Cigarette smells from flat below

[TBLDN]

Hi

So I have been living in my current flat for 10 years. I know that my neighbour below smokes, however luckily I have never smelled this in my flat. Until last week. I suddenly started smelling the cigarette smoke, and it is worst in my bedroom.

It's odd because I am certain it is coming from below, my flat does not adjoin any other neighbours walls and there are no smells in the communal hallway. Definitely not coming from windows.

I started investigating and noticed that one of my floor tiles in my bedroom was punctured. I sealed this thoroughly with brown tape as a temporary measure. Can still smell it.

Sealed the vent that I thought was the culprit in an airing cupboard. Smell hasn't gone.

I then started to think about where the smell is coming from for the 100th time. There really only is one explanation - the floor. We have the exact same layout, there were no smells from any of the cupboards. No smells from the kitchen, bathroom or toilet (separate rooms). They are all on one side of the flat, with the other rooms on the other. The stench is strongest in the bedroom, hallway and living room to a lesser extent. They all have the same flooring, whereas the other rooms have a more sealed laminate flooring. The flooring in the worst effected rooms is a very low budget laminate flooring in the form of tiles, glued onto the bare concrete between us with no underlay. I suspect that the poor quality ceiling tiles in his flat are compromised or now exposed and that is how the smell has managed to penetrate the surface.

Any other explanation? It is really impacting my mental health and sleep, I feel helpless. There are no visible gaps, cracks or holes. I have inspected my small one bedroom flat over and over again and just cannot seem to pinpoint one area where this is coming from.

I have had many issues with this neighbour so approaching him is not an option.

I also have an air purifier running 24/7 in the room and have kept windows open for 3 days in every room, ventilation is ineffective.

 

[foxhole]

Close the windows .

 

[JohnD]

You could try a positive ventilation system. This means running a fan that blows air into your home (the reverse of an extractor fan) and keeping the windows shut. This pushes air out through any gaps.

If you have an extractor fan it will create suction that draws air in.

I gather your floors are concrete so you will not be able to take them up to look for gaps

Gaps in ceilings are usually around pipes and cables, including lighting fittings. You can use expanding foam round pipes, but protect any cables from contact. I use red fire foam which is supposed to block smoke and flame but also works on draughts and smells,

Downlighters are very bad.

Have a look round your skirting boards where there is usually a gap to the flooring. You can clean it out thoroughly with a stiff brush and a hoover followed by detergent, then wiped dry, and use silicone sealant pushed well in, or foam for large gaps. The cleaning is because it will not stick to dirt or dust.

There may be gaps inside and under cupboards or cabinets, especially in kitchens and bathrooms where they are hidden and often ignored by fitters.

Looking on the bright side, heavy smokers tend to die early.