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Downstairs neighbours smoking

I have just bought my first flat (a first floor maisonette Victorian conversion) and have been living here since October. We have recently noticed a strong smell of smoke (both weed and cigarette) coming through the kitchen cabinets - and in turn filling the entire flat with the smell. Particularly disgusting when you're trying to eat or trying to get to sleep - or wake up in the morning with your bedroom smelling of smoke. They also have a small child living downstairs, not that its any of my business but I feel bad for a child growing up in that environment.

Anyway - we have spoken to the neighbour and she agreed to TRY to smoke with the window open or smoke completely outside but she clearly is not doing this as the smell keeps coming through. I am thinking (hoping) that the situation will improve as the weather gets warmer and she stops smoking with her windows closed.

Does anyone have any tips on how we can insulate or "seal" gaps underneath the cabinets? What materials to use? We have a long term goal of redoing the floors and kitchen so could add insulation at that point but that wont be for a while.

Or any other advice dealing with smoking neighbours?

Comments

  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Sealing the gaps will depend on what material the gaps are within and how wide they are. Might be an option simply to put another layer on top e.g. if wooden floorboards then a sheet of hardboard.

    Plenty of previous threads here about smoking neighbours.
  • Rich2808
    Rich2808 Posts: 1,353 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Not much you can do about people smoking. It’s annoying anti social and unpleasant.

    You could suggest they attend giving up smoking classes - and if that doesn’t help they will have a higher risk of dying young with cancer. So you may get some non smoking neighbours eventually.
  • Given that it's an old building, you may find there's space under the floorboards which you can fill with appropriate material to lessen both smell and (added bonus) noise transference. Until you get to the point of lifting the existing flooring, though, there's not a great deal you can do about the gaps I think. You could get a couple of essential oil diffusers to mask the smell in the meantime, perhaps?
  • googler
    googler Posts: 16,103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 11 February 2019 pm28 1:30PM
    If the smoke is getting in through gaps in your floorboards under the cabinets, then that suggests there are matching gaps at ceiling level in the downstairs flat, which seems unlikely - unless it's all coming up through a badly-fitted light fitting or two.

    Since lifting the floorboards at the moment isn't an option, all I can suggest is getting some rockwool-style loft insulation, removing the kick panels below the floor cupboard doors, and packing the space with the insulation.

    Alternatively, consider some mechanical method to increase the air pressure in your flat (or just below the cabinets), and hence create positive airflow outward along the gap lines. An air pump to draw air in from outside, a scuba tank set to slowly discharge air, etc. The reason the air and smoke is gravitating to you is simply convection, with warm air rising. It meets no resistance as your flat is at same pressure as theirs, generally speaking. If you counteract this, and drive the air outward ....

    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/l35bk/neighbor_stinking_up_my_apartment/

    Quote

    "I have cigarette smoking neighbors ... maintain positive air pressure. ...
    Bookmark a weather site like wunderground.com and figure out the current wind direction. You want to open the windows on the windward side and close them on the leeward. Imagine the breeze will fill your apartment like a wind-sock, creating positive air pressure. This positive pressure will blow air through all the little cracks and spaces that connect your apartment to your neighbors, isolating you from their smoke. ... "
  • In my experience there are often large holes behind and under kitchen cabinets and baths where pipework is routed through floors then left poorly finished as it will be unseen once the kitchen units or baths are fitted.

    Access is the biggest problem. Try removing the kick boards to look for obvious holes. Fill gaps with screwed up plastic bags, loft insulation or expanding foam. Fill smaller gaps with mastic sealant. Also try sealing all around the room where the skirting meets the floor.
    Opening windows in your property might be creating a vacuum drawing air through the gaps.
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