Neighbour's wood boiler fumes in our house

littlerock

We have elderly neighbours, he must be around 90 and she is in her mid 80s. He has always been very eccentric. We live in halls adjoining Victorian houses which have coal cellars under the dining rooms.

We have a gas central heating boiler at the back wall of our house which vents to the garden outside via a pluming kit. Our neighbour does not have central heating. They have an Aga (gas I think but it might be solid fuel) in the kitchen which replaced an earlier solid fuel one a couple of years ago. I suppose they have a solid fuel fire in their sitting room. I think they also have night storage heaters elsewhere.

Our houses had coal cellars which are adjoining cellars under the back rooms of the houses but do not extend to the front rooms. Shortly before we moved in, around 25 years ago, he had tried to extend his cellar under his front room to make it accessible by a ramp into the road, to make a garage. He stopped part way and it never got finished.

They used to have coal delivered to the cellar every winter and we could always tell because our house smelt of coal for a few days. He also has a large stock pile of wood he used to burn on the Aga but now I suppose it goes on their fire.

The thing is, for the last week or so, there has been an overwhelming smell of acrid wood smoke in our hall and front room. The fireplaces are on the outsides of the houses so it cannot be leaking via the chimney stacks, at least not directly. I suspect he is burning old wood on the fire in his front room and the smoke fumes are somehow drifting into our hall and front room. It is quite possible his cellar extension made some inroads into our side of the plot, although you cannot inspect it as his cellar is now completely full of junk - they never throw anything away. Or maybe they have defective flues leading to his cellar which is causing the smoke smell to drifting across to our house.

They are very sweet and mean no harm. So I asked him if he was having a problem with smoke and he just looked bewildered. I don't think it can a health hazard as such, as it has not triggered our smoke alarms. But it is impossible to sit in our front room, the smell is so overwhelming.

One way forward might be to get an independent inspection of the smell in my house and then see if it can be traced to their house. If so I can ask him to get something done. I think if I have someone round and they can trace it to him, that would work. However I have no idea who I should commission for this sort of report. Anyone know?

adonis

Make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector,

http://www.gr8fires.co.uk/articles/dangers-of-carbon-monoxide

littlerock

Yes we do and it is not going off. Thanks.

FreeBear

It could be that his chimney needs a good sweep as it sounds as if the fumes are coming back down the flue.

If you are on good terms with the neighbour, I'd suggest loaning him a smoke & carbon monoxide alarm. If (when) it goes off, he will know there is a serious problem.

paddy's_mum

Stop with the Mr Nice Guy hinting. Tell the neighbour that there is a problem and ask if you can work together to try to identify and sort it out.

Far from provoking trouble, you may be saving their lives since if it's bad in your house, potentially it could become murderous in theirs.

Davesnave

As above, I wouldn't p u s s y foot around in these circumstances.

I'd have the neighbours come around to smell it themselves, and if that didn't elicit the right response, I'd contact Environmental Health.

Smoke does do strange things. In our first property a coal fire would send smoke up one chimney and it would come down another upstairs if we left the bedroom door open, but you say the chimneys are wide apart, so I'm doubtful if that sort of thing is going on.

ariba10

littlerock wrote: »

They used to have coal delivered to the cellar every winter and we could always tell because our house smelt of coal for a few days.

That intreges me. What does Coal smell like?

Heedtheadvice

Aruba, you never smelled coal dust or are you immune to it ?:)

Yes problem does need to be tackled but in a courteous manner but perhaps forcefully too as it is possible that your 90 year old is still unaware. You need to say that you have a problem!

Head_The_Ball

paddy's_mum wrote: »

Stop with the Mr Nice Guy hinting. Tell the neighbour that there is a problem and ask if you can work together to try to identify and sort it out.

Far from provoking trouble, you may be saving their lives since if it's bad in your house, potentially it could become murderous in theirs.

I agree with all of that.

Talk to them politely, sensitively and kindly but act firmly and insist that this is dealt with immediately. Today, not tomorrow or next week.

You should not have to tolerate this and frankly, they are at a high risk of damaging their own health or dying from smoke fumes or CO gas. CO gas has no smell, is a silent killer and does not take long to kill.

You might have to be cruel to be kind.

Is their a relative that you can contact? Son, daughter etc.

Good luck

ariba10

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

Aruba, you never smelled coal dust or are you immune to it ?:)

Yes problem does need to be tackled but in a courteous manner but perhaps forcefully too as it is possible that your 90 year old is still unaware. You need to say that you have a problem!

There is no smell with Coal.

There is when it burnt but not in it's natural state.

shaun_from_Africa

ariba10 wrote: »

There is no smell with Coal.

I disagree.
Next time you see someone delivering a sack of coal, ask them if they could open the sack then poke your head in and have a sniff.

If would far more apparent after a delivery of coal has been dumped into a cellar or down a chute due to the amount of coal dust that would be thrown up at the time.