Smoke smell from flat below - ok to put airtight membrane under carpet?

[Donsboig]

Hello,

I am in a converted Victorian house and when my downstairs neighbour smokes I get smoke smell coming up through the floor. I'm planning to put new carpets down and wondering if it is ok to put some sort of plastic sheeting down across the whole floor (and tuck it under skirting boards) before adding underlay and carpet?

I'm particularly wondering if it could cause damp issues? I'm hoping it would be ok because:

- I'm on the first floor, so under my floor is the neighbour's ceiling.
- I've been into the void under the floorboards and it's all dry as a bone.

But I'm aware damp stuff can be a bit counterintuitive.

Any thoughts welcome, thank you.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Sounds fine to me. Not ideal but totally understand why you'd want to do it. I'd shove the edge under the skirting, slice off any surplus and run a bead of silicone round the perimeter. Also ensure the top of the skirting is caulked to the wall before painting.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Fire/smoke risk?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Alternatively you could seal between the floor boards with silicone and against the skirting.

 

[foxhole]

How do you know it’s coming thru the floor? Highly unlikely .

 

[Donsboig]

How do you know it’s coming thru the floor? Highly unlikely .

In the floor space there are electrical cables, some of which poke into the flat below via small holes, so I'm assuming the smoke comes up through those. Then it is only impeded by floorboards which have large gaps between them.

What other routes should I be considering?

 

[Donsboig]

Sounds fine to me. Not ideal but totally understand why you'd want to do it. I'd shove the edge under the skirting, slice off any surplus and run a bead of silicone round the perimeter. Also ensure the top of the skirting is caulked to the wall before painting.

thank you. What exactly is not ideal about it? Moisture not being able to move about freely?

 

[foxhole]

In the floor space there are electrical cables, some of which poke into the flat below via small holes, so I'm assuming the smoke comes up through those. Then it is only impeded by floorboards which have large gaps between them.

What other routes should I be considering?

Thru windows , should not be possible for smoke from below to enter if property complied with regulation.