Anyone know anything about building smells?

So the outside bit including the stack and chimney pots have been removed? Seems a funny thing to do. In our last house someone had done the opposite, removed the fireplaces and chimney breasts but left the outdoor stuff, it sort of made sense as it gives a tiny bit more room in the house. I can see no reason why the chimney pots would be removed though?

Anyway I reckon there should be a vent in the loft to stop the old blocked off flues from getting damp. Your building surveyor should have picked this up, they did on our previous house.

 

But why bother, it costs a lot of money to remove a chimney including modifying the roof. There is no space gain either so why not leave it in place?

 

Hi @"M" I live in an old old cottage and I can get a very acrid soot smell sometimes but I got some chimney ballons and put them up the chimneys after they were all swept..

I do have a multi fuel stove but never get soot smells from that..
Sadly a lot of people closed off fireplaces and capped off chimneys without putting ventilation into the chimney.. If yours are tightly capped off that could be the problem.. I am familiar with sweeps as have had solid fuel for nearly 50yrs so.... Before you get a builder in get a chimney sweep in to look at your chimneys..
If it was done in the 60s it is likely they are not vented properly to today's standards.. They can advise and San often do the work too...
Good luck and let us know..

 

@"M" If I leave the door open to my firebox when no fire in the summer depending on what the weather is doing, depends on how much smell I get in the house.. Because I burn a lot of oak and Ash and coal, it smells like smoked bacon to start with then turns very acrid and sooty afterwards and that is not nice, so probably similar..
Get a sweep in to check the chimneys for vents, they usually vent on each floor of the house, but if he also recommends sweeping go for it because what was very hard tar many years ago with now be very dry and loose.. My sweep also runs a flail on our chimney liner to get loose stuff off, and a vacuum, so next to no soot, but years ago they didn't line the chimneys with flue liners.. I am sure a sweep will be a very good starting point to investigate..
If you have no experience of fires and chimneys they can be a bit smelly.. You will ge it sorted I am sure..