Buying a house that stinks of smoke

[SecondhandTable]

Has anyone done this before? How little redecorating can you get away with whilst still getting rid of the smell? All the walls are wallpapered so I'd imagine stripping all the walls and repainting everything, new stair carpet. The floors are laminate, would they be ok with a good clean? What about kitchen units and built-in cupboards, would a good clean be sufficient or would the smells linger?

A family member did and really regretted it. She didn't notice it at the time of viewing as it was the height of summer and all the windows were open. As soon as she moved in, she realised how bad it was and pretty much had to strip everything out. There was no way carpets etc were going to be salvageable.

You'll never be able to get rid of it, it seeps into everything.

It lingers. I think you’d be getting used to it rather than getting rid of it without a full overhaul.

I would not buy this house. No way. The stench is permeated into absolutely everything. I know people who've made this horrible mistake, don't be one of them.

You’d have to take everything out. Wallpaper, carpets. I’d think kitchen cupboards.

The tar will be in the walls and floor.

It can be done, but it’s going to take time and money. Offer less to allow for the work.

We did buy a house like this but gutted it top to bottom. New bathroom/kitchen all new carpets and had to get rid of the wallpaper. Stripping the wallpaper was disgusting. We had a beautiful house at the end of it but it was hard work

@Ohwowanother

We did buy a house like this but gutted it top to bottom. New bathroom/kitchen all new carpets and had to get rid of the wallpaper. Stripping the wallpaper was disgusting. We had a beautiful house at the end of it but it was hard work

Same. Ours stank of it, it was overpowering. In fact, the ex-owner sat smoking in the kitchen during one of our viewings

We stripped everything, replastered etc. The smell was completely gone within a few months.

It’s definitely possible to get rid of the smell (most older houses in the UK will have been smoked in over the years), but it does require a lot of work. If you’re not willing to basically rip everything out and start again, I’d be wary.

also be aware that you'll need to clean everything with sugar soap as the tar is oily. it is a filthy job!

all soft stuff and wallpaper will have to go.

I couldn't. I bought a car which had been owned by a smoker and despite numerous cleans and several treatments, on a hot day the stench still seems to seep out. It's bad enough in the car, I cannot imagine living in a house like it.

We looked at a house that stank of smoke, had yellow ceilings etc. Our friend is a builder and told us not to bother as it permeates the woodwork, floor and ceiling joists, everything. Unless i was buying in a dream location and had £££ to gut to the bare bones (and live somewhere else for months while it was being done) then I wouldn't.

Don't do it. No amount of decorating ever solves it. It's horrendous.

The smell seemed to disappear from pubs eventually so it must be doable.

Buying a house that smells of dog was bad enough!! New carpets (all of them) and a complete overhaul of every room.

The place stank. Strangely enough, when we viewed, it didn't.

I’d never do it again. It does permeate everything. 🤢

Our current house had a smoker living on the top floor (loft conversion). We ripped out the carpets and repainted everything. We thought we had it sorted. But when we started using the bathroom on that floor brown goo started oozing out of the bathroom tiles when it got steamy. 🤮

We'd decorated that floor by that point so didn't wanted to redo the tiles so we just kept cleaning and cleaning them and the goo did eventually stop. Smoking is so disgusting.

My parents bought a house owned by smokers. We moved in winter, put the central heating on and the walls oozed nicotine. It ran down in patches, really grim. not envy.
They stripped all wallpaper and carpets, took out suspended ceilings (very 1980s) and sugar soaped all walls and woodwork.
The kitchen survived until it was refitted some time later but they did paint the doors which probably helped.
Aired it as much as possible despite in being freezing. It was doable to get rid of the smell but DM does not remember the time fondly.

We stripped our house back to the bare bones and even had to get rid of the windows as on a warm day you could smell tar from the frames. We scrubbed the walls and still ended up replastering to try and cover up the smell.

I genuinely wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it myself but the smell permeates absolutely everything.

I’d only buy a house that stinks of smoke again if we were planning and could afford to rip out absolutely everything.

Don't do it. We did, have been here 4 years and in that time have stripped and re-plastered all walls, changed all the carpets and cleaned EVERYWHERE. The smell of dog and smoke when you strip the wallpaper will haunt me forever

Zinsser BIN paint is your friend - expensive, but necessary. We stripped every bit of wallpaper, painted every surface and removed every floor and carpet. The house was brown from nicotine staining and nicotine dripped from the ceilings as we steamed off the wallpaper.
We were able to buy in a village we otherwise could never have afforded. It was a lot of work and a lot of expensive paint, but worth it for the home we have now.

Thanks all - we don't have the cash for a full on renovation, only very basic decorating, so with your warnings it sounds like one to avoid. It stank of smoke as soon as we entered it and with masks on and our DD is asthmatic so it's definitely a no-go based on your experiences. Thanks so much as I spoke to my DM and she seemed to think if we just got rid of wallpaper and stair carpet and repainted and scrubbed it would all be sorted but sounds like that's not the case at all!

Your mum is dead wrong, and with your daughter having asthma, absolutely no way.

Don't use just any paint, I think Little Knights and Zinnzer cover stain have something which should work I think, they block the smell from coming back through, other paints won't!

I've wondered about this - I have heard so many horror stories and would personally not buy a smoker's house. But essentially between about 1900 and 1980ish almost every house will have been smoked in. I grew up in the 70s wreathed in cigarette smoke, just like most of my friends. I really hate smoking and have a super-sensitive nose for it. And yet none of the Georgian/Edwardian/Victorian houses and flats I have ever rented or bought have smelled of smoke, so it must eventually disappear.

Ours smelled of smoke, mostly in the lounge. Didn't realise when we viewed, only noticed after we got keys.

We removed all wallpaper, washed walls and doors with sugar soap and then painted. The smell finally went fully when the carpets were taken out. Luckily we were already planning to do the redecorating including floors so no additional costs.

I wouldn't personally be put off buying another smokers house but it would depend on if I had the time and money to redecorate all of it and just how bad the smell was.

@MySocalledLoaf

The smell seemed to disappear from pubs eventually so it must be doable.

Good point!