I am in the midst of one right now .... A heavy cigar smoker lived in this house for 13 years ... We are talking piss yellow EVERYTHING from all the tar in the cigars.
Do NOT use oil based or water based Primer such as kilz. The yellow tinge will eventually come right back through and the smell will have never been locked in from the beginning.
These are what you need to completely rid the house of smells & color distortions.
Zinser BIN SHELLAC (Alochol Based) Primer:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&q=Zinsser+BIN&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9180131921643511145&sa=X&ei=cDLZTfe6AsuDtgfX743pDg&ved=0CDYQ8wIwAg&biw=1680&bih=869#
You will also need an ozone generator. This is the one I picked up.
http://cgi.ebay.com/OZ-2000-Ozone-Generator-2000mg-hr-New-Technology-/260760622946?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb68b5762
Ozone Generators break up smoke particles, they also kill mold, mildew, & bacteria. Its actually what mold companies use when restoring a flood house, etc... (Make sure to read the safety precautions)
We are currently at about 95% fresh smelling now (and thats without being fully painted or even flooring in at this point). The only lingering smoke smell is coming from the kitchen area. We'll use another 2-3 ozone generator treatments, and paint/flooring should take care of the rest.
Here's an example of the yellow tinge I am talking about :) The wife has been blogging about this. We are doing about 90% of the rehab ourselves. We're using this house as a learning experience so the next time we need to do a rehab, we can sub it out and know exactly what needs to be done, and the time involved, so we can get more competitive bids.
EDIT: Pictures aren't working for some reason? I'll try and fix so you can see what I'm talking about
If you have any more questions, would love to help out if you need it! Best of luck!
