Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

[oventhusiast]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Hi kebwi,
Sorry you're dealing with a screwball neighbor.
The flecks in the snow look a bit large to me and I think they are coming from your chimney from previous firings. I know I get buildup on the inside of the top of my spark arrestor if it's cool or damp out when I light a fire. (soot sticking to condensation) After some build up of a few fires, they get pushed out to the roof. In other words, it's like the chimney gets a self cleaning purge once in a while. You said it's very damp this time of the year there. I'm wondering if you sent a chimney sweep brush up the flu and then tried lighting a fire, if you'd get different results? Just a theory.
Also, I'm wondering if the wicked witch of the west has ever had her own furnace and/or chimney cleaned and the flecks of ash you mentioned on 11/2/10 are in fact from her own chimney?
Best of luck,
Rick

[kebwi]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Actually, I aggressively cleaned out my stovepipe and chimney cap since the last firing but prior to Thanksgiving. It was practically shiny by the time I was through with it.

I feel like I type "sigh" a lot in this thread.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

I would just ignore her and do my own deal.

[lwood]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Nobody else in the neighborhood has a fireplace, wood stove, or BBQ? It rains so much in Seattle, mold is everywhere. Have you asked the fire marshal out to assess the situation. Why not have them come out and put an end to this madness? See what they say and take their suggestions. Your WFO is no different than a fireplace or wood stove(probably better). Be proactive and get the fire marshal to make a determination. Don't wait till they come in with the fire hose to dowse your oven. The marshal will probably be more sympathetic if you call them to take a look than if he is responding to a complaint. There are always alternatives, he won't tell you to knock it down, I'm betting.

[Fishwish]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

So, you fired up for T day, did her house develop any "soot holes"? As I recall her argument is that she gets them right after one of your fires. We're all waiting....:-)

[Lburou]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

So, what next?

I don't know if I can sleep tonight with the suspense you have left us in....

Come to think about it, I live downwind of you.....Maybe YOU are the cause of the film on my windows. I want you to come clean them before I call the fire marshal

P.S. On a serious note, some of those spots look a lot like the spots honeybees leave during their 'cleansing flights' in wintertime. Do you know of a beehive in your neighborhood? Other insects could cause similar stains too.

[Archena]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

I'm not as nice as you - I'd report her to the EPA. Mold is a major league health issue and if she's exposing the whole neighborhood...

Soot doesn't burn - period. If it's cold enough to settle out, it's not even warm, let alone hot enough to burn. Particulate loses heat fast once airborne. Embers are a different matter - but you'd be having significant damage if it were spitting out enough embers to get to her house and do all that. Soot can't damage paint the way she says - it's just not hot enough. If it were, you couldn't get near any fire because the soot would burn you!

Ya know, if this is mold and it's getting inside - which it probably is if it's damaging wood - then there may be an explanation for your neighbor's kookiness. Some people have really bad reactions to mold and it can cause mental problems under the right conditions.

Or she's just a nut. I'd still report her to the EPA...

I did mention that I'm not as nice as you, right? <evil grin>

[fxpose]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

When I saw this thread:
Wood & Pizza Oven UK Forum :: View topic - Ducting and extractor instead of chimney
I immediately thought about this thread.

[kebwi]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Sigh. Yeah, I'm uncertain of my long term situation. We fired it up Christmas eve. I set up a big box fan on a ladder pointed at the top of my chimney and directed away from my neighbor's yard. Bottom line is, there is no pleasing this woman. One has to realize that rational discourse is not in the game, and neither is any form of compromise. The only solution she will really "accept" is total prohibition of my oven. She didn't call the fire department but that doesn't mean she's all "oh, a fan, that's great, now you can use the oven all you want." She's a grumpy bully who gets her kicks out of intimidating and threatening other people. I'll just have to deal with her one fire at a time. It's rather slow right now since winter has more or less haulted my oven activities. We'll start doing pizza again in the spring.

[ebbro]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Why don't you just get the fire marshall there to inspect your oven as others have suggested and try to put an end to it?

[pduany]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Not that I am a big proponent of this type of response but it sound like it may be time to have a lawyer craft a response on your behalf. It sounds like she is infringing on your ability to enjoy the fruits of your labors. A well crafted letter telling her to either prove her claims or "cease an desist" might be what is in order so you can bake with out worrying.

[Lburou]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Sigh....snip... I'll just have to deal with her one fire at a time. It's rather slow right now since winter has more or less haulted my oven activities. We'll start doing pizza again in the spring.

Winter then, is time to get your ducks in a row and be proactive behind the scenes. Approach your city officials and get a reading from them about your compliance with applicable provisions of the city codes. A visit to the city attorney wouldn't hurt. Then, when the not so neighborly neighbor complains again, city officials will show her 'how the cow eats the cabbage'.

I know you are an educated man....You probably don't lack for good ideas. Let us know how you proceed.



P.S. Have you considered how a building inspector could help you? He will be certified in differentiating between soot damage & mold damage.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Why are you even concerned? Just ignore the biotch.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

Why are you even concerned? Just ignore the biotch.

Where the like button?

[kebwi]

Re: Neighbor is complaining about soot damage

First of all, the fire department apparently isn't in the business of giving a stamp of approval to fire structures (I've asked). All they do is respond to specific incidents (actual fires and/or complaints of violations). In fact, as far as I have been able to determine, no one is in the business of stamping approval in such a fashion as to outright prohibit future complaints. Anyone can complain about anything they want.

Second of all, the nature of such complaints and the determination of their validity is not as objective as we here would hope. If one person's fire is "bothering" another, it is vague at best as to whether they have the right to call the fire department or otherwise have the fire stopped. Bottom line, I would be at the mercy of the mood and personality of whichever particular fire marshal arrived at my house on any given day...and I would probably have absolutely no recourse whatsoever against an order to put the fire out if said marshal suggested I put the fire out to appease my neighbor.

No one is more dismayed than myself that these things are not more cut and dry.