Smoke and weed smell coming through walls

George_Michael

MrsStepford said:

I wouldn't stuff newspaper in between joists because of fire hazard. Expanding foam sounds a better idea. 

Unless one of the specialty non flammable foams is used, the normal "run of the mill" expanding foams purchased from DIY stores can be flammable when cured and can give off many different toxic chemicals when burning.
Provided that it's well clear of any sources of possible ignition, newspaper between the  joists won't be any more of a risk than the wooden floorboards, foam underlay or the joists themselves catching fire.

initpatch

I ended up up using fibre from some old pillows I was gonna toss out but last night I could smell it again. I can feel a draft when my head is at floor level and I was gonna try sealing the gaps in-between the floorboards and skirting with caulk, not sure how effective that would be though

Rosa_Damascena

Is it only me who thinks that the neighbour is the problem?

If I had children I would be livid that they were being exposed to this.

Jeepers_Creepers

initpatch said:

I ended up up using fibre from some old pillows I was gonna toss out but last night I could smell it again. I can feel a draft when my head is at floor level and I was gonna try sealing the gaps in-between the floorboards and skirting with caulk, not sure how effective that would be though

Very good chance that'll help. You may, tho', need to go all around the room and seal that floor/skirting gap everywhere. Also, unless you are using a good underlay (perhaps along with paper sheet), some air (and smell) will also trickle up through each floor board joint (I'm guessing they are T&G floorboards?)

I would personally also be 'happy' to use expanding foam rather than newspaper or stuffing to seal where the joints go in to the walls - foam will expand to fill all the gaps, whereas you'll struggle to do that with anything else so it could be a waste of time. Except it would be great for any meece looking for a home :-)  And, tbh, by the time that line of foam even threatens to release toxic fumes, the house will be an inferno, so that'll be the least of your worries.

Even tho' the weeeed is technically illegal, this isn't really the neighbour's problem - as others have said, you ain't going to stop him smoking cigs or cooking even if he stopped using drugs. It's a design flaw in the build.

For sealing, just use whatever you can find that's the cheapest. When I sealed all my upstairs floorboards in a previous house to stop draughts, I used brown frame sealant which was dirt cheap from Screwfix. I then ended up sanding and staining the boards, and the dark brown lines looked great - phew!  But caulk is probably better - and water based so no smell.

MovingForwards

I used caulk on my skirting, but make sure you don't leave any gap between the wall and skirting or floor and skirting.

Teapot55

To reduce ‘through draughts’ and warm air escaping from the room up the chimney of an unused fireplace I’d recommend buying a sheepswool draught excluder from https://www.chimneysheep.co.uk/
Easy to fit and works well.