On 3/6/2012 9:08 AM, Steven Bornfeld wrote:
I write in hope of some serious answers. I know this general issue has
come up before, and wading through the incredulous and the trolls doing
a search yields nothing that seems likely to work. Maybe there is
nothing; if not, so be it.
We just moved into our new home after over 7 months of renovations. The
problem is cigarette smoke from one of our neighbors.
This is an attached house, with a party wall (concrete). (attached on
the other side too, separate construction, not a problem.
When the walls were open, I was not aware of any plumbing coming
directly from the smoking neighbor. There are cabinets mounted in our
kitchen on the party wall. Holes were cut in the cabinet backs to
accommodate some drainage and steam pipes (ours), and there is an
opening around our plumbing which we will seal off. We don't know what
might be the best way to do this, and I have no idea if it will work
(though the cigarette smoke is strongest in these cabinets.
This does appear to be coming through the walls--somehow, and not
through vents to the outside. This is old construction (c. 1940).
There is no question that there is cigarette smoke. It's not nearly as
big a problem for me (my sense of smell was never the same since organic
chemistry), but my wife is very upset.
I'm quite sure I have no legal recourse, and in any case wouldn't expect
my neighbor to modify his smoking on my behalf. Really just interested
to know if anyone has dealt with some mechanical means of dealing with
this problem that was effective.

TIA,
Steve
You haven't discussed the roof of the building and whether there is an
attic. And if so, is the common wall also closing off your attic from
the neighbor's attic? Do you have a vent fan that only vents to the attic?

Use cans of spray foam to seal up the pipes.

Does your neighbor's kitchen share your wall?

IS the "concrete" wall actually concrete block? Is the concrete wall
painted? A heavy coat of paint will seal any cracks and voids in the
concrete. A poured wall in the 1940's may well have voids where the
concrete was hand mixed and then poured into the forms. The interface
between pours was not well mixed. We had a house built in 1948 with a
hand mixed and poured concrete basement. Walls clearly showed lack of
mixing and let water leak in.

Paul