On 3/6/2012 1:00 PM, Paul Drahn wrote:
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?

There is no attic. It's a flat rubber roof. All vents are through the
roof, except the laundry which vents to the back brick wall.

Use cans of spray foam to seal up the pipes.

We plan to do that (though our contractor seems to think it will take
too many cans--I think he suggested fiberglass insulation, though I'm
sure foam (is it polystyrene?) would seal far better.

Does your neighbor's kitchen share your wall?

I don't know. A few weeks ago my wife complained of a fishy smell, so
we may--and cooking odors may be a problem too. But the primary problem
is the cigarette smoke.


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

I have no idea. When the wall was open, I saw no indication that it was
concrete block, so I'm guessing it was poured concrete. Wow, I didn't
know they were still hand mixing concrete by the 1940s. We don't seem
to have any problems with external leaks (some of the internal plumbing
leaked and had to be changed.

Thanks,
Steve


--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001