How much is too much wood for suburban neighborhood?

[firefighterjake]

6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...

Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...

Well I cannot mow my lawn buck naked since I do have a few neighbors within sight distance . . . but I can (and do) routinely pee outside and get the mail at the mailbox while wearing boxer shorts (both of which seem to tick off my wife to no end.)

 

[kennyp2339]

6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...

Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...

I believe this made it to my top ten best read posts of the year.

 

[Woody5506]

6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...

Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...

I feel your pain, sometime a month or so ago I had half the fire dept show up at my house for a bonfire out back that was possibly the smallest one I have had all year - about a foot and a half tall flame by the time they got there. Fire chief laughed when he saw it, told me my pit was perfectly fine but made me put it out due to it being a nuisance call. Then the whole crew himmed and hawed over pain in the ass neighbors and so on.

I continue to have fires out back, and am considering a big firewood stack to block those neighbors out.

 

[LondonNeil]

As my name suggests I'm in London, UK, deep in the suburbs about 8 miles from the centre of town, about half way to the countryside. House is a semidetached, with garden I guess the plot measures a tenth of an acre (rough guess). I stack where I can, some against the front, south facing wall of the house, but most along my fence at the back. I've 6 cord CSS and approaching another 2 cord yet to process. I've had neighbours knock and ask if they can buy wood, others stop to chat when I'm splitting out front...most are curious about wood stoves (they have become the must have fashion item for the middle classes here in the UK). I think 8 cord CSS would be by limit, I'd run out of space.

 

[mountain man 2]

Well I cannot mow my lawn buck naked since I do have a few neighbors within sight distance . . . but I can (and do) routinely pee outside and get the mail at the mailbox while wearing boxer shorts (both of which seem to tick off my wife to no end.)

My thoughts exactly....my wife feels the same way..

 

[coutufr]

As my name suggests I'm in London, UK, deep in the suburbs about 8 miles from the centre of town, about half way to the countryside. House is a semidetached, with garden I guess the plot measures a tenth of an acre (rough guess). I stack where I can, some against the front, south facing wall of the house, but most along my fence at the back. I've 6 cord CSS and approaching another 2 cord yet to process. I've had neighbours knock and ask if they can buy wood, others stop to chat when I'm splitting out front...most are curious about wood stoves (they have become the must have fashion item for the middle classes here in the UK). I think 8 cord CSS would be by limit, I'd run out of space.

Is there specific laws against wood stoves in London? Here in Montreal next year we will need to have low emission wood stoves.

 

[Sodbuster]

This is my 3rd season burning and I still struggle with the idea of stacking what my wife and neighbors would say is too much wood. I get the impression that most who post about being 5, 6 years ahead, etc. tend to live in rural areas where nobody blinks an eye at 10 or 15 cords of wood stacked on a property. But we live in a subdivision where most everyone has about a 1/3 of an acre or a little less. I have about 3.5 cords running down my fence line in the back yard, but I think my neighbors would probably complain if I stacked anymore. About 2 years ago, when I finally bought more wood racks and stacked up to 3.5 cords in the backyard...my wife said, "are you kidding, do you think you're a homesteaders now?"

I always wonder how much wood is too much when you live in a subdivision with relatively small lots?

I think you need to be mindful of your zoning laws and HOA rules, they can be a real pain in the keister if people complain, and they will. I don't care how neat your stacks are, they are an area for rat harborage. If you want to keep stacking, stay on good terns with your neighbors, keep it neat, and know the rules. Even knowing the rules doesn't always help, its how the zoning board interprets them. That is why I fled the city years ago.

 

[Sodbuster]

I live in the Township, across the road is houses inside the City limits. One guy who hadn't even moved in yet asked me, "how often do you run a chainsaw" seeing my stacks of wood. I told him, "Well I don't see that is any of your business as I live in the township". He has since calmed down but he is considered a real *$$hole by the rest of the neighbors. He has calmed down since I very seldom run a saw in the yard and my yard and orchard look quite a bit better than all the neighbors yards.

Funny what having a lawn care business and what 1200#s of golf course grade fertilizer and weed abatement program can do for turf.

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That's a nice looking place you have there Bandit.

 

[firefighterjake]

My thoughts exactly....my wife feels the same way..

I tell her the neighbors will think I am wearing shorts . . . she says they would know it's just me in my underwear.

 

[LondonNeil]

Is there specific laws against wood stoves in London? Here in Montreal next year we will need to have low emission wood stoves.

Same here, the clean air act created 'smokeless zones' in several major cities, where burning wood or coal is illegal. To overcome this you need to have a cleaner stove that is 'exempt' by the government.

 

[coutufr]

Same here, the clean air act created 'smokeless zones' in several major cities, where burning wood or coal is illegal. To overcome this you need to have a cleaner stove that is 'exempt' by the government.

This is why I bought the Ashford 30 last year. I needed a permit by the city. Being a stove releasing less that 1 g/h made it easy to get the permit. It is carbon neutral so very good to the environment too. I already have close to 2 face cords burned so far this autumn [emoji262]

 

[LondonNeil]

This is why I bought the Ashford 30 last year. I needed a permit by the city. Being a stove releasing less that 1 g/h made it easy to get the permit. It is carbon neutral so very good to the environment too. I already have close to 2 face cords burned so far this autumn [emoji262]

I'm not sure what my 'exempt' stove emits, although i think its more than that. I understand that a newer, cleaner standard is coming in a few years, 2020 I think. Some stoves already meet it but not loads yet.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

That's a nice looking place you have there Bandit.

Thanks, it's different from most folks, I have a lot of "hobbies". If I didn't have to play 18 holes of golf everyday in the warmer months, I could get more done.

Here is the back yard.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

My neighbors like my stacks, they even went as far as to ask me if i'd always keep them full of wood so they didnt have to put up a fence. Id think as long as it looks neat and somewhat organized most people wouldnt have an issue and there is something pleasing to the eye about a nice row of wood

 

[Sodbuster]

Thanks, it's different from most folks, I have a lot of "hobbies". If I didn't have to play 18 holes of golf everyday in the warmer months, I could get more done.

Here is the back yard.

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Wow, not showing this to my wife, that's for sure.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Wow, not showing this to my wife, that's for sure.

Well I just picked up 18 twelve foot posts today to build trellis for next years 140 apple trees. I think I am going to call it quits on apple trees after that.

 

[Sodbuster]

Well I just picked up 18 twelve foot posts today to build trellis for next years 140 apple trees. I think I am going to call it quits on apple trees after that.

How do you harvest that many apples, and what do you do with them? I have some old apple trees that are buried in our woods by scrub brush. They are going to get liberated this winter and pruned to see if they can be brought back to being productive.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

How do you harvest that many apples, and what do you do with them? I have some old apple trees that are buried in our woods by scrub brush. They are going to get liberated this winter and pruned to see if they can be brought back to being productive.

It's easy, an apple picking bag, bunch o laundry baskets and a trailer. I've had people buy apples for years but I plan on selling directly to apple stands around here.

Pruning isn't hard but is very time consuming on large overgrown trees. They WILL produce an incredible amount of water sprouts. Good apples don't happen by accident, they are a product of an IPM. (Integrated Pest Management system) i.e. Lots O spray.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm with all of you, I thinking of getting more wood racks and increasing my wood supply early next year to about 5 cords. I'll just have to deal with some of the neighbors and their sarcasm...one of them said to me a few years back, "Sure you got enough wood in your yard?" Oh well

My friends and family and yes even my wife joke around about me hoarding firewood, and I live on 6.5 acres! Lack of knowledge I think plays a big role when people see multiple cords of fire wood. People don't understand that a safe and effective burn requires actually seasoned wood, which, takes time and large amounts of stacks.

 

[black smoke signals]

We actually have an HOA...and they haven't said anything yet so that's why I'm concerned about stacking too much more.

HOA! Set there own rules like eyesore or hazardous materials read the fine print! Then carry an 1mil umbrella from your insurance company it’s cheap.

 

[saewoody]

I’m on a corner lot in a Suburban neighborhood. It is .46 an acre and every bit of it is visible from both streets. I currently have somewhere in the range of 12-13 cords. It is stacked neatly. The majority of my wood is stacked in four rows, one behind the other. Most people don’t realize there are multiple rows. My goal in the spring is to finally get a wood shed built that can hold at least 5 cords. That will be one winter’s worth of wood, and would give me some more room so that I can reach the 3 year plan.


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[saewoody]

No new responses? I’ll give it a bump? Anyone had to start stacking wood under their kid’s treehouses? I recently put about 2 cords under ours! I wasn’t looking for more wood, but it was just too easy to pass up!

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[adrpga498]

Try your hand at building a Holz hausen or two. Most neighbors have said that mine look cool. They take up less foot print space too.

 

[Bspring]

6yrs ago we lived in a subdivision in our first house. We were in the back yard in october, enjoying the fire pit for my wifes Bday.. It was just us and her sister.. We werent even talking, just enjoying the fire and looking at the stars. The police came, one of my neighbors called to complain about us having a fire.... As soon as the friendly officers left, I declared we were moving.. Less than 4mo's later we moved, and we know have 150acres and my closest neighbor is almost a mile away...

Never, ever again, will I live where I cant mow my grass butt naked again. Firewood stacks? Yes, I have plenty...

Yep, that would have done it for me also.

 

[JohnDolz]

No new responses? I’ll give it a bump? Anyone had to start stacking wood under their kid’s treehouses? I recently put about 2 cords under ours! I wasn’t looking for more wood, but it was just too easy to pass up! View attachment 216929View attachment 216930View attachment 216931


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I was going to do that but then ran short of dry wood late last winter....had to burn the playscape.