seeking advice re: gut reno next door

hi, I wanted to see what people thought about this… 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. The next day I went next door to talk to the guys about it. The smell next door was definitely the same as in my own house on the garden floor. They said they’d be done with demo “in a few days” (they’re still clearing debris). I went inside and looked at the area of the wall/chimney that would be closest to the fireplace on my side and there didn’t appear to be a hole in the bricks. They tried to convince me the smell and dust was coming in through the windows. It’s not. It’s definitely coming through the wall and seems to be related to the chimney. The smell and dust abated a little, maybe because they were working in other parts of the house, but last night, one day after thoroughly cleaning the entire front room and trying to get it to smell normal, the odor was back and there was dust on and around the fireplace and floor. I’m worried that, even when the demo is done, dust was loosened by this construction (creosote?) that will continue to filter into my unit, stink it up and make it a dusty mess. By the way, I asked my tenants about it and they don’t smell anything in their units. Can anything be done? Are they responsible at all for the impact the work is having in my home? Should I be concerned about a breach in the wall or chimney? Who checks that? I don’t have the budget to demo anything in my house room in order to clear out debris/dust or check on their work. The room was fine before, no smell, normal amount of dust. I’m also concerned about my health. All week I’ve been sick and run down, sneezing etc, which admittedly is probably just a cold I could have caught anywhere, but somehow feel like it’s related to the smell and dust in my unit as a result of the work next door. Any advice would be appreciated.

classon

in About Brooklyn 10 years and 1 month ago

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Augustiner | 10 years and 1 month ago

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I had incent smoke coming from a neighbors cellar into my garden level chimney – I ended up cementing the inside and patching the cracks. That didn’t solve the problem completely so I spent some nights sniffing the corners of my room – in the end I sealed the fireplace joints and all gaps with silicone. That solved the problem for me.

Arkady | 10 years and 1 month ago

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Try covering the entire wall – wainscoting & all.

classon | 10 years and 1 month ago

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yes I already taped plastic over the fireplace grate (which is already sealed from the inside with plywood) but dust is still coming through the wainscoting. The dust is one thing but the smell is another entirely. It’s almost unbearable. Very bitter/acrid, and I sleep on that level.

shahnandersen

in About Brooklyn 10 years and 1 month ago

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I know you say that you have a budget problem, but I would hire (at least for one visit) an engineer who specializes in older buildings (you may eventually negotiate with the people next door to pay for it). Don’t risk losing the value of your investment.

Arkady | 10 years and 1 month ago

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I had a similar situation – though no odor – & taped up thin, plastic drop cloths anywhere it was feasible & that helped w/ the dust.

daveinbedstuy | 10 years and 1 month ago

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I’ll let others advise as to what specifically you can do but get any photos together of the walls before the damage was done and take a ton of them now and through the rest of their demolition warm.