Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 2000 06:02am | #1

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   Shane, has the house been gutted? If so, spray the whole thing with BIN, which is white pigmented shellac. This will seal all the wood surfaces that are holding the smoke odor.

   You should really provide more info on the present condition of the house if you want to get replies that will be helpful. Your building permit may require you to bring the whole house up to current code.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 2000 06:30am | #2

   *Steve...good advice...&...The Fire clean up guys will help greatly...The insulation holds smoke and much more...They also have chemical they spray to neutralize the smoke smell...Caution...Sensitive noses and any moisture...will make for one unhappy person attached to said nose.near the stream, repeating....remove layers, dry out all, neutralize, then BIN, then BIN, then reassemble and hope you have all the pockets of odor removed...Even the insulation in a hot water tank will stink like hell if possible and exposed to smoke and water.aj

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 2000 12:04pm | #3

   *FWIW, sooner or later (probably much later) the smell will go away: every now and again I'm in a house with fire damaged wood (e.g., joists, rafters) which haven't been bin'ed, and no apparent smell.* (Did one house where, if you looked in the crawl from the access panel, everything had been bined, but when you crawled to the other end and looked back, the "backsides" of the joists hadn't been.)I'm not suggesting not using bin, because I suspect it takes years for the smell to dissipate, just mentioning what I've seen.* I should note that, as smoker, my nose is sensitive only to physical impactBob

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   Guest_ | Aug 18, 2000 02:15pm | #4

   *Bob....you'e nose and your experiences are the other end of the spectrum from what can be an extremely poor situation...No resale value...unhappy owners...just no one happy, except the one who "saved" alot by buying property that is fairly devalued to begin with...NYS has real estate disclosure laws just for a situation like this ending up unknowningly in someone else's possession.Near the stream with more nose than most,aj

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 2000 02:36pm | #5

   *Hello Shane Keith.For the information you seek, please consult National Institute of Disaster Restoration (NIDR) Guidelines for Fire and Smoke Damage Repair.On the back of this book is following:1-800-272-7012 ; [email protected] ; http://www.ascr.org(The NIDR is division of ASCR)Hope this helps.alan joseph [email protected]: I just tried http://www.ascr.org to find it could not connect. You might want to try it at http://www.ask.com . The address, should you care to write... Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration10830 Annapolis Junction Road, Suite 312Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-9975

2. 
   Shane_Keith | Aug 18, 2000 02:42pm | #6

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   I have purchased a house that has burned. The fire did no structural damage. Looks like the main problem is smoke damage. Have been told it is near impossible to remove the smell of smoke. Is this true? Any suggestions on how to accomplish it? Will I need to replace all electrical wiring?

   Thanks

   Shane