From the Forum: Next-Door Renovation Causing Smells and Dust

A Brownstoner reader is dealing with odors and dust from a renovation happening next door and is concerned about the impact it might be having on their own building.

classon writes:

The house next to me, which is old and in poor condition, is being gutted. Both houses are dusty with age anyway, never mind vibrations from the demo loosening even more dust.

About 2 weeks ago I came home to a terrible odor in the front room on the garden level. It was definitely a smell resulting from the work next door—bitter and very unpleasant. There was also a lot of dust in the room, along the wall that’s adjacent to the house being reno’d. On that wall there is a fireplace (not in use though it acts as a chimney for the furnace) that is blocked with plywood but not totally sealed as far as I can remember. There’s also wainscoting that’s in decent condition cosmetically, but not restored, so there are cracks that can also let in dust. I cleaned the room and it helped a little with the smell but it lingered.

Read the rest of the poster’s story here. Is there anything that can be done here? Are the contractors responsible for any effects the renovation is having on the poster’s building?

Chime in over at the original post.

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