AIBU to consider buying a house from smokers?

[vivaladivagigi]

Posting in here for traffic as keen to get a range of opinions, and maybe some advice from people who have done it.

I'm considering buying a house from an old couple. The house smells like they've smoked 50 a day in it for decades. I'd be doing work to it anyway, such as new capets, bathrooms etc. but some people have told me this won't be enough as it gets into floor boards and walls.

What do you think, AIBU?

Dh is a plasterer, he says if the walls and ceilings are papered and you can strip them, sugar soap, repaper and paint it should be fairly okay. If the walls are painted plaster you have a problem and would probably need re-plastering

@DeRigueurMortis

I'd buy it but I'd be expecting that the work that would need to be done would be reflected in the price.

You absolutely can get rid of the smell of the smoke but it's a lot of work.

As pp's have said you need to get rid of all soft furnishings as a start.

Then strip all the paint from any woodwork (skirting boards/stairs etc) and sugar soap all the floorboards. Same re: any stone fixtures like fireplaces and metalwork like radiators.

Then I'd bite the bullet and replaster all the walls/ceilings.

You'll also need to replace things like light switches/sockets/fittings.

In short everything will need to be (brutally) cleaned or replaced.

The reason houses continue to smell of smoke is because people think just over painting the walls/ceiling is enough - it isn't.

Sorry another thing to add that people miss is the attic.

Most people board an attic with chipboard which is very porous and will absorb the smell. Same with the attic insulation - that will all need to be replaced.

As pp's have pointed out there's a big difference between a house someone smoked in at some time in the past and one where a couple have been smoking 20 cigarettes a day each for 50 years.

You wouldn't be a fool to buy it as long as the price is right and you are under no illusions about how much work would be involved (and you'd also need to factor in that you wouldn't be able to live in it until all the work was done as you really have to strip the whole house back (and use some nasty chemicals to remove old paint which given the age of the house may have lead so v dangerous and specialist job - so you'd need to count the cost of rental accommodation).

My mum and dad brought a home that they live in now from smokers. After they decorated etc you can’t smell it.

Rip down the plaster/ceilings and start again. Skimming might also help but we bought a house dripping in cigarette tar and there was nothing else for it. We initially tried to clean it. Perfect afterwards. Get some local quotes and negotiate re cost.

Ours was heavily smoked in.

We scrubbed every inch and had all of the flooring replaced. We also had the main rooms replastered. We’ve also painted every inch. The tar was running down the doors etc as we were cleaning, the windows were yellow

I’m not sure if you can still smell it, it’s probably overpowred by dog smell now

im going to have fun selling my house one day then!

i guessi shuldnt bother redecorating beforehand if it still stinks?

It wouldn’t stop me from putting an offer in on my dream house but I would take into consideration there is going to a lot of hard work and cost. I did this with a property but it was one that needed gutting anyway. As others have said get rid of carpets, I needed new wiring and installing ch. New plaster on walls and ceiling, wash wood with sugar soap and repaint. Good luck OP

Sugar soap is your friend.

If the smell remains after you've redecorated then you've not cleaned and prepped properly.

Our house was a smelly fixer upper. It was a combination of smoke/dog/grot. We pulled up the carpets which were gross. We washed down the walls and it stank until after 3 years we gutted it. Ceilings down, re plastered etc. It is now only smelly because of us!

And new windows of course, I could smell smoke in the uPVC, the previous owners smoked out the windows and left burns in the sills

I think ripping down ceilings, replacing the floor and re-plastering are a little extreme. If sugar soap and removing and disposing of all soft furnishing doesn't work, I think you are left with just two options.

1. Napalm.
2. Take up smoking.

@WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat

I think ripping down ceilings, replacing the floor and re-plastering are a little extreme. If sugar soap and removing and disposing of all soft furnishing doesn't work, I think you are left with just two options.

1. Napalm.
2. Take up smoking.

I bought a flat where you could see where the resident smoker's armchair had been - the walls and ceiling in that corner of the living room were a lovely brown, in contrast to the off-white the rest of the room was still displaying. (Or maybe it was actually white, with a lesser degree of staining.)

Replaced the carpet, had the windows open for a week, repainted the room.

Didn't notice it ever again.

I’m old enough to remember when everyone smoked all the time. When it was considered rude to ask a guest to go outside to smoke, when smoking at work was common place.
If your house is pre 2000 then the chances are people smoked like chimneys in it. Do they all smell? What about pubs? They used to be thick with smoke.
Yes it will smell initially but if you strip the wallpaper and take up the carpets you’ll get rid of it quick enough.

In the 1970s it would have cut out half the houses if people wanted to buy a non smoking house.

You do realise that a huge percentage of previous generations smoked don't you? And they smoked inside. My house was built in 1920 so must have seen many, many smokers in the last 100 years (probably including pipe smokers too) but doesn't smell!

Don't worry OP, once you've cleaned and painted it, it will smell fresh.

I think people are being a bit extreme here as Pp said it was not that long ago that smoking was very popular ,just replace carpets ,give it a good clean and redecorate typical Mumsnet over reaction 🙄

@FlamingoAndJohn

I’m old enough to remember when everyone smoked all the time. When it was considered rude to ask a guest to go outside to smoke, when smoking at work was common place. If your house is pre 2000 then the chances are people smoked like chimneys in it. Do they all smell? What about pubs? They used to be thick with smoke. Yes it will smell initially but if you strip the wallpaper and take up the carpets you’ll get rid of it quick enough.

Yes, weren't places described as being like a station waiting room, where you could hardly see across the room, our work office was like that, we also used to smoke in the house, many people did.

I remember reading 'Kirsty and Phil' Kirsty bought a flat from a smoker and had to go back to brick to get rid of the smell. Don't know how dramatic that is/was, but it sounds like it could be quite expensive to rectify.

I bought a house from a smoker. It was a renovation job and everything was stripped back - walls/ceilings replastered, bathrooms and kitchen replaced. There was very little of the original house left but the smell always lingered.

Particularly in the understairs cupboard which was the only plaster not redone. I bleached the walls and repainted but it never got rid of it completely

Sorry but agree with posters who say you'll need to replaster. Every porus surface will need replacing.

Do all the pubs still smell of smoke? No they now smell of sweaty old men and stale beer. Buy the house, the smell will drift away

My neighbour got in professional cleaners and you can't tell it used to belong to smokers, repainted and new carpets, new kitchen etc. If it hadn't have worked he was going to get the walls reskimmed, which was cheaper than full blown plaster. Good underlay will help too. The professional cleaners were in 2 days, and aired the house the whole time too, and it really is lovely now. Just make sure you offer reflects the extra work.

PS. he also got it for 20k under asking price because the smoke was putting so many people off and it had been on the market for 6 months. You could end up getting your dream house, with enough cash leftover to do it all properly. I personally would do it! Good luck OP with whatever you decide, do let us know.

@WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat

I think ripping down ceilings, replacing the floor and re-plastering are a little extreme. If sugar soap and removing and disposing of all soft furnishing doesn't work, I think you are left with just two options.

1. Napalm.
2. Take up smoking.

Finally, a sensible post!