Ken Bates
11-17-2012, 03:39 PM
I inspected a 100+ year old 3 family that had once been heated by oil. There were major renovations in 2006 (as best as I can tell by various data plates) so I think tanks were removed in 2006 or even sooner. All 3 units have high efficiency forced warm air furnaces in the units.
The concrete floors in the cellar have been painted (red-not battleship gray)
and there was too much junk to move where the oil tank had been to forensically examine the point where the copper fuel line was cut. But I could see the termination of the parging to cover the oil line through the junk and I ruled out buried tanks as these small lots have small setbacks. But a new gypsum board ceiling (replacing the old wood lath and plaster ceiling) did not allow inspection above the top of the stone foundation. The exterior was reclad with plastic siding. I always find comfort when I can find the two plugged (or poorly plugged, etc) holes where the filler pipes came in. No copper tubes visible at the foundation walls.
The current cellar door did not seem to be large enough to allow passage of a whole 275 gal. I wish I could have measured the door frame height. HINDSIGHT!!! Broker and client pressed me for time, so I did not think enough about examing the foundation sill above the rear door to see if it had been altered to allow passage of tanks when they converted from coal to oil. So if the 3 tanks resided in the cellar and were cut in the cellar, that creates a possibility of some kind of spillage that was allowed to sit on the floor long enough to permeate the concrete. It seems far fetched that the odors would persist for several years. (however, this was and still is a bad part of Boston ( Savin Hill aka "stabn-kill") so everyone seals their cellar windows and ventilation in nil.)
I have never sensed heating fuel oil odors as strong as I did today except when I have seen a spill from a filter change or leakage. So, my question is: Is it possible for the odors to persist for years. ( If they did at this property then they could persist for several more years!) I could not find much on the internet and I wonder if the few products (e.g. some "Cherry scented deodorant") available will actually work. I do not think Ozone would do anything.
Sometimes I believe in Murphy's Law and I wonder if any encapsulant will take care of the problem. I overheard my client chit-chatting with the "buyer's" agent about building an office, "man room," etc in his cellar storage bin and I am making sure that he is advised that the odor may not be easy to remove.
The concrete floors in the cellar have been painted (red-not battleship gray)
and there was too much junk to move where the oil tank had been to forensically examine the point where the copper fuel line was cut. But I could see the termination of the parging to cover the oil line through the junk and I ruled out buried tanks as these small lots have small setbacks. But a new gypsum board ceiling (replacing the old wood lath and plaster ceiling) did not allow inspection above the top of the stone foundation. The exterior was reclad with plastic siding. I always find comfort when I can find the two plugged (or poorly plugged, etc) holes where the filler pipes came in. No copper tubes visible at the foundation walls.
The current cellar door did not seem to be large enough to allow passage of a whole 275 gal. I wish I could have measured the door frame height. HINDSIGHT!!! Broker and client pressed me for time, so I did not think enough about examing the foundation sill above the rear door to see if it had been altered to allow passage of tanks when they converted from coal to oil. So if the 3 tanks resided in the cellar and were cut in the cellar, that creates a possibility of some kind of spillage that was allowed to sit on the floor long enough to permeate the concrete. It seems far fetched that the odors would persist for several years. (however, this was and still is a bad part of Boston ( Savin Hill aka "stabn-kill") so everyone seals their cellar windows and ventilation in nil.)
I have never sensed heating fuel oil odors as strong as I did today except when I have seen a spill from a filter change or leakage. So, my question is: Is it possible for the odors to persist for years. ( If they did at this property then they could persist for several more years!) I could not find much on the internet and I wonder if the few products (e.g. some "Cherry scented deodorant") available will actually work. I do not think Ozone would do anything.
Sometimes I believe in Murphy's Law and I wonder if any encapsulant will take care of the problem. I overheard my client chit-chatting with the "buyer's" agent about building an office, "man room," etc in his cellar storage bin and I am making sure that he is advised that the odor may not be easy to remove.