult problem to remedy. Floor joists in party walls are a prime route and tend to have gaps around them. But see which way they are spanning.

One option if you wanted to be more proactive, would be to make a claim to the council (or privately) under Statutory Nuisance law, and have an abatement notice served on the neighbours. This puts the onus on them stopping the smell getting out, which will be much easier than you stopping it getting in. Admittedly this doesn't do much for neighbour relations, but if its a choice between one or the other ....
 
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Yeah, I might try speaking to them first then but they are both drinkers (one of them doesn't leave the house) so I don't know how far I'll get with that.
 
Quick update, I spoke with the council and they put me onto the Community Welfare Officer the next day, who visited last week to complete a risk assessment. Either the local council are incredibly efficient or the couple and their address are known.

I filled the holes at the top and bottom of the wardrobe and - miraculously - the smell of the smoke is nowhere near as bad as it was. In one corner of the room, the smell is still prevalent but it doesn't smell as though someone has just stubbed out their ciggy if you enter the room now.

I don't want to stir up a load of trouble with the neighbours if I can help it but good to know that the council is onto this as we have our first baby due next week.
 
Quick update, I spoke with the council and they put me onto the Community Welfare Officer the next day, who visited last week to complete a risk assessment. Either the local council are incredibly efficient or the couple and their address are known.

I filled the holes at the top and bottom of the wardrobe and - miraculously - the smell of the smoke is nowhere near as bad as it was. In one corner of the room, the smell is still prevalent but it doesn't smell as though someone has just stubbed out their ciggy if you enter the room now.

I don't want to stir up a load of trouble with the neighbours if I can help it but good to know that the council is onto this as we have our first baby due next week.


Be careful you haven't just made the authoties known of a grow house. Your neghibours could end up turning on you. I would have mentioned it to them first.
 
I explained to the council I was hesitant to approach them to start with due to the heavy drinking and wanted to know what my options were. As far as I'm aware they aren't growing anything. The dealer turns up every other day in his 18-plate BMW and his tracksuit.
 
Report your suspicions about the occupants/dealer to crime stoppers - they might put a marker on his car and nick him when he is out making his deliveries.
 
Report your suspicions about the occupants/dealer to crime stoppers - they might put a marker on his car and nick him when he is out making his deliveries.

My mate's a copper. I'll ask him if this is worthwhile.

No possibility it's wafting in via ill-fitting windows?

Afraid not. Sniffing around in the corner of the bedroom like a bloodhound revealed exactly where the smell is getting in after sealing up the holes at the top and bottom of the wardrobe. As has been pointed out, I think the smell is wafting in through where the joists enter the party wall and then coming up through the floorboards as they are sprung wood.
 
There's your answer then. Remove some floorboards and seal everything up

It's a big job...we have sprung wooden floorboards and fitted wardrobes to work around. One of the members on here suggested that the onus was on the neighbours to stop the smell getting into our house rather than the other way around.
 
Damn sight quicker and easier just to get on and do it. And you certainly don't want to start a war with your neighbours.
 
Yeah, I'm coming to that realisation. Any good guides on where to start dismantling the fitted wardrobes without totally wrecking them.
 

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