Smoke from next door's chimney
Discussion
Old 1890s terrace house. We're doing ours up, next door is an old hermit type fella with a rundown house (don't think it has been touched since 60s at least). Came home from a stint away with work to find that smoke has drifted into our house from next door's chimney. Our new skirting and carpet in the back bedroom upstairs are stained black around chimney breast.
Missus remembers while I am away some sort of noise going on in chimney in the back bedroom as if next door tried to scrape or sweep it. He must use some of the fireplaces as I've seen coal delivered. Unfortunately that chimney on our side is plastered over in bedroom and living room downstairs so we have no access to it at present.
Just moved some things around in front bedroom to fit wardrobes and possible evidence of similar although in the alcove next to the chimney but in the opposite corner to the fireplace - as if the smoke drifted along under flooring from back room and popped up in the corner nearest to it in the front room. Not as definite, but slight discolouration of skirting, etc. makes me think some residual evidence. On our side, this chimney is open downstairs (front room) but we've not used it.
Obviously next door needs to sort their side out - I can but ask. But what can I do my side? I assume the mortar has gone in the chimney allowing smoke to run through. I was going to open the back chimney to reinstate the fireplace downstairs and put a flue through to potentially install a wood burner. This will at least get me access to this chimney at the bottom. But no plans to do anything further with upstairs room. Will now install CO meters on both floors of course.
Any suggestions?
Missus remembers while I am away some sort of noise going on in chimney in the back bedroom as if next door tried to scrape or sweep it. He must use some of the fireplaces as I've seen coal delivered. Unfortunately that chimney on our side is plastered over in bedroom and living room downstairs so we have no access to it at present.
Just moved some things around in front bedroom to fit wardrobes and possible evidence of similar although in the alcove next to the chimney but in the opposite corner to the fireplace - as if the smoke drifted along under flooring from back room and popped up in the corner nearest to it in the front room. Not as definite, but slight discolouration of skirting, etc. makes me think some residual evidence. On our side, this chimney is open downstairs (front room) but we've not used it.
Obviously next door needs to sort their side out - I can but ask. But what can I do my side? I assume the mortar has gone in the chimney allowing smoke to run through. I was going to open the back chimney to reinstate the fireplace downstairs and put a flue through to potentially install a wood burner. This will at least get me access to this chimney at the bottom. But no plans to do anything further with upstairs room. Will now install CO meters on both floors of course.
Any suggestions?
Mandat said:
Yes, but if the problem is on the OP's side (i.e. eroded pointing to flue / breast brickwork) that it will be OP's problem to sort out.
It would only be coming through to the OP's side if his neighbour's chimney wasn't drawing correctly though, surely? no chimney in an old house will be entirely airtight, but a correctly functioning one will be sucking rather than blowing through any gaps. I'd guess next door's chimney is blocked, and his house is full of soot too. To echo the above comments, the decorating being damaged is annoying, but the prospect of the smoke/co2 in your house is the worry.
I'd be straight round to have a chat (friendly!) to see what could be causing this, what could have instigated it, see if I can pursaude him off having fires anytime soon. If he is reasonable suggest a flu or equiv for his chimney, or else it is on to his/your own home insurance. Maybe use it as an opportunity to have yours opened up (& left open) for future log burner/fire yourself? (as a benefit to this situation...)
Fires, smoke & Co2 is too big to mess around with in terms of DIY bodges/fiddling around with it.
I'd be straight round to have a chat (friendly!) to see what could be causing this, what could have instigated it, see if I can pursaude him off having fires anytime soon. If he is reasonable suggest a flu or equiv for his chimney, or else it is on to his/your own home insurance. Maybe use it as an opportunity to have yours opened up (& left open) for future log burner/fire yourself? (as a benefit to this situation...)
Fires, smoke & Co2 is too big to mess around with in terms of DIY bodges/fiddling around with it.
A lot of decent chimney sweeps will be able to do a camera survey of your chimneys which will pick up any problems coming through from next door. Even if you're not using your chimneys, this would be a relatively cheap way of getting the ball rolling or even if only for peace of mind.
Buffalo said:
Obviously next door needs to sort their side out
I take it yours and his fireplaces are back to back on a party wallSurely the smoke escaping from 1 house to another it's an issue with the wall that separates the 2 fire places and therefore I'd have thought that's the responsibility of you both.
Lining his chimney may solve the issue with the day to day smoke but I'd have thought that if smoke was travelling through the party wall then the fire and acoustic properties of the wall may well have been compromised.
Edited by andye30m3 on Thursday 23 March 13:48
Thanks all. Yes, I am assuming that the mortar/ wall has gone in the party wall. It fits with the time line of while I was away Jan/Feb and the missus heard scraping in the chimney - I assume next door must have had some issues and tried a DIY sweep. When I came back home I moved some document boxes that I placed temporarily against our blocked up fireplace immediately before I left and found the soot evidence behind them. It definitely wasn't there when I left or I would have seen it when I placed boxes.
As we were thinking of opening up the bottom fireplace on our side anyway(underneath the room with the soot in it), I will just expedite that (will try do it this weekend - otherwise next week). We have had a quote in for checking our own stack and putting in a flue ready for a wood burner anyway - this was done before I went away a couple of months ago. So I will call the chimney sweep back and get him sorted to come over as well. I will also ask next door when I next see him, if he will let the same sweep in to do his side. I do chat the old guy next door from time to time - get on ok - but I doubt from the way he lives there is spare money for additional works on his side. So, it will probably be my expense.
My issue I suppose is, if is the issues originate from his side and he continues to use his chimney without a liner then it will forever infiltrate my house unless I rip it apart again to try and seal it. Or offer to install a flue his side. Maybe for the best but I'm not overjoyed on the idea. How else do I force action? Very annoying...
As we were thinking of opening up the bottom fireplace on our side anyway(underneath the room with the soot in it), I will just expedite that (will try do it this weekend - otherwise next week). We have had a quote in for checking our own stack and putting in a flue ready for a wood burner anyway - this was done before I went away a couple of months ago. So I will call the chimney sweep back and get him sorted to come over as well. I will also ask next door when I next see him, if he will let the same sweep in to do his side. I do chat the old guy next door from time to time - get on ok - but I doubt from the way he lives there is spare money for additional works on his side. So, it will probably be my expense.
My issue I suppose is, if is the issues originate from his side and he continues to use his chimney without a liner then it will forever infiltrate my house unless I rip it apart again to try and seal it. Or offer to install a flue his side. Maybe for the best but I'm not overjoyed on the idea. How else do I force action? Very annoying...
Paul Drawmer said:
Andehh said:
.....If he is reasonable suggest a flu or equiv for his chimney, or else it is on to his/your own home insurance.
Unlikely to be covered on home insurance. Most policies specifically exclude causes due to poor maintenance, or from long term neglect.
I would like to think my Home Insurance would help me out to some degree in such an issue?
Hes probably minted but lives a very simple life. I had a similar problem in a 1920s house, the house was built using lime/mortar and the party wall within the downstairs breasts had some gaps in the pointing. The house also had a very strange flue routing that we never really did figure out, it was possible the bedroom fireplace flues crisscrossed! Luckily the chimney breasts downstairs were very large, you could get up into them to a certain height and we got it all repointed, the owner on the otherside did the same then they were smoke tested.
If smoke is leaking across into your own chimney, it should still be drawn straight up, have you got vents in the un-used fireplaces? or is the smoke going into a chimney flue that is capped at the top? What I am saying is that if you attempt to seal it off, you could make it worse.
I think you need to look at the problem from both sides in order to repoint it if thats the issue.
If smoke is leaking across into your own chimney, it should still be drawn straight up, have you got vents in the un-used fireplaces? or is the smoke going into a chimney flue that is capped at the top? What I am saying is that if you attempt to seal it off, you could make it worse.
I think you need to look at the problem from both sides in order to repoint it if thats the issue.
Edited by davebem on Thursday 23 March 14:52
davebem said:
Hes probably minted but lives a very simple life. I had a similar problem in a 1920s house, the house was built using lime/mortar and the party wall within the downstairs breasts had some gaps in the pointing. The house also had a very strange flue routing that we never really did figure out, it was possible the bedroom fireplace flues crisscrossed! Luckily the chimney breasts downstairs were very large, you could get up into them to a certain height and we got it all repointed, the owner on the otherside did the same then they were smoke tested.
If smoke is leaking across into your own chimney, it should still be drawn straight up, have you got vents in the un-used fireplaces? or is the smoke going into a chimney flue that is capped at the top? What I am saying is that if you attempt to seal it off, you could make it worse.
I think you need to look at the problem from both sides in order to repoint it if thats the issue.
That's very true! If smoke is leaking across into your own chimney, it should still be drawn straight up, have you got vents in the un-used fireplaces? or is the smoke going into a chimney flue that is capped at the top? What I am saying is that if you attempt to seal it off, you could make it worse.
I think you need to look at the problem from both sides in order to repoint it if thats the issue.
Edited by davebem on Thursday 23 March 14:52
I know because we had a similar problem at our cottage in Norfolk. We had a wood burner installed a few years ago. Up until that point we had no trouble at all. After it was fitted we noticed the loft was filling up with smoke.
This only happened when next door had their open fire alight. It turned out that the brickwork between our two chimneys was shot. Smoke was entering ours and being drawn up and out the top. Once ours was sealed the smoke had nowhere else to go.
The old girl next door didn't believe us, so we had to get the Fire Officer around. That did the trick. She now has a liner down her chimney too.
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