Next door's bloody woodburner

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

Sigh. I don't know what to do. Next door's wood burner smoke is drifting down into our house and it stinks. It doesn't smell like ordinary open fire smoke either, it's really acrid- smells like they're burning green or damp wood. Now when we see they've lit it we quickly shut any windows or doors, but after an hour or so we can smell it in all the rooms on that side of the house, and it's not a smell you can easily ignore.
We've put up with it for a while, hoping it would only be an occasional problem, but no, they seem to light it every night now even when it's not cold, and every time there isn't much wind it stinks us out.
They aren't the easiest of neighbours so I am very reluctant to try to 'have a friendly word'. I don't think they'd take it too well.
They have a funny little cowling thing over the chimney, which seems to be channelling the smoke downwards, and, as I say the stuff they're burning seems to be giving off a lot of acrid smoke. It smells like a bonfire that idiots have been burning plastic on.
What shall we do?! I don't want to be a complaining neighbour!!

Bear- I would have thought it was making their house reek! But maybe they don't have to keep opening their back door like we do. If we were on better terms we could have a friendly chat about the right sort of wood- but any convo like that would be tricky to say the least

www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADJ_2010.pdf

Page 36 gives some info on chimney heights. And it says Flues should be of a height to ensure sufficient draught to clear products of combustion.

We had a new flue installed to our woodburner, we aren't just using the old chimney as the liners in old houses are often damaged, so the new flue goes up inside the old chimney.

More info-
www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/woodburner.htm

This page says neighbours should have a applied for a buildings notice from local authority and had the work signed off when completed. So the local authority should know if this was done.

We wanted to have a woodurner fitted but we couldn't unless we had one of those long silver (kebab style) pipes so that it cleared our neighbours window by a certain amount (sorry, can't remeber the exact amount) - it was a legal requirement. We decided against it in the end as there window is pretty close and we didn't want any upset....maybe it's worth checking.l.

Report! How horrid!

Thankyou all

Would a poorly maintained chimney make a smell? I can always tell when my neighbours have a fire going as you can smell it down the street. They don't get their chimney swept, she's said her DH sticks the hoover up it It's completely black at the top so I think it's an accident waiting to happen but if a chimney isn't being swept, would it explain the stench the OP can smell? I think certain woods smell differently too, so maybe they are using something crap? Firelighters smell nasty, I think, maybe they are using far too many?

Yes, it could be any or all of those things Lady

It must be a nightmare for you

You know that bad smells can constitute pollution? Your local Environmental Health people can help you with this.

"No it's not chimney leakage- we're detached- it's drifting down to our side door and windows. I think most of it's coming in when we open and shut the side door letting dogs out etc"

So the issue isn't an internal smell, but an external one.

I don't think the issue is the chimney 'hat' - these are pretty common with stoves, and don't usually create issues. I wonder if the flu outlets terminates in a sheltered spot on the house, rather than at the very top of the roof - if this is the case, the smoke might well sink rather than rising as it should.

As other posters have said, check what the smokefree policy is where you are - it may be that they've bought a cheap stove that isn't suitable for the area.

i love my next door neighbours wood burner, i daydream I'm in a log cabin in the forest when i smell it. there isn't a better smell.

Yes but this isn't a nice wood smoke smell 50- it's acrid and horrible. As described above. I wouldn't dream of complaining about a normal whiff of wood smoke. So should we speak to them first or wait a while. Maybe the still weather is just causing the smoke to sink more than usual

I suspect as you say out that they may have bought one of those little cheapo ones that can't get hot enough to burn decently and so chuck out loads of foul smoke

I had mine cleaned last week and have used it practically every day and it only smells of burning wood. There's an issue with theirs or something they are putting into it. You could drop some no so subtle hints? "There's a terrible smell..."

Yes, Lady, that's what we were thinking. But they're not the type to stop and chat, so we'd need to go an knock on their door just to mention it. Awkward...

Hmm. Can you borrow a cup of sugar or something?

We'll have to try and think of something

I bet you're waiting for the postman to bring you something and he may have delivered it to your neighbour? Or you could post something for you, but with their address. It will give you an excuse to chat.

I thought they had to be at a certain height...

i would just say something ....

The smell could possibly be them burning treated timber, like old decking or fence post off cuts. We have burnt that before and it smells, (only burnt it once and that was enough)

My first thoughts were they're burning treated timber too. It's extremely unhealthy to burn that. We burnt some once by accident, the smell was dreadful.