oneoldbanjo
Addicted to ArboristSite
I live in a rural farming area and I own an OWB as do a couple of my neighbors, one neighbor has a furnace add on in his basement, and I believe several others burn in their fireplace fairly often. We all live a good distance away and I don't believe I have a neighbor within 500 feet of my house....and downwind I probably don't have a neighbor for 1,000 feet or so. We all get along just fine, help each other cut wood, round up stray cows together, watch each others kids or animals when the need arises, and we generally have the kind of relationship between neighbors that everyone hopes for.
I work in a nearby small town and as a result I do several jobs. I am the City Engineer and schedule road and waterline improvements, I am the Building Inspector and issue building permits and perform inspections, and I am also the Zoning Administrator and I get to make sure everyone cuts their grass, keeps their junk cars out of their yards and complies with the Zoning Ordinances.
I have been dreading the day that someone would apply for a permit to install a OWB in the City I work for.....as I really don't think they would work well in town. We really don't have winters that are very harsh - but still people can spend a lot of money on heat for a few months each winter. Last week we had temperatures in the high 70's - but we were warmer than normal. We had our first frost overnight this week and daytime temperatures are now in the high 50's. December is usually in the 40's, January through February can be cold and we normally havea week or two each winter of 10 degree or colder. It may be difficult for most to justify the expense of an OWB setup - but a furnace add on or free standing stove may be justifiable.
This is an older town and most houses were built prior to the 60's - some even older. The lots are very small and there are a large number of lots that are only 40'x125', and a few that are 60' wide. The houses are very often only seperated by 6 - 10 feet and the land is very hilly. Most streets are built on ridges and the houses are built on the hillsides and are very close to the street so that they could be built near the street elevation. If an OWB were to be put in the rear yard it would be at basement level and the smoke would most likely be discharged at the living level of the neighboring houses unless a 20' tall stack were to be installed.
I think that it may be reasonable to allow clean burning furnace add on units or free standing stoves in this area - I am not sure how you could install a conventional OWB in these subdivisions without causing a great deal of problems from the smoke. I am open to any comments or input that you may have - I am not a fan of over regulating things - but when you have neighbors this close I do believe that they deserve to be protected from a constant barrage of smoke from a neighbors wood furnace/stove/OWB. I have attached a few pictures that show what kind of neighborhoods we have in town.
These are two houses on a street that we are rebuilding. Their back yards drop steeply away at about a 3/1 slope.
These two houses are just up the street from the two in the previous picture. He is replacing his driveway while the street replacement work is being done. These houses are barely 10' apart - and this is not uncommon.
These two houses are next door to the one replacing his driveway and once again they are only about 10' apart.
This picture shows the houses and back yards at the next street and there are 4 houses in a distance of about 160' of width. The open yard area on the right side is the corner lot where the house was neglected and got too old to repair and was torn down. Notice how it would be difficult to build an OWB in the rear yard - the predominant wind would be toward the houses if and OWB was installed behind the houses.
My initial thought is to allow indoor units that are clean burning and use existing chimneys without regulation (maybe restricting the use to a certain time of year is appropriate). For indoor units that don't have any clean burn technology or for OWB - I believe it would be necessary to have more restrictions.
I work in a nearby small town and as a result I do several jobs. I am the City Engineer and schedule road and waterline improvements, I am the Building Inspector and issue building permits and perform inspections, and I am also the Zoning Administrator and I get to make sure everyone cuts their grass, keeps their junk cars out of their yards and complies with the Zoning Ordinances.
I have been dreading the day that someone would apply for a permit to install a OWB in the City I work for.....as I really don't think they would work well in town. We really don't have winters that are very harsh - but still people can spend a lot of money on heat for a few months each winter. Last week we had temperatures in the high 70's - but we were warmer than normal. We had our first frost overnight this week and daytime temperatures are now in the high 50's. December is usually in the 40's, January through February can be cold and we normally havea week or two each winter of 10 degree or colder. It may be difficult for most to justify the expense of an OWB setup - but a furnace add on or free standing stove may be justifiable.
This is an older town and most houses were built prior to the 60's - some even older. The lots are very small and there are a large number of lots that are only 40'x125', and a few that are 60' wide. The houses are very often only seperated by 6 - 10 feet and the land is very hilly. Most streets are built on ridges and the houses are built on the hillsides and are very close to the street so that they could be built near the street elevation. If an OWB were to be put in the rear yard it would be at basement level and the smoke would most likely be discharged at the living level of the neighboring houses unless a 20' tall stack were to be installed.
I think that it may be reasonable to allow clean burning furnace add on units or free standing stoves in this area - I am not sure how you could install a conventional OWB in these subdivisions without causing a great deal of problems from the smoke. I am open to any comments or input that you may have - I am not a fan of over regulating things - but when you have neighbors this close I do believe that they deserve to be protected from a constant barrage of smoke from a neighbors wood furnace/stove/OWB. I have attached a few pictures that show what kind of neighborhoods we have in town.
These are two houses on a street that we are rebuilding. Their back yards drop steeply away at about a 3/1 slope.
These two houses are just up the street from the two in the previous picture. He is replacing his driveway while the street replacement work is being done. These houses are barely 10' apart - and this is not uncommon.
These two houses are next door to the one replacing his driveway and once again they are only about 10' apart.
This picture shows the houses and back yards at the next street and there are 4 houses in a distance of about 160' of width. The open yard area on the right side is the corner lot where the house was neglected and got too old to repair and was torn down. Notice how it would be difficult to build an OWB in the rear yard - the predominant wind would be toward the houses if and OWB was installed behind the houses.
My initial thought is to allow indoor units that are clean burning and use existing chimneys without regulation (maybe restricting the use to a certain time of year is appropriate). For indoor units that don't have any clean burn technology or for OWB - I believe it would be necessary to have more restrictions.
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