Someone stole some of my firewood.

[parthy]

Have a pretty good idea of who it was. He didn't take much. I came home late one night because I am retired, but went to pick up my last cheque from my work and they begged me to work for them for the afternoon. I noticed footprints in the snow. thought it was the hydro meter lady and didn't think anymore about it. My sons came out and were looking at my 2 cords piled up in a leanto kind of wood pile and someone had taken about 20 splits.

My nearest neighbour is cutting down trees and splitting and burning them right away and we figure he need some dry stuff.

Installed a camera inside the house and talked to the RCMP here. My son put a sign on the wood, once you flip open the light covering, saying, Smile you lazy bleep. you been busted.


I posted this in the wrong place. I have notified the mods. Sorry.

 

[HybridFyre]

Awesome. Please post pics and wanted signs once you get results....

 

[gzecc]

I just received two fake video camera's. Too cold out to mount right now. Ones going in the back and one in the front.

 

[parthy]

The RCMP said that this is becoming more common right now. You can't buy dry firewood anywhere until the middle to end of Feb. In 2008 it was stealing gas from sheds.

My summer plans for making wood piles will now change to the east side of the house, where I can easily see them. My son said he will put up light fencing with an airhorn alarm on it. It's just sad. The guy who we are sure is taking them has been caught red-handed doing the same thing elsewhere and the guy has 5x the money I have.

 

[NH_Wood]

Damn. I don't want to judge anyone - but stealing another man's hard earned property is just, well, wrong (can we still say that?). I'd rather the person come to me and ask for free wood - I'd give them some if they were really hurting. Cheers!

 

[tigeroak]

I caught one person stealing mine one time and I said what I done to him and it got pulled. Stealing and a lair is no use to me. Spit kick

 

[Tom Wallace]

I caught one person stealing mine one time and I said what I done to him and it got pulled. Stealing and a lair is no use to me. Spit kick

Well now I'm curious what you did to him!

 

[NH_Wood]

He can't say until the statute of limitations is over....... Cheers!

 

[parthy]

Went for a walk by his house today and judging by the creosote running down his brand new chimney on the outside, the fire that is going to happen there will be spectacular! (brand new 200 grand + home)I am sure I told him I don't have a phone. I don't answer the door after dark anyways, the neighbours I like email me before showing up. And my kids have a key.

I would gladly give anybody who needed some, some wood.

 

[tigeroak]

Back in the old days they made their teeth out of wood, get the drift.

 

[tigeroak]

Same here parthy , you need some ask and I will give you some but just don't steal it then lie about when you get caught.

 

[msherer]

That sux. Besides the wood at my house we keep the bulk of it at our farm which is 25 miles away from me but 8 miles from the rest of my family. No one lives at that old farm so there's nothing stopping someone from loading up. With propane prices so high I could see someone indulging themselves on our stocks.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Went for a walk by his house today and judging by the creosote running down his brand new chimney on the outside, the fire that is going to happen there will be spectacular! (brand new 200 grand + home)I am sure I told him I don't have a phone. I don't answer the door after dark anyways, the neighbours I like email me before showing up. And my kids have a key.

I would gladly give anybody who needed some, some wood.

If you know he has issues with creosote dripping, consider doing the right thing and tell him about it, your not 100 percent sure that it is him and even if it is, he only took 20 pieces, maybe experimenting and trying to learn from you...
Atleast consider it.... He is a burner just like you me and all the rest... Stealing wood is more like someone taking half a pile or so, not a neighbor needing 20 splits.....

 

[woodsman416]

It's terrible and all but I can't get over a brand new house for 200K!

 

[yooperdave]

Most definitely tell him about your concern of the visible creosote! I don't think you would be able to live with yourself knowing you could have prevented a fire...over 20 pieces of wood. It would also be a good time to tell him that you found some wood "missing" from your stack.

 

[razerface]

if there are kids there I would go educated him. If it is just him,,,,shrug,,,,,he is a thief

 

[Missouri Frontier]

ask and I'll give it to you. But,come for the wood sneaky and leave with a half ounce of lead in your ear.

 

[Delta-T]

bring another 20 splits over and neatly stack it for 'em. leave note mentioning imminent disaster of chimney fire. suggest visiting hearth.com for knowledge of correct burning technique. detail the concept of getting out there and doing your C/S/S and getting well ahead if you wanna be a wood burner, value of time, energy spent preparing for winter...that type of thing. hopefully he figure it out, if not, maybe he stub toe on coffee table over and over.

 

[Ashful]

It's terrible and all but I can't get over a brand new house for 200K!

Yeah... not many houses at $200k around here. You can spend that redoing a kitchen, in this neighborhood. Empty lot behind me just sold for $188k, and it was mostly wetlands, not very good for building.

 

[bmblank]

See, I see it the other way around. 200k is quite a bit for a house around here. Most are probably in the 50k range. I guess meth does a of job of lowering prices.

 

[bassJAM]

I've been concerned about losing wood around here with this cold spell. The top of wood pile is visible from the road if you're driving a truck, but my driveway is low enough that you'd never see them loading anything from the road. I need to get some cameras set up as I've caught some random people come snooping around when I've worked from home during the week.

A $200k home seems to be the threshold of "pretty darn nice" around here.

 

[Bobbin]

The price of the home is unimportant. The "owner's" financial statements are important. Stealing is always wrong. But the circumstances surrounding the theft are not always so clearly defined. People steal for several reasons. If you were mortgaged to the hilt and found yourself "upside down" on your note and your homeowner's policy was insufficient/lapsed and the threat of frozen pipes loomed... you guys see where I'm going. Desperation makes people do things they'd usually avoid. And yeah, there is always an poophead who'll steal because "he can".

Those of us who burn wood understand just how much planning and work goes into providing a winter's worth of firewood and the supply for the following winter. People who are desperate don't think that way! they're worried about getting through a wicked cold night and hanging on until the next check clears the bank. What a horrible way to live!

I would be beyond BS if I found our hard earned seasoned firewood poached by some lazy, sorry-ass person... but if I found myself in dire straits? Dunno, maybe the suggestion of Delta-T is the best way to build community and spread the word about how to maximize the use of wood heat?!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

My wood. No touchy.

 

[blades]

My wood- no Touchy- add or you will be touched. Always liked that phone line add " reach out and touch someone" modification by me- I don't use a phone. range 600yards, elevation 18minutes, windage varies. click - hello!

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I understand, I regularly check my stacks because some can be taken in the night, guys in pickups have their eyes peeled on my stash as they drive by, but if a neighbor needs a little, it's a different story.....