Rebuild of damaged house from thatch fire

[phoenix]

Hi, great site, hope someone can help us!?
We had a nasty thatch fire in our 400 year old house 18 months ago. Its finally finished and looking great. We manged to save alot of the main house but have repaired the upstairs in whopping principals/commens etc of green oak and more lime plaster than I thought possible.
We moved back home 2 weeks ago and all is great, amazing to be finally home.
The builders have left and the insurance money is spent! Incidentally the insurers were amazing, simply wonderful kind people (heritage).
However we have an unpleasent sooty/smokey smell that oozes from the exposed chimney stacks on a moist day. Any ideas how we can seal them :?: They have been lightly sand blasted 6 months ago (at same time as the old and green oak). Pressure washing is not an option as we are firmly moved back in and almost finished decoarating, floors down etc
Thanks for everyones or anyones time.
Anthony and Yasmin

 

[Me!]

Are you sure the smell is coming through the brickwork, rather than a fireplace opening? I have a damp soot smell from one of my fireplaces on cool damp mornings which I am 99% sure is just caused by cool damp air coming down the chimney and into the house.

 

[phoenix]

Hi Me,
no it's definitely the brickwork, the fire's have all been replaced after the fire and they are as clean as a whistle. also there are none upstairs where the smell permeates from. Someone has suggested diluted PVA as it will stop the gas molecules going through? thoughts
thanks
Anthony

 

[Nemesis]

I would be very wary of using something as irreversible as PVA, and you might not like the effect on the bricks. It might be possible to use something like lime water to seal but that might not be the visible effect you want.

Seems odd though for a smell to be permeating through bricks, are you sure it isn't the bricks themselves, and the mortar, which are ponging?

You will have removed the top layer by blasting (too late now I know but not recommended really) but I can't see how a smell can be coming through without the soot and tar also coming through. Bricks aren't really so porous usually. Check the pointing for starters.

I would also give it all time to settle. The smell might vanish in time. If not then it might be an idea to consider plastering again, which is probably the authentic finish - exposed bricks are a modern fad.

The fire sounds really awful, glad it's all been sorted and the place able to be salvaged and lived in again. Glad too to hear that the insurers were so helpful, makes a difference!

 

[phoenix]

thanks for that, pretty sure it is the brisks. they really are pretty old. Its interesting that there was no plaster on them before but they really seem to have been left over the years. We think somebody boxed the chimneys in about 150 years ago so perhaps that is why. The 4 cottages were knocked together some 30 years ago (poorly) into one house, so its been a great opportunity to put alot of it back together correctly. They were originally farm labourers cottages and hence I think little money was spent on plastering etc.
anyway thanks,
Anthony

 

[Nemesis]

It all sounds really interesting - how about posting a few pics?

 

[phoenix]

i will in the near future.
thanks
aeg

 

[Flyfisher]

While appreciating that brickwork can be porous, it's hard to imagine enough volume of soot-laden air moving through the chimney walls to the extent you can smell it. I don't doubt the smell is there, I just find it hard to imagine it coming through the brickwork.

We used to regularly get 'chimney reversal' outside of winter when regular fires keep the chimney warm. This brought sooty smells and occasionally the soot itself into the room. The answer, for us, was to use a 'chimney balloon'. We bought ours from http://www.chimneyballoon.com/.

I have no association with this company, except as a satisfied customer.

 

[phoenix]

the difference is that after a housefire the bricks are burnt from the inside of the building, hence the smell as the tars etc permeat as the fire rages around them.
Thanks
anthony

 

[shelli]

having read all responses my gut feeling is that you guys are possibly super-sensitive to smoke and soot smells after terrible house fire - If the smell is going to remain for whatever reason you probably just don't want to live with it - Just plaster it and then you can move on

Shelli

 

[phoenix]

fair cop!