Unpleasant smell in one side of house

rosebud8

Hi there, looking for help in relation to a smell that has been present for a few months now. It is noticeable in the hall and a reception room to the left. We have checked the roof space above the reception room, we have also bledcthe radiator to see was there foul water in the rad. The floor in the hall in solid, in the adjacent room the floor is timber over joists. The smell seems to get stronger when central heating is on. The smell is not noticeable in the remainder of the house. Any ideas how to investigate much appreciated. Many thanks.

Esel

Describe the smell.

looksee

If it smells a bit 'fishy' it could be a burned out light fitment.

rosebud8

Dank, musty, damp, earthy smell. Its not a cheese toasty or dirty socks smell. Hard to describe!

mikeymouse

are the vents that ventilate the space under the timber floor blocked?

rosebud8

Mickeymouse, the room was previously an integrated garage, we put timber joists down and plywood sheet down before timber flooring on top. It may not be properly ventilated. What should we check for? Many thanks

Lucyspell

Check the window pane. We had a terrible mystery smell and it turned out to be the window glass replacement done wrong.. Small sponges were placed under the glass to make the glass fit. These absorbed water from the outside, and began to stink...like wet runners.
It took a lot of investigating to identify the problem, I was preparing to move house!

Hotblack Desiato

rosebud8 wrote: »

Dank, musty, damp, earthy smell. Its not a cheese toasty or dirty socks smell. Hard to describe!

Dead rodent under the floor.

Pauley2

If you put the timber joists down directly on an old, possibly damp garage concrete floor with no moisture barrier or didnt "suspend" the floor and incorporate air bricks to allow for ventilation, you could have the beginning of wet rot. You DON'T want that! I've seen a very nasty case of just that. It's a health hazard.. You may have to raise part of the floor to check...

Tigger

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dead rodent under the floor.

sounds like a dead rodent all right

rosebud8

Oh blimey. Thanks all for advice!

evolving_doors

Dead mouse +1
Change in weather they venture inside fall down between a cavity and get stuck.

kurtainsider

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Dead rodent under the floor.

The OP says that it's been going on for a few months. A dead rodent wouldn't smell that long.

mikeymouse

rosebud8 wrote: »

Mickeymouse, the room was previously an integrated garage, we put timber joists down and plywood sheet down before timber flooring on top. It may not be properly ventilated. What should we check for? Many thanks

Rosebud, you might do better by asking your question in construction,
some very good advice on there, some of which will probably entail floor coming up. As Pauley2 said it sounds like a damp issue

rosebud8

Ok thanks all. The affected room backs on to our utility room. The smell in present here too, it comes in waves, sometimes strong , sometimes not so strong. I feel myself it had something to do with water / boiler which is oil fired. We have checked the tank in the attic, months ago. There was a v small dead bird. We drained tank and it is now covered. I will post on construction.

flossy1

I put in a new shower and did not put in a shower-trap , the foul smell from septic came back into the bathroom .Had to

dig up and redo it

naughtysmurf

If you have any sinks, showers in the adjacent utility room that aren't used very often, let the water run for a while in case the traps have dried out,