Questions about wall plates, 70's house

[Lane]

My question is whether it is common even with basements to get odors from the sills that lie on the foundation wall?

We have a split-level house from '72 that smelled upon moving in (coated concrete block walls in the entry level). Now we have renovated the entry level so all the risky materials are gone and it smells good there. However, we have discovered that the upper floor and clothes still smell but differently. At first, we thought it was all the textiles and furniture that still had the odor. But the difference between the entry level and the upper floor is becoming more pronounced over time. Additionally, it smells the worst at the outer walls, which we previously "explained" by saying it wasn't sealed and the smell from the entry level was coming up there. But that no longer holds true.

Now I have started wondering about the sills after reading a post here, and what can be seen at the basement window is the sill lying on the concrete block is brown, which may indicate it is treated with cuprinol or something else. But when you search for sills, you mostly find hits that there are problems with crawl spaces and slab-on-grade foundations, and we essentially have a basement. We plan to change the facade if all goes well, is it then a big extra job to change the sill at the same time?

 

[Lane]

How do we determine if/that it is the sill? Can you carve/drill into the sill and smell it, how much is needed to detect if/that it smells?

 

[anaitis]

1 Open the wall on the ground floor directly below the spot where it smells the most on the upper floor.

2 However, I believe the problem might be an old leak that continues to smell.

 

[Lane]

Downstairs, there are only plastered and painted walls, so there is nothing to open.

It smells equally strong in three places: in the closet (along an exterior wall), under the bed (which is against an exterior wall), and behind the sofa (against a third exterior wall). Therefore, I don't think it's an old leak but rather that there is some problem in the exterior walls, which is what made me suspect the sill.

 

[cecar33]

Hello! You mentioned that you are going to change the facade, then you can start by opening the facade under a window on the wall where you notice the smell and check what might be the problem.

 

[Lane]

Hello! You mentioned you are going to replace the facade; you can start by opening the facade under a window on the wall where you detect the smell and check what might be the problem.

Yes, but I was hoping it could wait another year. But there is definitely a problem. We opened the wall once, but from the inside, along the ceiling, and what we noticed was that the insulation smelled bad but looked fine, no stains or anything else that could explain the smell. At that time, the house still smelled a lot, and yet you could sense a strong smell in the insulation. That makes me suspicious in hindsight. And as I've understood it, smell from the syll can penetrate insulation.

 

[Lane]

Now I have searched and searched, and apparently even old wind paper can smell. According to the internet, it smells a bit sweet and musty. That matches quite well since the smell is different and milder compared to the smell we had on the ground floor (which smelled like infested wood and made our eyes water).

Now one would like to rename their thread to smell in exterior walls. But does anyone know or have experience with this?

Does the wind paper also need to have been wet to start smelling? Or is it enough that it is old? I am doubtful that water has leaked into all the walls. Additionally, it smells more when the sun has been on the walls, i.e., it smells more in the summer.