A friend has a neighbours kitchen extractor fan blowing his cooking smells directly in his own open kitchen window few metres away. This was set up some years ago and he did not pay much attention at the time since he was out working. Now retired and spending more time in the kitchen/living room it is a major annoyance for him. The neighbour is unfriendly and uncooperative. Would some attachment to the vent exist that could redirect the fumes say vertically upwards? Would a large sheet of tall plywood attached to the fence be an ungainly, but obvious solution? I have heard some Boroughs have negotiators to help out with neighbours disputes. Are they generally worth considering?
Kitchen Extractor Blowing into Neighbours Kitchen
Jun 13, 2023
Last reply: 3 years ago
6 Replies
He could close his window. That will block smalls coming in. Then fit an "in window" extractor fan with auto shutters. So when he wants extra ventilation he can run his own fan.
Depending on the type of installation, various exit arrangements can be possible. However without the co-operation of the neighbour it is a bit more tricky.
Well if they have a negotiator, you could ask, but if the other person is pig headed, then I don't see that you can do much about it. You may be able to reduce it in the ways you mention, but is often the physical position of the fan that is the problem. In my house there appears to be some way from my cupboard under the stairs with its door into the kitchen and my neighbours one on the other side of the wall. Try as we might you still get some smell leakage, and short of removing the ceiling and part of the staircase around the cupboard, it almost impossible to see whee this might be. Brian
Putting myself in the uncooperative neighbours shoes, I can see that if its been as it is for some years, it seems churlish to complain now. Whether a negotiator would help is debatable. I've got a similar issue, but inside the premises due to the way the building was constructed a void in the kitchen ceiling has a hole to next door. Its not too bad until they start cooking onions are garlick, which I am allergic to and my eyes stream. I had to block up the ceiling vent to stop it. For outside as I think I mentioned before, the issue is air currents and wind.
I don't know of any fool proof way to stop it, and I'd imagine neither does the neighbour. Perhaps they could forcibly remove the smells in their own house by a fan to some other point on the outside of the building through a pipe. Brian
Add a fan of your own to the vent and "push-back" whenever the smells are coming in?
Brian, what did you block it with? That sounds like a fire safety issue to me. If they set fire to their chip pan your kitchen will burn too.
Andy
At a minimum I'd want large amounts of intumescent mastic
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