Our place is a duplex. We have a closet under the stairs which butts up to our neighbor's apartment. Butts being the operative word, since our neighbor is home all day and smokes like a chimney and it comes through the wall. We jokingly call this closet the smokehouse, but it is so not funny. Everything inside reeks of smoke. Others in the co-op who have heard about this suggest I bring it before the board. It has been suggested we vote on banning smoking. I have a real problem with this. It's a slippery slope and too Big Brother. Besides, I've been known to spark one up once in a great while. I've tried the volcanic deodorizer and it works to some extent, but I need to investigate other options. Perhaps taping up drywall seams?

(assuming your fellow board members aren't the smokers or pigeon/cat owners!!)

The smoking drives me nuts. My neighbers across from me smoke. So when I walk into my apt, I smell the smoke. Really annoying. I can't have air freshners going at all times cause those give me a headache. Most things with scents do.

Try peeling up the baseboard moulding in the closet and sealing off your house there. In almost every apartment I've lived in, there've been huge holes between the wall and the floor. I don't know what you would seal it with to prevent smoke smells -- maybe that anti-draft foam? -- but my old super used brillo pads and steel wool for a mouse infestation four apartments ago... That's more likely to be how the smoke is getting in there than your drywall, unless your drywall seams haven't been taped yet at all.

My upstairs neighbor lives in CT and just lets people stay in the apartment. As long as they stay for fewer than 30 days, they don't have to be interviewed by the board. My super has told me that all sorts of weird people float in and out of the place thanks to her. I don't mind as much as my super does, but they have a sofa bed up there, and inevitably the person sleeping there will crash it down at 2 am. I'm hoping that the rising prices in this neighborhood encourage her to sell, but not before I magically win the lottery so I can buy it and build a staircase between the two floors... A girl can dream...

Thanks for the tip Mary. I'll look into it.

Well,

The people downstairs from us, besides having the lodest television ON EARTH, concoct something in the kitchen twice a week which can only be called 'flatulance casserole'. It is a horrible, bean and meat-infused smell thatnot only wafts up from their kitchen into ours, but also ends up in our bedroom. We will walk into our bedroom and literally be knocked over by this awful smell. The Glade plug-ins only make a small dent in this smell.

But now I am redoing my floor molding. I have a friend, Mr. Charlie, who has done some skim-coating for us. He suggested that I put some DAP caulk down before I put down the molding and then run a bead along the top of the molding. Also doing this behind/around outlets makes a huge difference. And you know, he was right. Also, since we are repainting, this bead of caulk has also made our molding look much nicer and flush to our very uneven walls. Thanks, Mr. Charlie!

Sorry about the typos, that usually is an indication of my passion for what I am writing about...

I think one thing the lingering smoke odors indicate is that you have a situation where air is "pooling" and stagnating. Whenever I get the neighbor's cooking smells (even in a relatively new, well-sealed apartment) I crack open the window farthest from my front door, then crack open my front door. Even on breeze-less days, you can feel and hear the air get sucked right through the apartment, and that built-up smell whips right out with it. I only need to do it for a minute or two.So maybe creating some sort of airflow could help.

Hard to do that when it's a closet. But I will try Matt's caulking trick.

That is a very good suggestion - I'll probably have a chance to try it tonight!

The woman across from me smokes so much pot some days that I sit on my couch and get the munchies! People who come over actually think that it is me. (And it's not...I swear...)

Also, the two apartments upstairs from me (there are only two on each floor) have become such close friends that they leave their doors open. ALL THE TIME. It is incredible how much louder it is, especially when they get the music cranking, or even just watch a movie.

That being said, I never complain because I don't want to lose my own right to have my friends over and crank Pat Benetar's Greatest Hits at 2 30AM on a weeknight.

By the way, if you do the caulking trick and want to paint over it - get the cheap white stuff. It seals great and you can paint over it. I was told by Mr. Charlie that other, more expensive or specialized types of silicon/caulk may not let you paint over them.

Oh - and I identify with Marie. Once you start complaining, it opens yourself up to scrutiny. Our downstairs neighbor's TV is very loud and I wanted to complain. But instead, I have turned his TV time into my kitty Pilates time. Popcorn, my overweight cat (at LEAST 20 pounds), now gets to do his favorite exercises in our living room EVERY night. I have him chase the string, leap in the air, run circles, and the ever-favorite 'Super-Poppy'. This last one makes no noise, but its damn fun. He sticks out his front legs and pretends to be Superman (he REALLY does this) and we pick him up and fly him around. And sometimes he sprints around the rug as we toss around a catnip toy.

All of this makes a TON of noise, and is all set to a soundtrack of the downstairs UPN, Wrestlemania, and action movies. It has been liberating.

So if he ever complains about our cats, we will complain about his TV. I also have done some loud renovating under this umbrella of reasoning. It's as if we are holding each other for ransom, but with a feeling of symbiosis.

I could see a whole series of children's books--"Popcorn, the Overweight Super Cat".

SuperPoppy!
Flying through the air
Pigeons everywhere
Uhoh! Look out! Beware!
SuperPoppy!

It's not every cat has his own theme song.

speaking of noise, my downstairs neighbors play their tv very loudly, but when they do, I take the mute off my violin and get even. I'm worried about summer though, when I have all the windows in the apartment open; I'm worried about offending innocent bystanders (even with the mute). I'm thinking of putting down cork tiles over the hardwood of my bedroom floor. Does anyone know if this will appreciably cut the sound?

To be honest, I do not think cork will cut the noise. I have been told about 'floating' wood floors, though, which can have an insulation layer sandwiched between the subflooring/old flooring and the new stuff. It is supposed to do a very good jub at muffling everything from footsteps to tv noise. If you look into Lumber Liquidators you may be able to get a floating floor cheaper than cork...

And thank you for the theme music for Popcorn, which makes me being trapped at work in the weather just a little more bearable. In my spare time I am an illustrator/designer so if you are a writer, don't hold back. We could be the next Lane Smith/John Scieszka combo (Stinky Cheese Man and Math Curse)!

For those who need a visual to go with the music you can see Super Poppy as the mild-mannered Popcorn in this picture - he is on the right - www.asgstudio.com/reno/nohelp.jpg

Matt, I'm inclined to believe you but some pictures would make the tale seem more alive.

The key to using caulk is to put some flexible "backer rod" in the gap and then caulk over that. The rod provides more structure for the caulk to cover and protects the seal from breaking so easily if the joint gets shoved or the walls expand due to heating/cooling.

Also look into cheap gaskets for your electrical outlets on the adjoining walls.

some primers are shellac and alcohol based and dry to form a seal over old smells and block new ones migrating so easily through the plaster/drywall. In my remodel, used the backer rod/100%silcone sealant on the gaps, and had the painters use a shellac primer before painting. A new tenant has taken up occasionally smoking cigars and I get a faint whiff of that stink. (I forgot about the gaskets). Actually the cigar smell is coming in from the public spaces and under the door and not the adjoining room so my efforts almost perfectly worked.

Just wondering about the gaskets - is there a specific type that you have seen for outlets, or did you use a generic material and run it around/behind the outlet? Also, is there a local supplier of the backer rod? Home Depot scratched its monstrous when I asked.

On another note, has anyone ever used noise-cancelling speakers in their apartments? I am seriously considering this for some of our rooms. I have heard of this technology and seen it now for headphones, but have a hard time imagining it working for a lage space.

So whether one is a renter or a owner, the problems of noises and smells seem to be inevitable. As a renter of a co-op apartment, I have zero rights and since the owner doesn't live in the building, have no recourse at all. Between the cigarette smoke seeping under the doors of smokers into my apartment and the noise made by the TVS and stereos of the hearing impaired (no offense to those who actually are),
living in my place can be quite stressful, especially during the warmer months when open windows allow everyone's smoke, noise etc to have a greater impact. What truly can one do to deal with this?

When it comes to apartment issues of noise and smells, I always wonder if the people creating these problems grew up in an apartment in New York or are they new to apartment living.

Matt, the backer rod is something I read about at taunton press's Fine Homebuilding magazine. My local home depot had the closed cell stuff in 3/8 and 3/4 inch for about 4$ for 20-30 feet. The article had pictures of that kind of product. Be sure to caulk over the visible surface of the backer rod and the adjoining wall's edges to keep out smells. The gaskets are cheapo anti-airflow switchplate thingies. Both should be in the weatherproofing aisle.

Two names of shellac and alcohol based primers are bins and killz. you'll need to double check that.

Matt, This article has info on backer rod in some side article. Regards, Jonathan

www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00146.asp

For two and a half years I lived above a woman who collected tons of junk from yard sales and had between 5 and 20 (no kidding) animals in her apartment at any time. They peed and pooped in the apartment and she didn't clean it up. The stench was unbelievable. I found out that the family who sold me the condo moved out because of her pets, junk, lack of cleanliness and smoking. The last straw was when the police came over for a "welfare check" and thought someone was dead in her apartment it smelled so bad. Apparently, in her bedroom she had about 10 cages with rats in them... The board told her she could not have pets in her apartment anymore. She is selling her unit and moving!

BTW, I called all the agencies in town but in Alaska it's not considered important that someone lives like a pig.

Floating wood floors work well, and the cork beneath them really does cut down noise. Our co-op requires that new floors have a cork or noise reducing underlay for that very reason. Laying it is simple. It comes in huge rolls that you glue down. You can either roll it out or cut it to fit, then plonk the floating floor on top. Dead easy (well, kinda)

I would think you would have some recourse from the owners who sold to you but did not disclose the conditions into which you were buying...

You'd think, but you [by this I mean Lori + Joanie] went to the apartment, smelt the cigarette smoke or pet poo and bought it anyway. The apartment may have been fluffed up and aired out for you, and you may not have suspected that your downstairs neighbor was responsible for the smell, but you still bought it. You can and should bring it up with the broker or super before you start bidding, but... *shrug* You usually can keep bothering the former owner for 30-60 days afterwards if it's a serious problem, like all the plumbing suddenly breaking or the ceiling caving in. Your best recourse in all of these situations is to try and solve as much of it as possible on your own, politely ask your neighbor in a non-threatening way [I vaccuumed once after ten. I was appologetic and felt horrible for keeping my downstairs neighbor awake.], and if it's still awful and unlivable go to the board and try to get the bastards kicked out...

When we looked at the apartment during the open house, the closet smelled slightly of smoke. It had coats in it and I assumed the sellers were smokers. The good news is that Smokey is supposedly about to sell. This is according to the guy who owns the liquor store on our block. Smokey also has a bit of a drinking problem and if she moves, the liquor store owner will have to lay off 2 people.

A drinking problem and a smoker, lucky she didn't pass out and burn the place down.

Has anyone had any experience with apartments with pianos? I'm hoping to buy a place and a consideration is my intent to buy a piano. Is it likely to be a problem?

Jimkk-- Oh yeah, I have way too much experience with pianos! I have one above AND below in my rental. Not as bad as rock bands, but they still resonate quite well. If you don't want irrate neighbors, I'd really look for a music friendly building and try to talk with the potential neighbors first. Also, carpet seems to help a bit.

Lori, I got a good laugh after reading the last sentence of your last post.

I guess this is what makes the real essence of AT. sharing all facets of apartment living even the neighbor's drinking problem and it's possible influence on the unemployement index.

Ang. could you elaborate a bit. Is your building pre-war or modern construction? Do your neighbors play during reasonable hours (say before 10PM) or all night long? Or is it you sleep days? I've often found cranked up stereos and TV's much more annoying and louder than a piano. My upstairs neighbor in a previous apt. building had a piano, which I loved to hear, but he kept pounding on the floor with his foot to keep time which was really irritating until I told him about it.

patrick (the other one), I used to be a Realtor in Atlanta. In my experience (and it may have just been GA state law, which is pretty rough and tumble when it comes to legal protections)representations made by sellers do not survive the closing. I would assume that that this would especially be the case for failing to affirmatively disclose a nuisance which, is most likely not a required disclosure on a real estate disclosure form. I would expect the sellers to skate after this type of ommission.

I've never had a problem with smelly neighbors myself, but I do with a busybody one. I purchased a condo in Atlanta several years ago. At the closing, the seller mentionned that she had longstanding personal problems with the condo board president who lives immediately above, and that she in fact, had a restraining order against her. The seller had just finished handing me her business card which indicated she was into all kinds of supernatural healing and associated mumbo-jumbo, so I took it with a big fat grain of salt and closed anyway. Little did I know how right she was! The neighbor/condo bd pres gets into everyone's business, keeps an eye on who's putting what into the trash cans, gossips with the residents about each other, and worst of all is an excessively long talker. If I ever get caught in a conversation with her, I need to bring a chair. Worst of all, she runs off prospective buyers and their real estate agents with her shenanigans. A true disaster. I'll never dismiss a psychic therapist out of hand again!

I wish I had known about this site several years ago when I had to deal with a psycho (did I spell that correctly?) who threatened to kill people - the Board said it was not their problem - two men (owners) went to the police who said it should be handled by the Board - meanwhile, this woman continued on her merry way terrorizing all those around her - she finally moved, but didn't sell her place, only sublet it, so she could be back at any time. At least I could have let off some steam on "AT" instead of feeling victimized.

Yeah, I really did feel good to tell that story. I still own the condo in question, and I can't sell it. Very... frustrating. Having a condo president/neighbor who is hostile to sellers is an untennable situation.

Doug -- who voted her in? Can you vote her out?

We tried. But there are only 24 units in the building. 13 are resident owned. 11, including my own, are owned by absentee landlords. (Many owners like myself who have wanted to sell have had to just move away and rent the units. Only resident owners can serve on the board. And there's not enough resident owners willing to serve on the board if they kick her out.

Also, in her defense, I will say that since she was the property manager of the building before it converted to condos in the early 80's and has been the condo pres since, she does really know the ins and outs of the systems of the building and has learned how to squeeze every last penny to within an inch of its life.

FLoating floors--originally from Europe because when they move, they take everything with them!

Just had a floating floor put in. It's wonderful! But, don't use glue or it won't float! I paid extra for "quiet step" underlayment which should be power stapled or nailed into place. It makes a difference. The floor planks are then fitted together with quarter-round at the edges stapled into baseboards, not onto the floor (for expansion and contraction).

Caulk will fill gaps up to 1/4 inch--no need for backer rods. The key to good caulking is to make sure it's paintable and after you squeeze out a uniform bead along the gap, moisten your finger on a wet sponge and smooth out the bead, wiping your finger as you proceed. You'll get a smooth, even bond.

Noise and smells are horrific. I am a terrible cook and often smoke up the kitchen. The best way to get smoke and smells out is with a window fan drawing them out. Works everytime!

Hope i could get some tips here to fix my apartment problem. I live in the topmost floor of my apartment.(3rd floor).

For the past 2 months, I am getting cigar smell in my apartment.(in kitchen, restroom and w/d room).

I am 100% confident downstairs people dont smoke.We have a neighbor with whom we share a common wall in the kitchen, restroom and w/d area, but i have no proof they smoke. Smoke comes only after 5'o clock. So , i cant call maintenence people at that time.

Mine is a old apartment. So, i am sure there must be leak somewhere. I am highly allergic to room sprays. So, the only way out for me is to fix the leak.

In the kitchen,I have a feeling it is leaking directly from above the stovetop where the exhause fan is. But maintenance person says it is not connected to any other apartment and it must be grease smell from the filter. But, i am 100% confident it is cigar smell. Also, i get smell from the W/D area from somewhere near the ceiling.

Any help where to look for the leak will be highly useful. Thanking you in advance.

Get some Dap 12 oz. Latex Foam Sealant to fix the baseboard leaks, I recently fixed my friend's apartment with a can of this stuff. Her neighbor was smoking something 10 packs a day... and you could see the smoke coming in.

You can get this latex sealant at The Home Labrynth.

I meant Home Depot.

I am delighted I stumbled upon this website. I have lived in a Rochester NY apartment complex on the second floor for 18 years. I have had various and sundry tenants in the upstairs apartment. The latest is a nurse who is 30 years my junior. She club hops on the weekends, thus every Friday and Saturday night I am awakened out of a sound sleep about 3 a.m. I finally got a thought ... I set my alarm for 7 a.m. and that is the time I do my weekly apartment cleaning ... vaccuming, cleaning closets and running the dishwasher. She ran into me and asked me why I had to do my vaccuming at 7 a.m. At least I am getting some satisfaction out of knowing I am disrupting her sleep. Kathy

hello,
Im so glad i found this site. I live in a co-op that i own. Yesterday a rep from building management came to inspect my apt because i live between two heavy smokers upstairs and downstairs from me. The smoke has been filling my apt. Yesterday and today i felt sick and victimized because this guy tried to intimidate me. He told me that there was nothing he could do, that if i lived between two smokers that was my problem to deal with. When i told him that the smoke makes me sick he said, "Ya but to what degree?" I took this to mean, that i would have to be dead on the floor for him to acknowledge the smoke was making me sick. What he said just doesnt feel right. Even though i own the apt, and its a co-op, does that mean building management has no obligation?

I appreciate any thoughts.

Would anyone know of some kind of air purifier to remove smoke?

I purchased and returned the ionic breeze. It does clean the air well, but the ozone smell is too unbearable and i was starting to have lung pain because of the ozone also.

I have four hepa air purifiers if you can believe that, and all of them the smoke gets into the filters and ruins them, so i cannot use hepa filters for this problem anymore.

Hello,

I live in a 3rd floor condo in MN. I left my windows open all summer, now that I have closed them I come to a stinky, smokey place. Like anonymous, I'm sure it is coming through the shared walls, especially by the kitchen sink. I thought it may be the plumbing, but now that I have read some of the above advice, I will check for gaps between the drywall and floor. I thought about buying an air filter, but thanks to Diana, I realize that may not solve the problem.

I addressed the board and was told to use the "friendly neighbor" approach and simply ask the offender to smoke outside. I have a hard time with this since like me she owns her space and should be able to smoke in it. Hmmm, now that I write, maybe I could seal up my side under the sink and ask her to do the same on her side. Seems reasonable.

Thanks for all your input. Glad to know I'm not alone out here.

Sarah

Re: the neighbors whose smoking, bad cooking, burnt cooking, litter boxes, etc. causing apartments to smell awful--I confronted all these problems separately. I use an air ionizer/purifier and humidifier to keep the air clean, I've plugged all leaky wall holes with liquid foam. Sandalwood and cinnamon incense in the bathroom and kitchen help neutralize smells from the outside also. When the cigarette smoke got through even these barriers, I told the neighbors. They bought a smoke-sucking machine or whatever it is you call it. Very helpful.

Haven't figured out how to keep the noise out, however. The guy below plays the bass guitar, and the woman next door has more sex than Samantha Jones. If these sounds were to occur at the same time I'm sure it'd sound like porn.

i've been breathing my downstairs neighbor's 2nd-hand smoke for about 15 years. i've burned through about 4 air purifiers, now am using 2 huge-sized carbon filters that are supposed to handle smoke, and they worked well for about a month and stopped.

i now think the smoke is too intense for any purifier to make a difference at all. it's completely frightening.

thank you for the caulking info.... we're going to try that immediately.

I have been suffering with a stinky downstairs' neighbor in my duplex. Her dirty smell wafts up into my domain and I've been looking into buying 2 Ionic breeze units hoping that will clean up the air.

She has a disgusting turtle tank and a filthy bird cage. In the almost three years I have rented here (can't afford anyplace else) she might have "cleaned" once or twice. That's a lot of dirt building up down there. So the smell drives me nuts. I dream of being able to rent elsewhere but in the meantime, I am a clean fanatic. I should own stock in cleaning products. I also obsess over spraying febreeze and neutra air.

I won't let that downstairs' neighbor get to me. Here's to everyone who has stinky neighbors. Repeat after me:

"SERENITY NOW!"

Rachael, I loved your comment about Samantha Jones and everything else you had to say.
My problem is, I just moved to this terrace apt 8 months ago. The human next to me is a very heavy smoker. For 8 months I have not smelled any smoke as of 2 weeks ago I started smelling it. She spends 90% of her day in bed and smokes. I talked to her and she says she has not changed anything in her apt. A fire wall separates us. Could the smoke be coming from the base of the fire wall? I smell it at different times during the day and really bad late eve till early morning. Its in every room. These are all 1 bedroom apts.I have a front and back door that both go directly outdoors. No other connection, maintenance says out vents in the floor are not connected. Dont know what to believe. I'm highly allergic. I've talked to management about the problem and please any advice I would deeply appreciate. I'm getting ill already.
Thanks in advance
Robin

My family and I live in a duplex and the people on the other side have 3 cats. They put the littler box in the laundry room and don't clean it enough! I can smell it in my laundry room and that smell "floats" all over my house! Some days it smells so bad it makes me sick! I bought a air purifier and have tried air freshners they don't touch it! The neighbors claim there is no way for me to smell it but I don't have cats and there has not been any cats in my side plus the days they clean it my house is smell free!! We are not even allowed cats in our duplex! I want to complain to the owner but kind of feel bad about doing so..they also have 2 big dogs and we are only allowed 1 small dog and I know they told the owner they had 1 big dog but have since added 1 more big dog and 3 cats. Oh and they don't pick up the dog poop in their yard so if I open a window I have to smell their dogs' poop! I long for fresh air!!