We recently found our dream property, but it comes with an unfortunate problem – it’s been chain smoked inside for 30 years and is absolutely disgusting. We’re expecting a baby and don’t want our children to grow up in a house with a smoky smell, but we don’t want to give up on this property either. There’s a lot of advice online about cleaning with TSP and sealing with oil based primer, but we’re worried that’s not enough.
We don’t want to gut the kitchen if we can help it, but honestly, it looks like we’re in for a full gut. The house doesn’t have HVAC, but it does have an attic with insulation and a crawl space with insulation. We’d like to avoid a full gut if possible, so we’re looking for honest advice. If we just take it down to the studs, would that be enough?
We know the easy answer would be to just walk away, but everything else about this property is perfect. We’re looking for advice on how to make it work with a major renovation. The best advice we’ve gotten so far is to talk to someone who mitigates house fires and smoke damage. They’ll be able to tell us what needs to stay and what needs to go. Anything fabric, like carpet, drapes, and wallpaper, needs to be pulled out immediately.
We’re hoping to find a way to make this dream property a reality for our family, so we’re really looking for advice. Wish us luck!