Wood Pile Problems with a Twist

[northwinds]

So...about a month ago, my neighbor started complaining to me about the size of
my wood piles. We don't get along for too many reasons to list here.

Next, the neighbor complains to the town that my large wood piles are a nuisance and
within the road right of way (a new complaint). The road right of way extends 22 feet from the
edge of the road into my front lawn. More than a cord is obviously in the right of way.
Three cords on pallets were maybe a foot over the line.

I get a letter from the town chairman that any wood within the right of way has to be moved.
O K A Y. I'm not happy about it because many other people in the township have firewood, sheds,
etc in the road right of way, but the town responds only to complaints. I email the town chair, and
he asks for my cooperation. He says that as long as my wood is not in the right of way and within
my property, the town has no further interest in the dispute. He also mentions that he is a wood
burner.


In the interests of cooperation, I move four plus cords of wood--between the two houses. It was a
lot of work, but the pile is actually in a more convenient place for me. Problem is resolved from town's
perspective. The neighbor isn't happy.

Now the good part: Today, I get an invitation from the town chair to harvest two large oak trees
and a medium hickory tree from town property. The trees have already been felled and cut up into
sections; all I have to do is buck it up and clean up the brush. The town chair even offered the use
of town property to store the wood until next season when my own wood pile will be smaller.

 

[CTBurner]

SWEET ending

 

[Bootlegger]

I love happy endings. Justice was served.

 

[Nonprophet]

"Living well is the best revenge."

NP

 

[raybonz]

So...about a month ago, my neighbor started complaining to me about the size of
my wood piles. We don't get along for too many reasons to list here.

Next, the neighbor complains to the town that my large wood piles are a nuisance and
within the road right of way (a new complaint). The road right of way extends 22 feet from the
edge of the road into my front lawn. More than a cord is obviously in the right of way.
Three cords on pallets were maybe a foot over the line.

I get a letter from the town chairman that any wood within the right of way has to be moved.
O K A Y. I'm not happy about it because many other people in the township have firewood, sheds,
etc in the road right of way, but the town responds only to complaints. I email the town chair, and
he asks for my cooperation. He says that as long as my wood is not in the right of way and within
my property, the town has no further interest in the dispute. He also mentions that he is a wood
burner.


In the interests of cooperation, I move four plus cords of wood--between the two houses. It was a
lot of work, but the pile is actually in a more convenient place for me. Problem is resolved from town's
perspective. The neighbor isn't happy.

Now the good part: Today, I get an invitation from the town chair to harvest two large oak trees
and a medium hickory tree from town property. The trees have already been felled and cut up into
sections; all I have to do is buck it up and clean up the brush. The town chair even offered the use
of town property to store the wood until next season when my own wood pile will be smaller.

LOL great story!! Your neighbor may have won the battle but you won the war!! Woodburners tend to stick together for some strange reason.. The guy in town sounds like a good Joe and I am sure I know who you will vote for next election!!

Ray

 

[Cedrusdeodara]

man, I wouldn't store 4 cords within 22 feet of the road, too much effort to offer it up to a redneck (like me) with a pickup and a woodstove.

It sounds like your neighbor won't be happy regardless, and your local official is trying to do what makes everyone happy (or at least not pissed at him). It is hard to tell without photos, how invasive are your piles? Do you live on a 1/2 acre and occupy a 1/4 acre with wood piles??


The Town Chariman's olive branch to come and get wood from a township cutting is an acknowledgment that he respects your efforts and interests, and maybe he's sympathetic to the fact that your neighbor is overbearing. Take him up on it, thank him, and he may be an ace in the hole for you.

Wait, I sound like Dr. Phil. Sorry.

 

[Brian VT]

NICE ! Sorry you had to go through the crap, though.

 

[northwinds]

The wood piles aren't works of art, but they don't overwhelm the lot either.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/38747/

In the second pic, you can see the neighbor's house in the distance.

I did thank the town chair when I met him for the first time today.
It's not a free ride; removing all of the brush to the town transfer site five miles
away will not be a cakewalk. The quality and quantity of the wood definitely
make it worthwhile. I'll try to take some pics in the next few days.

I haven't had any problem with wood thieves. I'm on good terms with my other
neighbors, so they help keep an eye on things. I know several people in the
neighborhood who leave the doors unlocked and keys in the car. Not much
crime or traffic.

 

[rdust]

Great story, it put a smile on my face!

When the twp. inspector was out to check my stove install out last week he made a comment to my wife about the amount of wood I had. She explained I wanted to be 3 years ahead so I would always have seasoned wood, he said he understood the obsession so he may be a wood burner.

 

[ribs1]

Best story I've heard in a while.

 

[firefighterjake]

Karma, what-comes-around-goes-around, fate, good-things-happen-to-good-people . . . whatever you want to call it, I truly believe that when you try to do the right thing oftentimes things will end up in your favor and when you do the wrong thing, oftentimes life has a way of biting you in the arse.

Great story . . .

And after looking at the other thread . . . it doesn't really look like the wood was in a bad spot . . . but now it's in a better spot . . . bonus for you . . . plus you can use the stacks as a privacy fence . . . at least until the stack is depleted . . . and don't worry how pretty your stacks look . . . I often see some great stacks of wood and think about how poorly mine look . . . and then I realize . . . I'm not entering my wood into any beauty contests . . . I'm stacking them up with the intent of getting them dry so I can burn them up.

 

[PunKid8888]

22ft is the right of way. WOW that is a lot, heck my house is probably isn't 22ft to the edge of the road. I think around here its 4ft or something like that.

 

[BrowningBAR]

So...about a month ago, my neighbor started complaining to me about the size of
my wood piles. We don't get along for too many reasons to list here.

Next, the neighbor complains to the town that my large wood piles are a nuisance and
within the road right of way (a new complaint). The road right of way extends 22 feet from the
edge of the road into my front lawn. More than a cord is obviously in the right of way.
Three cords on pallets were maybe a foot over the line.

I get a letter from the town chairman that any wood within the right of way has to be moved.
O K A Y. I'm not happy about it because many other people in the township have firewood, sheds,
etc in the road right of way, but the town responds only to complaints. I email the town chair, and
he asks for my cooperation. He says that as long as my wood is not in the right of way and within
my property, the town has no further interest in the dispute. He also mentions that he is a wood
burner.


In the interests of cooperation, I move four plus cords of wood--between the two houses. It was a
lot of work, but the pile is actually in a more convenient place for me. Problem is resolved from town's
perspective. The neighbor isn't happy.

Now the good part: Today, I get an invitation from the town chair to harvest two large oak trees
and a medium hickory tree from town property. The trees have already been felled and cut up into
sections; all I have to do is buck it up and clean up the brush. The town chair even offered the use
of town property to store the wood until next season when my own wood pile will be smaller.

I would pass on storing it on the township property and add it to my wood pile immediately... just to jab at the neighbor. But, that's me and that's why I enjoy having my neighbors about an acre or two from me on each side. I don't see them, they don't see me. Everyone is happy.

 

[drdoct]

Our right of ways is 10' off either side of the road. I found this out because city workers were pulling up political signs they didn't like that were on the right of way. Now I keep mine out year round 10.5' off the road.

 

[quads]

Northwinds, that's unusual in Wisconsin to run into a neighbor that complains about firewood! Sorry you had to be unlucky, but sounds like it turned out for the best.

As for road right-of-way, it depends on the road. County highway right-of-ways are usually 66 feet wide, but the road does not always follow the center of it. Measuring from the road surface is not very accurate. Only a surveyor can tell for sure where the right-of-way is.

 

[Wood Duck]

I would pass on storing it on the township property and add it to my wood pile immediately... just to jab at the neighbor. But, that's me and that's why I enjoy having my neighbors about an acre or two from me on each side. I don't see them, they don't see me. Everyone is happy.

I would also move it home immediately, but I'd do it because I'd be concerned that the wood would be stolen, disposed of, moved somewhere else, knocked over, etc. if left on city property. Well, OK, I admit it, I would also enjoy taunting the neighbor...

 

[BrowningBAR]

I would pass on storing it on the township property and add it to my wood pile immediately... just to jab at the neighbor. But, that's me and that's why I enjoy having my neighbors about an acre or two from me on each side. I don't see them, they don't see me. Everyone is happy.

I would also move it home immediately, but I'd do it because I'd be concerned that the wood would be stolen, disposed of, moved somewhere else, knocked over, etc. if left on city property. Well, OK, I admit it, I would also enjoy taunting the neighbor...

I would also add a huge pirate flag to the top of my wood pile.

 

[andybaker]

Wow, that is one of the best stories I've heard. It pays to talk around, be nice and listen to what's going on. You probably saved the trustees some good money. I just wonder what your neighbor's face would have looked like if you would have brought it home and dumped it in the middle of your yard, then thank him for the connection. BTW, my entire pile sits on a 10' easement at the back of my property.

 

[northwinds]

I took home most of the hickory today. The wood is in an old private family cemetery that ended
up owned by the town. Someone will assume that it's free for the taking if I don't move it.

Part of me would enjoy taunting the neighbors, but they are pretty tightly wound. The smallest
things set them off. You wouldn't believe the stories I could tell about the neighborhood's
interaction with them, but the stories are not wood-related. As others have pointed out, karma
has a way of evening things out. Having said all that, I got a big chuckle out of the pirate flag
idea.

Here's a portion of the wood from the town site.

 

[PJF1313]

On a side note - How does the Mulberry burn and about how long does it take to season?

The reason I ask is, that I have a large one, about 30-34" diameter, that needs to come down.
I HATE anything that overhangs the house and/or garage - this thing does both, and it's kinda
close to our septic system.

Thanks

 

[TreePapa]

On a side note - How does the Mulberry burn and about how long does it take to season?

The reason I ask is, that I have a large one, about 30-34" diameter, that needs to come down.
I HATE anything that overhangs the house and/or garage - this thing does both, and it's kinda
close to our septic system.

Thanks

I had some mulberry from when I had the tree service take down 1 of 3 trunks of a 2-story tall mullberry (1 "L" or 2? I don't know). Anyway, it split nice and easy, had powder-post beetles that weren't a big problem, and burned nice and crackly. Of course, since I still burn in the FP, we heard every pop and spark. Not a good wood for a fire pit in a fire prone area, but shouldn't be a problem in a stove. We have a purty good screen on the FP so the sparkin' wasn't a problem ... kinda nice, even.

 

[Tony H]

I feel lucky several of my neighbors burn or used to burn wood and love the smell , one fellow even says piles of wood look like money to him !
Sounds like you might not be far from me I am in the South Beloit area.
Did that evil neighbor move from out of the area ? Seems like most people I know from WI wouldn't complain about something like that and are very nice people face to face ........ driving on the road is a whole different thing on the other hand. lol

 

[wendell]

Great job, northwinds. A good result for a great guy!

Let me know if you need some help hauling that brush.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Yeah, I think this is a great story, however, I'd not be too keen on putting a bunch of labor into processing wood and then leaving it ANYWHERE other than my back yard

Be nice to your neighbors, it'll pay off in the long run.

I had a guy get all pissy about my mailbox being on his side the road, he wrote the post office, and threatend to write the President, no kidding. The post office suggested I put my box next to his, which was IN HIS FRONT YARD, haha!

Anyway, wound up putting the box on my side the street with post office permission, worked out easier for me, don't have to cross the road for mail!

 

[northwinds]

Let me know if you need some help hauling that brush.

Thanks for the offer, wendell. I should be okay. It's on the way to
picking up the kids from school, so I'll just keep at it to get it done
before the snow starts flying. I started home brewing beer again, so,
I could use the additional exercise.