Neighbor's Wood-Burning

In most areas of the Poconos burn barrels are legal to use but most
townships restrict to Saturday burning only. As we say to the complaining
New Yorkers who move here, "Welcome to Pennsylvania and this is they way we
have always done it."

My only concern would be if he was burning pressure treated wood. He might
have been burning leaves.....

--

Rumpty

Radial Arm Saw Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start

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<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
> where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
> lifelong neighbor (30+) who grew up along with us and with whom we have
> up until now been on very good terms. (The good terms do not extend to
> neighbor's wife.)
>
> For the past month, our home has REEKED of whatever it is that he has
> been burning. We live on a dead-end road, but I don't want to give the
> impression this is, like, Deliverance-style territory. It's just a
> 70's-era development in the Poconos. We're not concerned that he's
> burning something necessarily illegal as we are that our home is
> becoming uninhabitable because of the smoke.
>
> I phoned two Saturdays ago. Neighbor's gnarly wife answered, claimed
> "We've burned twice a week for ten years!" (patently untrue), and that
> "*I* don't smell a thing." The response, while not out of character
> for this woman, was a bit more unfriendly than we're used to, even for
> her.
>
> The smoke got even worse, so we actually phoned neighbor's mom, who
> lives in a house out of line of the drifting smoke. Result was that
> smoke stopped, and next day, neighbor drives over to apologize and give
> me a hug. I thought the problem was solved.
>
> Two days later, the burning started again. Because neighbor is
> extremely well-employed, I could see it wasn't a matter of his burning
> on yet another Monday mid-morning, and I started to wonder if he
> installed some sort of wood-burning device inside his home whose vent
> is aimed directly our way.
>
> What if anything can we do to settle this nightmare? This would be
> like something from Seinfeld if it wasn't causing such pain. If we
> contact him again (and we'll have to do it when we're sure we won't
> instead get wife-from-Hades), we'll 1) "take back" the friendly
> reception of our complaint to his Mom, or 2) show that we don't believe
> his explanation of "just extra wood left over from chopped trees." He
> would have had to cut down half his lot in order for the burning to be
> going on this long.
>
> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.
>

> As we say to the complaining New Yorkers who move here, "Welcome to
Pennsylvania and this is they way we have always done it."

Do like we do here in Florida. Tell them, "We don't care how you do it
in Florida. Interstate 95 goes north, too." Then we take their Yankee
money.

Dick Durbin

Eddie Munster wrote:
> Take up ham radio as a hobby......"you'll see".
>
> or have one come over and show you how it works..... he will know
what
> to do.

Two things about your responses (and thanks for them!) make me have to
ask if you're from Pennsylvania, too. Could the "Eddie" possibly be
spelled another way?

Very coincidental...

Phisherman wrote:
>
> Last time I went to Florida was a December to get away from the cold.
> When I got there, there was an ice storm. All the interstates were
> closed, hotels were all filled up, and I slept in my (cold) car.
> Haven't gone back and that was 15 years ago.

Two brothers I know _drove_ from Fairbanks, Alaska to spend Christmas
with their parents in Jacksonville, Florida. On the day they arrived
in Jacksonville the temperature was 12 F. The high that same day in
Fairbanks was 20 F.

--

FF

[email protected] wrote:
>
>
> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.

Consider this to be neighborly advice.

Catch the neighbor sometime when his wife is not present
and ask him what he has been burning lately.

You were not clear if he had burned befor without a problem
over the last thirty years,. If so something has changed like
maybe he's burning elm (elm stinks when its wet dunno
how it smells when burnt) or his chimney needs cleaning,
or maybe he has a dead racoon or bird nest or something
in his chimney.

The quickest route to a solution to the problem would involve
his cooperation. It seems clear he is willing to cooperate,
you just have to get the wife out of the loop.

--

FF

In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.

Drive-by shooting?

Or, call a lawyer/county/town hall/zoning officer. We're wood-dorkers,
here.

Caution everyone.....do not move to Kansas.
We burn the prairies every Spring for brush control & to maintain the
quality of grass.
Folks from the cities move out to the "beautiful"
spaces complain about all the burning, get a lawyer like city folk
do.......then next Spring they & their lawyers get burned out by
backfires.
They usually move back east using I-70 and tell stories of how terrible
the people are "out here".
The worst pollution to health out here are the lawyers from back East.
Just my thoughts under the 1 & 2nd amendmet.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 17:46:21 -0600, Scott Altman <[email protected]> wrote:
> Caution everyone.....do not move to Kansas.
> We burn the prairies every Spring for brush control & to maintain the
> quality of grass.

Yup.

> Folks from the cities move out to the "beautiful"
> spaces complain about all the burning, get a lawyer like city folk
> do.......then next Spring they & their lawyers get burned out by
> backfires.

Or they complain about the manure smells, yes. Worse, though, are the
people who move out, see the real locals burning off their fields, and
then decide to do it themselves. They seem to miss the little minor points
about picking a day without high winds and when everything is bone-dry.
One guy burned up his field, his neighbor's yard, and his neighbor's
shed with a classic Harley (fully tricked out and restored) in it.
Didn't do much for neighborly relations, I would imagine.

One guy, the cheif told him he was going to take his matches away, after
having a "controlled burn" get away from the third year in a row.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 18:43:38 -0800, Richard Cline <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> I was always told to call the fire department when I smelled smoke.

Please don't waste your fire department's time for a bad-neighbor situation.
Most of the time, they're at home with their families, and don't have
time or interest in getting involved in some neighborly spat.

that just isn't nice, funny but not nice :))

Eddie Munster wrote:

> Take up ham radio as a hobby......"you'll see".
>
> or have one come over and show you how it works..... he will know what
> to do.
>
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
>> where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
>> lifelong neighbor (30+) who grew up along with us and with whom we have
>> up until now been on very good terms. (The good terms do not extend to
>> neighbor's wife.)
>>
>> For the past month, our home has REEKED of whatever it is that he has
>> been burning. We live on a dead-end road, but I don't want to give the
>> impression this is, like, Deliverance-style territory. It's just a
>> 70's-era development in the Poconos. We're not concerned that he's
>> burning something necessarily illegal as we are that our home is
>> becoming uninhabitable because of the smoke.
>>
>> I phoned two Saturdays ago. Neighbor's gnarly wife answered, claimed
>> "We've burned twice a week for ten years!" (patently untrue), and that
>> "*I* don't smell a thing." The response, while not out of character
>> for this woman, was a bit more unfriendly than we're used to, even for
>> her.
>>
>> The smoke got even worse, so we actually phoned neighbor's mom, who
>> lives in a house out of line of the drifting smoke. Result was that
>> smoke stopped, and next day, neighbor drives over to apologize and give
>> me a hug. I thought the problem was solved.
>>
>> Two days later, the burning started again. Because neighbor is
>> extremely well-employed, I could see it wasn't a matter of his burning
>> on yet another Monday mid-morning, and I started to wonder if he
>> installed some sort of wood-burning device inside his home whose vent
>> is aimed directly our way.
>>
>> What if anything can we do to settle this nightmare? This would be
>> like something from Seinfeld if it wasn't causing such pain. If we
>> contact him again (and we'll have to do it when we're sure we won't
>> instead get wife-from-Hades), we'll 1) "take back" the friendly
>> reception of our complaint to his Mom, or 2) show that we don't believe
>> his explanation of "just extra wood left over from chopped trees." He
>> would have had to cut down half his lot in order for the burning to be
>> going on this long.
>>
>> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
>> needed and appreciated.
>>

there is a family of farmers out in the Moody area that two years in a row
burned down there hey shed, on Christmass day, on there third year the fire
department showed up just in case

Dave Hinz wrote:

> On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 17:46:21 -0600, Scott Altman <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Caution everyone.....do not move to Kansas.
>> We burn the prairies every Spring for brush control & to maintain the
>> quality of grass.
>
> Yup.
>
>> Folks from the cities move out to the "beautiful"
>> spaces complain about all the burning, get a lawyer like city folk
>> do.......then next Spring they & their lawyers get burned out by
>> backfires.
>
> Or they complain about the manure smells, yes. Worse, though, are the
> people who move out, see the real locals burning off their fields, and
> then decide to do it themselves. They seem to miss the little minor
> points about picking a day without high winds and when everything is
> bone-dry. One guy burned up his field, his neighbor's yard, and his
> neighbor's shed with a classic Harley (fully tricked out and restored) in
> it. Didn't do much for neighborly relations, I would imagine.
>
> One guy, the cheif told him he was going to take his matches away, after
> having a "controlled burn" get away from the third year in a row.

Is there any health angle you can pursue? Medical, asthma, stubbed toe?
Perhaps a lawsuit on the basis of reduced health? I don't think he is
insured for that. Health angle, property value angle will go nowhere.

Best find out what he is burning. Painted wood. Construction waste is
usually not allowd.

Will you keep us posted?



[email protected] wrote:

> I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
> where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
> lifelong neighbor (30+) who grew up along with us and with whom we have
> up until now been on very good terms. (The good terms do not extend to
> neighbor's wife.)
>
> For the past month, our home has REEKED of whatever it is that he has
> been burning. We live on a dead-end road, but I don't want to give the
> impression this is, like, Deliverance-style territory. It's just a
> 70's-era development in the Poconos. We're not concerned that he's
> burning something necessarily illegal as we are that our home is
> becoming uninhabitable because of the smoke.
>
> I phoned two Saturdays ago. Neighbor's gnarly wife answered, claimed
> "We've burned twice a week for ten years!" (patently untrue), and that
> "*I* don't smell a thing." The response, while not out of character
> for this woman, was a bit more unfriendly than we're used to, even for
> her.
>
> The smoke got even worse, so we actually phoned neighbor's mom, who
> lives in a house out of line of the drifting smoke. Result was that
> smoke stopped, and next day, neighbor drives over to apologize and give
> me a hug. I thought the problem was solved.
>
> Two days later, the burning started again. Because neighbor is
> extremely well-employed, I could see it wasn't a matter of his burning
> on yet another Monday mid-morning, and I started to wonder if he
> installed some sort of wood-burning device inside his home whose vent
> is aimed directly our way.
>
> What if anything can we do to settle this nightmare? This would be
> like something from Seinfeld if it wasn't causing such pain. If we
> contact him again (and we'll have to do it when we're sure we won't
> instead get wife-from-Hades), we'll 1) "take back" the friendly
> reception of our complaint to his Mom, or 2) show that we don't believe
> his explanation of "just extra wood left over from chopped trees." He
> would have had to cut down half his lot in order for the burning to be
> going on this long.
>
> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.
>

Take up ham radio as a hobby......"you'll see".

or have one come over and show you how it works..... he will know what
to do.

[email protected] wrote:

> I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
> where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
> lifelong neighbor (30+) who grew up along with us and with whom we have
> up until now been on very good terms. (The good terms do not extend to
> neighbor's wife.)
>
> For the past month, our home has REEKED of whatever it is that he has
> been burning. We live on a dead-end road, but I don't want to give the
> impression this is, like, Deliverance-style territory. It's just a
> 70's-era development in the Poconos. We're not concerned that he's
> burning something necessarily illegal as we are that our home is
> becoming uninhabitable because of the smoke.
>
> I phoned two Saturdays ago. Neighbor's gnarly wife answered, claimed
> "We've burned twice a week for ten years!" (patently untrue), and that
> "*I* don't smell a thing." The response, while not out of character
> for this woman, was a bit more unfriendly than we're used to, even for
> her.
>
> The smoke got even worse, so we actually phoned neighbor's mom, who
> lives in a house out of line of the drifting smoke. Result was that
> smoke stopped, and next day, neighbor drives over to apologize and give
> me a hug. I thought the problem was solved.
>
> Two days later, the burning started again. Because neighbor is
> extremely well-employed, I could see it wasn't a matter of his burning
> on yet another Monday mid-morning, and I started to wonder if he
> installed some sort of wood-burning device inside his home whose vent
> is aimed directly our way.
>
> What if anything can we do to settle this nightmare? This would be
> like something from Seinfeld if it wasn't causing such pain. If we
> contact him again (and we'll have to do it when we're sure we won't
> instead get wife-from-Hades), we'll 1) "take back" the friendly
> reception of our complaint to his Mom, or 2) show that we don't believe
> his explanation of "just extra wood left over from chopped trees." He
> would have had to cut down half his lot in order for the burning to be
> going on this long.
>
> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.
>

Bill Stock wrote:
> "J" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Find a nice loud leaf blower. Fire it up and aim it at their house
>
> whenever
>
>>they are burning.
>>
>>Wear ear protection.
>>
>>Another alternative is to buy a santa suit, stuff it full of fiberglass
>>insulation and when not a creature is stirring on xmas eve bring out a
>>ladder and a broomstick and stuff it down the chimney. They will get the
>>message next time they light up.
>>
>>-j
>
>
> When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
> The neighbour sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.
> Away to the window he flew like a flash,
> tore open the shutter, and shot Santa in the Ash.
>
Yer gonna get a lump of coal. Neener neener neener.

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 17:34:22 +0000, LRod
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 15 Dec 2004 08:27:10 -0800, "Olebiker" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> As we say to the complaining New Yorkers who move here, "Welcome to
>>Pennsylvania and this is they way we have always done it."
>>
>>Do like we do here in Florida. Tell them, "We don't care how you do it
>>in Florida. Interstate 95 goes north, too." Then we take their Yankee
>>money.
>
>Welcome to Florida. Now, go home!
>
>My motto.
>

Last time I went to Florida was a December to get away from the cold.
When I got there, there was an ice storm. All the interstates were
closed, hotels were all filled up, and I slept in my (cold) car.
Haven't gone back and that was 15 years ago.

On 15 Dec 2004 08:27:10 -0800, "Olebiker" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> As we say to the complaining New Yorkers who move here, "Welcome to
>Pennsylvania and this is they way we have always done it."
>
>Do like we do here in Florida. Tell them, "We don't care how you do it
>in Florida. Interstate 95 goes north, too." Then we take their Yankee
>money.

Welcome to Florida. Now, go home!

My motto.

- -
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

No. I am in Ontario, Canada.

I guess I remind you of somebody?

John

[email protected] wrote:
> Eddie Munster wrote:
>
>>Take up ham radio as a hobby......"you'll see".
>>
>>or have one come over and show you how it works..... he will know
>
> what
>
>>to do.
>
>
> Two things about your responses (and thanks for them!) make me have to
> ask if you're from Pennsylvania, too. Could the "Eddie" possibly be
> spelled another way?
>
> Very coincidental...
>

"J" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Find a nice loud leaf blower. Fire it up and aim it at their house
whenever
> they are burning.
>
> Wear ear protection.
>
> Another alternative is to buy a santa suit, stuff it full of fiberglass
> insulation and when not a creature is stirring on xmas eve bring out a
> ladder and a broomstick and stuff it down the chimney. They will get the
> message next time they light up.
>
> -j

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
The neighbour sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash,
tore open the shutter, and shot Santa in the Ash.

>Do like we do here in Florida. Tell them, "We don't care how you do it
> in Florida. Interstate 95 goes north, too."

Ya we do the same, if they don't shut up we tell em to take I-80 East...

--

Rumpty

Radial Arm Saw Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start

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"Olebiker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > As we say to the complaining New Yorkers who move here, "Welcome to
> Pennsylvania and this is they way we have always done it."
>
> Do like we do here in Florida. Tell them, "We don't care how you do it
> in Florida. Interstate 95 goes north, too." Then we take their Yankee
> money.
>
> Dick Durbin
>

Can someone explain that to me?

-Steve

"Richard Clements" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> that just isn't nice, funny but not nice :))
>
> Eddie Munster wrote:
>
> > Take up ham radio as a hobby......"you'll see".
> >
> > or have one come over and show you how it works..... he will know what
> > to do.

Find a nice loud leaf blower. Fire it up and aim it at their house whenever
they are burning.

Wear ear protection.

Another alternative is to buy a santa suit, stuff it full of fiberglass
insulation and when not a creature is stirring on xmas eve bring out a
ladder and a broomstick and stuff it down the chimney. They will get the
message next time they light up.

-j


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
> where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
> lifelong neighbor (30+) who grew up along with us and with whom we have
> up until now been on very good terms. (The good terms do not extend to
> neighbor's wife.)
>
> For the past month, our home has REEKED of whatever it is that he has
> been burning. We live on a dead-end road, but I don't want to give the
> impression this is, like, Deliverance-style territory. It's just a
> 70's-era development in the Poconos. We're not concerned that he's
> burning something necessarily illegal as we are that our home is
> becoming uninhabitable because of the smoke.
>
> I phoned two Saturdays ago. Neighbor's gnarly wife answered, claimed
> "We've burned twice a week for ten years!" (patently untrue), and that
> "*I* don't smell a thing." The response, while not out of character
> for this woman, was a bit more unfriendly than we're used to, even for
> her.
>
> The smoke got even worse, so we actually phoned neighbor's mom, who
> lives in a house out of line of the drifting smoke. Result was that
> smoke stopped, and next day, neighbor drives over to apologize and give
> me a hug. I thought the problem was solved.
>
> Two days later, the burning started again. Because neighbor is
> extremely well-employed, I could see it wasn't a matter of his burning
> on yet another Monday mid-morning, and I started to wonder if he
> installed some sort of wood-burning device inside his home whose vent
> is aimed directly our way.
>
> What if anything can we do to settle this nightmare? This would be
> like something from Seinfeld if it wasn't causing such pain. If we
> contact him again (and we'll have to do it when we're sure we won't
> instead get wife-from-Hades), we'll 1) "take back" the friendly
> reception of our complaint to his Mom, or 2) show that we don't believe
> his explanation of "just extra wood left over from chopped trees." He
> would have had to cut down half his lot in order for the burning to be
> going on this long.
>
> Any advice--mechanical, structural, legal, seasonal (!)--desperately
> needed and appreciated.
>

In article <[email protected]>,
LRod <[email protected]> writes:
> phenomenon have everything to do with it. I took a 50' tower down one
> day in Chicago when it was 10°. Down vest, bright sunshine, no wind
^^ ^^^^
Okay, LRod. Now we know you're lying. :)

OBWW: Last winter I helped a friend make some bookcases. I have a
heater in the garage/shop, but at one point we needed to open the
door in order to rip down some of the plywood. After the few short
minutes to do that, I couldn't feel my fingers any more. :(

--
Jeff Thunder
Dept. of Mathematical Sciences
Northern Illinois Univ.
jthunder at math dot niu dot edu

I was always told to call the fire department when I smelled smoke.

Dick

On 17 Dec 2004 15:58:08 GMT, [email protected] (Jeffrey
Thunder) wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> LRod <[email protected]> writes:
>> phenomenon have everything to do with it. I took a 50' tower down one
>> day in Chicago when it was 10°. Down vest, bright sunshine, no wind
> ^^ ^^^^
>Okay, LRod. Now we know you're lying. :)

But, but, but...

Oh, I see; I think your ^^^ were supposed to be under the "no wind"
They showed up under "vest, brig" on my reader. Yeah, I can see how
you might disbelieve that...ha, ha. Of course I only said Chicago to
make it simple. I was actually almost as far out as you; I was in
Aurora.

I'm not saying there weren't some chilly moments. As I implied in my
OP, having to take my gloves off to handle small metal parts was an
exercise of very short bursts. That cold-soaked steel was more than a
match for my extremeties.

- -
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

On 15 Dec 2004 02:47:25 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

>I have a friendly helpful next-door neighbor here in the woods (PA)
>where the zoning ordinance does NOT prohibit open burning. This is a
<snip>

Actually this is a woodworking group. You may want to call Dr. Joy
Browne to find out what she recommends. There may be something
serious going on, like cremation or meth-lab work.

You're entitled to the "quiet enjoyment" of your property. Make some
discreet inquiries to an attorney.

On 16 Dec 2004 08:35:16 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

>
>Phisherman wrote:
>>
>> Last time I went to Florida was a December to get away from the cold.
>> When I got there, there was an ice storm. All the interstates were
>> closed, hotels were all filled up, and I slept in my (cold) car.
>> Haven't gone back and that was 15 years ago.
>
>Two brothers I know _drove_ from Fairbanks, Alaska to spend Christmas
>with their parents in Jacksonville, Florida. On the day they arrived
>in Jacksonville the temperature was 12 F. The high that same day in
>Fairbanks was 20 F.

12° in Jacksonville is very unusual. I lived there for five years
(only a decade after Charlie) and don't remember it ever getting that
cold. However, even after ten years in Jamestown, NY, and 26 years in
Chicago, I still maintain the coldest I ever felt was one night in
Jacksonville when it was 18°. I was sitting in my car, a convertible
(yes, the top was UP, dammit), waiting for someone, and I couldn't get
warm, even with the heat going. I can still remember it, and it's been
35 years.

I think appropriate garments, time of day, and associated weather
phenomenon have everything to do with it. I took a 50' tower down one
day in Chicago when it was 10°. Down vest, bright sunshine, no wind
made it quite comfortable...until I had to put bare hands on steel.


- -
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net