bad smell appearing in different places in Victorian house

[crabcrab]

Hi all,

I live in a flat in a converted terraced Victorian house, built around 1890. Since I moved in, there have been bad smells appearing at random times in the living room and in the staircase.

It is hard to describe the smell itself, it is a mix of many many things: cooking smell, burning smell... Let's just say it is very unpleasant.

The smell is coming from under the floorboard, where the floor meets the wall shared with the house next door.

I have seen two other posts describing the same problem, which suggests this is a structural ventilation problem peculiar to Victorian houses:

here:
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=133765
and there:
http://www.mybuilder.com/questions/v/964/bad-smell-appearing-in-different-parts-of-the-house

Could anyone provide an explanation for that kind of problem please?

Any help very much appreciated. Many thanks.[/url]

 

[noseall]

When plug sockets and the like short circuit the smell can be very unpleasant.

Does the smell correspond with a light being turned on for example?

 

[crabcrab]

to noseall:

no, it does not correlate with lights or any other electric equipment being turned on. it does not correlate with heating either.
the smell comes from underneath the floorboard, the foul air is passing through interstices in the floorboard and in the stairs.

 

[joe-90]

In my experience these things ALWAYS involve the sewage pipes somewhere along the line - maybe not even your house - could be next door.

 

[Nige F]

Not number 12 Rillington Place , is it

 

[joe-90]

12? Try 10.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Do you actually know what may be on the other side of the party wall? Other possibility of course could be the place is haunted....

 

[cajar]

12 would be next door

 

[gregers]

is it a musty smell?
if so start lifting floorboards in the area and investigate,you might be getting a whiff of dry rot??????????

 

[Nige F]

The smell is coming from under the floorboard, where the floor meets the wall shared with the house next door.



]

I rest my case