How Much is Too Much Wood for Residential Neighborhood??

[jscs.moore]

Hey guys...I'm just going into my second burning season so I'm still a newbie. But have learned a great deal on this site about getting ahead with seasoned wood. I live in a single family home in a suburban like residential neighborhood where everyone has about a 3rd of an acre lot. I now have about four cords stacked in our back yard running down the fence line. I think my wife is a little annoyed at the amount of wood I now have stacked in the yard, so are some of the neighbors It seems most of the posters on this site who have tons of wood stacked live in more rural settings...at least that the impression I get from many of the photos. So my questions is...are there any wood burners in typical residential neighborhoods that have encountered raised eyebrows from either the wife or the neighbors regarding the amount of wood you have stacked in the yard?? My wide sarcastically said to me the other day..."do you think you're a homesteader now, this is getting ridiculous!"

 

[Wawa Coffee]

Hey guys...I'm just going into my second burning season so I'm still a newbie. But have learned a great deal on this site about getting ahead with seasoned wood. I live in a single family home in a suburban like residential neighborhood where everyone has about a 3rd of an acre lot. I now have about four cords stacked in our back yard running down the fence line. I think my wife is a little annoyed at the amount of wood I now have stacked in the yard, so are some of the neighbors It seems most of the posters on this site who have tons of wood stacked live in more rural settings...at least that the impression I get from many of the photos. So my questions is...are there any wood burners in typical residential neighborhoods that have encountered raised eyebrows from either the wife or the neighbors regarding the amount of wood you have stacked in the yard?? My wide sarcastically said to me the other day..."do you think you're a homesteader now, this is getting ridiculous!"

You are my doppelganger.

I live in a residential suburban neighborhood. There is a small chance we're married to the same woman. My neighbors don't burn as much wood as I do but they all have fire places. I've got a little less than a half an acre.

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[Longstreet]

1/2 acre lot in suburban Atl. 7 cords total. Both my immediate neighbors are totally cool with my wood stacks. Wooded area behind us so no problems there.

Have gotten some comments from other neighbors. I always kindly change the subject. Did have to tell one guy to pound sand though.

You in a hoa?

 

[Z33]

If there's no HOA tell them to go pound sand.

I'm sitting on .55 acres in a very nice neighborhood in Atlanta and I have about 10 full cords.

It covers three sides of my fence in the back yard. I keep everything stacked nice in racks and all the neighbors say is "hey uhhhhh can we borrow some wood"

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey guys...I'm just going into my second burning season so I'm still a newbie. But have learned a great deal on this site about getting ahead with seasoned wood. I live in a single family home in a suburban like residential neighborhood where everyone has about a 3rd of an acre lot. I now have about four cords stacked in our back yard running down the fence line. I think my wife is a little annoyed at the amount of wood I now have stacked in the yard, so are some of the neighbors It seems most of the posters on this site who have tons of wood stacked live in more rural settings...at least that the impression I get from many of the photos. So my questions is...are there any wood burners in typical residential neighborhoods that have encountered raised eyebrows from either the wife or the neighbors regarding the amount of wood you have stacked in the yard?? My wide sarcastically said to me the other day..."do you think you're a homesteader now, this is getting ridiculous!"

I read this to my wife and she literally said, "Did you write that?" Ha! I'll post some pictures tomorrow of my stacks.

I have about 1/3 acre, it's a corner lot, the house sits awkwardly on the lot, there are a few retaining walls because of elevatation/grade issues, I have a very small back yard- so all of my wood is stacked in my front yard. It's insane. I limit my wood stacks on my property to about 5 1/2 cords including 1/4 cord in my garage. I try to keep them neat but I'm not super diligent about it.

 

[lost in the woods]

good to hear there is not a H.O.A. however, there could be municipal regulations if your municipality has a zoning ordinance and you live in a "residentially zoned" area. you might want to check into that in a discrete manner.

 

[jscs.moore]

good to hear there is not a H.O.A. however, there could be municipal regulations if your municipality has a zoning ordinance and you live in a "residentially zoned" area. you might want to check into that in a discrete manner.

Thanks guys for all the feedback. I actually do have an HOA in my community but there is nothing written about limitations on firewood. Matter of fact, there are some homes in the neighborhood who have wood inserts and a lot of wood stacked in their yards as well. Granted, this is not the norm but I'm certainly not the first to stack a lot of wood. However, I have tried hard to keep all my wood in neat stacks on 8ft racks. They run down the fence line and I think they look beautiful Of course my wife thinks I'm getting ready for end times What's also interesting is my immediate neighbor who has raised eyebrows and made a few comments like "think you gotta enough wood yet?" has created a crazy type of mixed jungle in his back yard with bamboo, coy pond, vegetable garden, little walkways with little lawn statues hidden in different places and almost no lawn because he's crammed so much other crap back there he can't grow grass It's definitely not my cup of tea, but I would never dream of saying anything to him about it...especially the 20ft bamboo jungle! But he managed to make a few sarcastic comments about my nice looking wood stacks Go figure

 

[kennyp2339]

Tell the wife her primary job is now to pay the gas or oil bill before anything else, I'm sure she wont mind the wood pile afterwards

 

[Seanm]

Im in a town of 4500 people which is basically in the bush with wild lands all around. my lot is .13 of an acre with forest behind me which is designated park but really its just a strip of forest which gives the cougars a place to watch our kids lol. I have lots of firewood and no one complains but Ive had a few admirers. My neighbor has a bunch of junk behind his house and I have a bunch of firewood. I pride myself on neat stacks and zero junk. We are friendly and dont bug each other about any short comings each other may have. My husky cries from time to time and they dont complain. Another neighbor has cougar hounds that are quite vocal but I hold my tongue because I sometimes split firewood and run my chainsaw when others dont like it (shift town). My wife is used to my hoarding since Ive been at it for so many years. She asked if I was done for the year? and I told her I wont make that kind of commitment to her (we both know better).

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I have 23 cords currently stacked on the upper 13 acres of our property, so roughly 1.8 cords per acre. You have a density of 12 cords per acre! I'm jealous and you should be proud! Tell your neighbors to take a hike.

 

[Lcback]

This is why I can't live in the sub-urbs. I did for 3 years and went nuts. I want to do what I want in my own property with no regard to noise, or looks.
Thankfully most everyone who lives on our street feels the same way. It certainly makes for some weird weekends though. Gun shots and fire works at 2AM from some of the neighbors, and no one says word. They certainly don't complain about wood stacks, my chainsaw or gun shots during normal hours.

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[woodhog73]

If your neighbors get upset just smile and tell them it must suck having to pay the utility bill all winter and that your wood pile heats your house for free ! Or atleast cheaper than the utility bill. If they still are upset then oh well it's a free country if they don't like it they can sell their house and move.

As for your wife well can't help you there. You could tell her if she doesn't like the wood pile she can move too but that probably won't work too well.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I think you have to check and see if your city has any ordinances concerning how much wood you can have in your yard. I think some cities do.
Funny i was emptying one of my wood shed today to go into the basement and my neighbor come over to chat. He asked if i was always going to have wood in my sheds along his back lot line. He thought it made a good privacy fence and didnt want to see them empty. Luckily i have enough wood to cut to keep his dream alive a few more years anyways.

 

[Poindexter]

I go into spring with ten green cords on my < 0.25 acre lot and make it into autumn with 8 seasoned cords.

7 wood stoves on my street with 9 houses though.

 

[Jay106n]

Its your land. Do what you want.

This is why I can't live in the sub-urbs. I did for 3 years and went nuts. I want to do what I want in my own property with no regard to noise, or looks.
Thankfully most everyone who lives on our street feels the same way. It certainly makes for some weird weekends though. Gun shots and fire works at 2AM from some of the neighbors, and no one says word. They certainly don't complain about wood stacks, my chainsaw or gun shots during normal hours.

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This is exactly how my neighborhood works. You sure we aren't neighbors?

 

[Ashful]

Where's that Macarena guy with the wood elevator from Long Island?


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[dafattkidd]

Here's a few pictures of my wood supply. Not the most beautiful thing to have in front of my house, but it works. I feel like it looks crappier in pictures, but that could just be me.

I am always jealous of guys with huge lots of land posting these incredible pictures of there wood supply. I'd like to see how you other guys with small lots stack your wood supply.

 

[dafattkidd]

I go into spring with ten green cords on my < 0.25 acre lot and make it into autumn with 8 seasoned cords.

7 wood stoves on my street with 9 houses though.

I'm very curious to see what ten cords looks like on .25 acre. Can you post a picture of this incredible feat?

 

[Lcback]

I'm limited on flat space. I have two main places that i stack in. One is in the driveway. Because I learned last year when it snows two feet my quad won't make it into the back yard for wood. And when it does it kills my yard.
So I built it this spring to hold 3.75 cords. 6ft tall 48" deep and 25ft long. My neighbors call it the wood wall. It doesn't look nice. But like I said in my earlier posts. I don't care what my property looks like to someone else. If I tried to do this my first year I know my wife wouldn't have been okay with it. But after a winter of hand carrying wood all that way, she was all for it.

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[sportbikerider78]

This is why I can't live in the sub-urbs. I did for 3 years and went nuts. I want to do what I want in my own property with no regard to noise, or looks.
Thankfully most everyone who lives on our street feels the same way. It certainly makes for some weird weekends though. Gun shots and fire works at 2AM from some of the neighbors, and no one says word. They certainly don't complain about wood stacks, my chainsaw or gun shots during normal hours.

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Amen. I simply can't do it. I can't see any of my neighbors and I can't imagine going back to a condo or neighborhood. Want to build a shed? Do it. Want to park 10 cars on your front lawn for a bbq? No problem.
Want to burn a huge brush pile? Sure..sounds fun.
I was attempting to tune a chainsaw at 11pm 2 weeks ago. No worries. The coyotes didn't seem to mind.

I love the country.

 

[Lake Girl]

So my questions is...are there any wood burners in typical residential neighborhoods that have encountered raised eyebrows from either the wife or the neighbors regarding the amount of wood you have stacked in the yard?? My wide sarcastically said to me the other day..."do you think you're a homesteader now, this is getting ridiculous!"

Sorry to hear that your wife doesn't appreciate your efforts to provide alternative heating options ... Have you ever gone through a storm without electricity? She will definitely appreciate the heat then.... You could come up with a plan to screen it from the rest of the yard with another partial fence line or shrubs. Are the fences between yards privacy fences?

As to the neighbour with the bamboo and koi, to each his own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm more of a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright who tended to use indigenous materials and the natural features of the area... Don't think Pennsylvania tends to bamboo and koi

 

[Ashful]

Anyone here with large piles of wood on suburban lots concerned with the liability of kids climbing on or around those stacks? I'm young enough to remember the appeal of climbing on "stuff", and old enough to be terrified of a neighbor kid getting hurt by a tumbling aisle of wood.

There are only four kids within a half mile of my wood piles, and two of them are my own. All four have been instructed on the dangers of playing on wood stacks, and we make sure they stay away from that part of the property.

 

[Jags]

Look on the bright side. By spring time you will only have half the amount left....

 

[Ashful]

Look on the bright side. By spring time you will only have half the amount left....

Kids, or wood?

 

[Jags]

Kids, or wood?

I depends on which ones are more properly seasoned.