noxious fumes form construction next door
hey there. we live in a wood frame bushwick townhouse. they started renovations next door and all the fumes from their paint thinner and primer is coming into our home! there is ZERO insulation between our 2 homes, just the frame and sheetrock! we can actually see into their house from the crawl space at the top of our bedroom closet. we have never met the owners and the construction manager said they are out of town and we cannot talk to them. what would you guys do? we spoke with the epa but they were not helpful at all!
spicygreencurry
in General Discussion 8 years and 7 months ago
12
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12 replies
nyc_sport | 8 years and 7 months ago
Seriously, call 311 because your neighbor is using paint thinner? And the culprit is that neither one of you have sealed the wall. Life is too short. Live a little. You might like it.
pepinohill | 8 years and 7 months ago
gut reno next door. first thing we did was reach out to the owners. they aren’t being malicious but they are very clueless about the impact they are having on their neighbors (e.g., giant paint chips covering my entryway, demolition dust making it’s way through the cracks in my floor, fumes from stripping chemicals). I always take pictures when needed, and I also spoke to the owners, and I’ve visited the site to talk to the contractors. I’ve asked them to tell me when they are going to be doing particularly dusty or smelly work — e.g., staining floors — so I can at least be prepared and keep the kids out of the house. They were both receptive, but I have had to keep reminding them to do certain things. For example, last week they applied primer to the walls. They didn’t open any windows! Of course, I came home and my house smelled like paint. A few weeks ago they were stripping doors. I had giant paint chips all over my stoop and patio, and I know that is lead-based paint. I know they have to do the work, but I asked them to at least put screens on the windo w so I don’t have to deal with cancer-causing debris. But by far the best thing I did is buy a couple of air purifiers. I would like to add that my neighbor called 311 on them, and that led to a stop work order. I don’t think that’s good for anyone, but it did have the added benefit of making them take their neighbor’s requests more seriously.
slick | 8 years and 7 months ago
I would write a letter and hand it to the conractor. In the letter I would be very clear that you have tried to resolve the matter amicably with the contractor but may be forced to involve the DOB because the situation is unlivable. I’d even take a picture of you handing the letter to the contractor. If they don’t respond to that, it’s perfectly reasonable to call DOB. If he owners are upset, you can show them the letter and the picture and ask them what you were supposed to do.
rasheeda.y66 | 8 years and 7 months ago
If the situation was reversed, and you were doing the painting and your neighbors complained about the smell, what would you do to aliviate the problem? Maybe you can suggest same to them. Also, how long will this smell linger, a few days or a couple weeks at most? Maybe this is a non issue.
cate | 8 years and 7 months ago
Short term I would suggest putting up sheets of plastic insulation with blue painters tape on and around the party wall in select rooms, taking care to cover cracks and gaps where materials and planes intersect (such as baseboards, walls, and floor). You can buy it at Home Depot (or wherever) — it’s for insulating windows. Works great. Are you sure you don’t have brick nogging between your houses? Isn’t this required for fireproofing? (It’s between the frame in a frame house.) In any case, our frame house has brick nogging and we still get cigarette smoke from the next door neighbors coming in. If it were me, I’d find out how big the scope of the renovation is, what they are doing now (wood stripping, floor refinishing, etc.), and how long this is likely to last. Good luck!
katdov | 8 years and 7 months ago
I had an issue with a tree in my neighbor’s yard that was covering half of mine. I couldn’t get a hold of the neighbor who lives elsewhere, so wrote a letter and she turned out to be a very nice woman and we split the cost of the tree issue. So it is quite possible that your neighbor will be reasonable and will want to insulate the walls now since they are open. It may also be that the contractor is not interested in putting you two in touch because of added work/costs/time whatever. So you should really try to get a hold of the neighbor before you do anything else.
daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 7 months ago
> @EJR
>” this sounds like a typical byproduct of renovation work and will hopefully dissipate after a couple days.” and “and if it were me, I would want the renovation complete and the house occupied as soon as possible.” Exactly. But the uninsulated party wall sounds like an issue; at least for sound deadening in the future. Perhaps you could offer to split the cost of insulating this.
EJR | 8 years and 7 months ago
While this is certainly an inconvenience, what is your proposed course of remediation? Unless they are doing something illegal or using overly harsh chemicals, this sounds like a typical byproduct of renovation work and will hopefully dissipate after a couple days. That said, I appreciate that they are probably not living in the house during this period, while you ARE living next door. I would start by speaking with the homeowner to work out a solution. Perhaps a couple nights in a hotel, paid by the homeowner? I would avoid bringing the DOB into this process, regardless of whether or not the work is permitted. It will do no more than add cost and delay to the process, and if it were me, I would want the renovation complete and the house occupied as soon as possible. Renovated, occupied homes are far preferable to vacant, gutted houses. I do agree with @Arkady that now is a good time to suggest adding insulation to the other owner.
Arkady | 8 years and 7 months ago
I bet the owners would be just as unhappy as you are about the lack of insulation between your houses. I’d tell them about it & suggest that since they have the walls open for the reno, it’s a great time to install materials between your houses.
robyim1 | 8 years and 7 months ago
Write a note for the owners and construction crew. There’s always someone who calls the shots around.. hopefully they will be understanding. If that doesn’t work call 311 but understand that calling 311 not only will make the situation more hostile and possibly delay the completion of the renovation.
robyim1 | 8 years and 7 months ago
Write a note for the owners and construction crew. There’s always someone who calls the shots around.. hopefully they will be understanding. If that doesn’t work call 311 but understand that calling 311 not only will make the situation more hostile and possibly delay the completion of the renovation.
katdov | 8 years and 7 months ago
you can try looking up the owners through the DOB website and sending them a letter. but obviously this will take time. you can also call 311 to complain and they will send an inspector who will likely find some reason to issue a stop work order, as they always do. but this would be seen as hostile action by your new neighbors and should really be the last resort. however, if you feel that what they are doing next door is not to code, illegal, or causing you harm, you can try that.