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Backyard Firepits
updated: Sep 10, 2012, 8:01 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Do edhat readers have firepits in their backyards for warmth and say, smores, and what's the best way to make them safe as well as legal?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 318207	2012-09-10 08:21 AM
Firepits are legal. Fires in them may or may not be, depending on your neighbors' attitude and whether you are in a high fire area. Plumbing for gas would require a permit, but that is administrative, i.e. it will be approved. There are actually no safety regulations, but following indoor fireplace codes, you would want to have no combustible surfaces within 22" of the edge of the pit (no wood deck or side of house). I would take it further and give a minimum of 36" all around, and no structures overhead in the same area. Use no metal around the pit, it can burn you badly even if you think you're smart.
COMMENT 318211	2012-09-10 08:27 AM
Old wood-burning pot-belly stove with 12 foot pipe, on a large flagstone= many hours of camping-like fun. Always have a bucket of water and water cannon for safety.
COMMENT 318223	2012-09-10 08:51 AM
What's a water cannon?
COMMENT 318226	2012-09-10 08:56 AM
Or garden hose... My neighbor has a fire pit and he is constantly burning in it, it smells awful most of the time. I want to complain so that the fire department tell him to stop. Anybody know if I can do that or who I would talk to? He's outrageously inconsiderate, blasts music til late at night, smokes pot and blows it into our windows, etc. He's a degenerate for sure!
COMMENT 318233	2012-09-10 09:12 AM
Here is how it really works. Fire pits and open fires ARE legal.. IF you are using it to cook "food". The definition of food can include things like marshmallows and hotdogs. So, if one of your nosy neighbors calls the fire department, tell them you are cooking food and you are fine. The obvious side of this is to look around. Like you would in the wilderness, clear atleast a 10 foot radius around the pit. Make sure there are no overhanging trees and that neither you or your neighbor have shake wood shingle roofs. If you follow all of these guidelines, you will be just fine. Enjoy!
PAMSB	2012-09-10 09:33 AM
This is COMPLETELY off the subject, but made me laugh. I'm visiting family in KY and TN and my nephew and his wife and 2 1/2 year old daughter live near Nashville. They have a portable firepit on their back deck and it has charcoal briquets for burning (yes, they roast marshmallows on it). It rained last week and water was in the firepit with the briquets floating on top. My niece saw it first and ran screaming to her father "Daddy, mama went to the bathroom in the fire thing!" I swear they need to keep that kid away from the TV when Honey Boo Boo is on!
COMMENT 318257	2012-09-10 09:38 AM
Fire pits are great, unless your house is super close to your neighbor and then you need to be courteous enough to let them know when you are going to use it because the smoke may all go in their windows, which is pretty lame and frustrating.
COMMENT 318266	2012-09-10 09:50 AM
Cooking for food is legal using wood and charcoal. My neighbor started barbequing and using tiki torches (kerosene) and a chiminea in his front yard. I checked around and there is nothing illegal about it, not even from the air quality people. When I tried to talk to him about the amount of smoke he was generating on a nightly basis he started burning other materials in the barbeque. Once he started doing that, I called the fire dept on him and they documented he was burning his trash. That led to a restraining order on him barbequing, and a court hearing where he was mandated to move his burning stuff to the other side of his lot. Since I ruined his good time, he moved soon after that.
KIDS	2012-09-10 10:08 AM
How about a propane firepit? It has no sparks or smell. We even roast marshmellows over the fire. Love it!
COMMENT 318310	2012-09-10 11:45 AM
I have a Santa Maria style BBQ pit, a Weber grill, a Wood Burning Pizza Oven and a fire pit in the backyard, and use all of them often with no complaints from my neighbors. Could it be that when I fired up the Santa Maria BBQ the first time I invited the neighbors over for a tri-tip feast? Or, could it be when I installed the Wood Burning Pizza Oven that we had a pizza party and everybody left stuffed? Or, could it be that during the summer we have smore’s parties? I know all of this helped for sure. As far as wood, a lot of folks use cheap or chemically treated wood in their fire pits and this lets off an awful smell in addition to some rather nasty toxins - I only use well-seasoned Red Oak because it burns clean and hot. As for charcoal, only Kingsford Competition brand and never, never, never any lighter fluid – ick! As for safety, two fire extinguishers and a garden hose are always at the ready. Tri-tip tonight for Monday night football…I can’t wait!
COMMENT 318315	2012-09-10 12:01 PM
@266 I am happy for you. My neighbors had outdoor firepit set up directly under their oak tree. We never speak to them, after years of various demonstrations of their inconsiderate, entitled behavior. Pit went away, eventually. Fireplace smoke, however, has been killing our lungs. Husband lights up fireplace at 1:30am, 4:00am, even on a beautiful 70-degree day. Smoke feeds directly into our bedrooms (closed windows or not). Sometimes our front & back yards are filled with smoke---like a forest fire. Fire Dept a big fat disappointment. (Told us to remodel our house, basically.) Now, fireplace activity has abated somewhat. We dread the cooler weather. (This guy knows his smoke invades our space. He was told, years ago. Just doesn't give a frack.) Who burns a fireplace at all hours? An insomniac? We live for the day when these weirdos sell their house. (Smoke never a problem with former neighbors!)
COMMENT 318329	2012-09-10 12:41 PM
You don't have to just live with it. Document it and file a civil lawsuit. California Code - Section 3479 Anything which is injurious to health, including, but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway, is a nuisance.
COMMENT 318342	2012-09-10 01:13 PM
310, address please? You're making my mouth water...
COMMENT 318345	2012-09-10 01:20 PM
If your windows can't keep out the smoke from a neighbors fireplace - then yes, you need to remodel.
COMMENT 318357	2012-09-10 01:48 PM
Don't bother with State laws. Those laws don't mean anything. Bring in the "BIG WHEELS." Get the feds in on it. EPA could easily resolve all these threaded issues in no more than 30 years. You need them.
COMMENT 318366	2012-09-10 02:06 PM
@345 Spoke with Air Pollution Control District man, years ago. He told me stories worse than mine (about fireplace smoke). Poor suffering people. He said you can remodel all you like, smoke will still find its way in. Nice and knowledgable man. Not to mention the havoc this smoke wreaks on my clean windows and house paint. And remodeling my house will keep smoke out of my yard, too? I really think you aren't familiar with properties of smoke.
COMMENT 318367	2012-09-10 02:08 PM
come on people, back on point :-)
COMMENT 318368	2012-09-10 02:12 PM
I have a backyard in my fire pit.....
COMMENT 318378P	2012-09-10 02:43 PM
We have a backyard firepit, portable and made of metal. Out daughter and dog grew up just fine with it because we used it carefully and taught them to respect the fire. The heat produced feels very good on a chilly SB evening. It is on a large tiled patio, with no overhead trees, and has a screen to place over the pit to keep sparks inside. (Still need to burn good dry firewood, oak or avacado to avoid sparks and smoke.) We also have a gas fire feature, and it is beautiful to watch, but provides very little heat.
COMMENT 318388	2012-09-10 03:02 PM
Your neighbor with the fireplace is one of those people that gets enjoyment out of knowing that he is making you miserable. If you want to retaliate, almost everyone has a zoning violation of some sort, figure out which ones he is violating and then make his life miserable. Hedge heights, setbacks, garage storage, you know we have a ton of nanny laws. Or maybe your health and well being are worth more than it will cost you to move and you should get out of there.
COMMENT 318394	2012-09-10 03:27 PM
@366 Ahh sorry - after re-read sounds like your neighbor's fireplace is malfunctioning and smoking you out of your backyard and house.
COMMENT 318405	2012-09-10 04:07 PM
Don't put it near any new basketball hoops you may have in your yard
COMMENT 318412	2012-09-10 04:24 PM
Who do you compain to if your neighbor has an outdoor kitchen, with a toilet in it??
COMMENT 318504P	2012-09-10 11:19 PM
Our neighbors built a fire pit, which we did not expect to have any problems with. They burn the stinkiest wood we've ever smelled, and the prevailing winds push the smoke directly into our house. I love these neighbors, but I hate their fire pit. Unwanted, stinky smoke can make enjoyment of your home difficult.
COMMENT 318510	2012-09-11 06:24 AM
Firepits are legal? Here is the response I received from the City of Carpinteria when I asked if we could have THE SAME fire ring used at the State Park across the street: Planning would consider a bbq ring or similar structure to be an accessory structure. Accessory structures are regulated by Municipal Code Section 14.50.020, which states, in short, that accessory structures cannot be located within the front or side yard setbacks. However, accessory structures can be located within the rear yard setback when the structure is separated from the main dwelling(s) by at least 10 feet and the structure will not occupy more than 40% of the rear yard. Of course, accessory structures are also permitted to be placed within the legal building envelope. Got all that?????
COMMENT 318523	2012-09-11 07:22 AM
510 - sounds like they had no problem with you having the ring... just needs to be in your backyard 10 feet from your house. what's the problem?
FLICKA	2012-09-11 07:25 AM
I'd get a small, low Weber, great for smores. Some garden stores have portable fire pits.
COMMENT 318543	2012-09-11 08:15 AM
to those on this thread complaining of having neighbors with a fire pit in their backyard... get a life! i mean, what next, no fireplaces in your house because smoke might blow by your neighbors house? how about regulating when windows can be open because the sound of your tv might offend your neighbor? music playing in your house, afraid not, your neighbor might not like what is playing? jeeze louise, where does it end?
COMMENT 318548	2012-09-11 08:36 AM
543, I'm guessing you've never had terrible neighbors. It's no fun. I think that's why my Dad raised us on 5 acres out of town, when he could've bought a small house and lot in Santa Barbara. He didn't really want to take the chance of one of our neighbors not respecting our air space, noise space, etc. You like stinky smoke blowing in your windows? You like listening to someone else's radio/tv/loud conversations/fights? I don't know anyone who likes that stuff.
COMMENT 318560	2012-09-11 09:11 AM
In this town if you pass methane up wind your neighbor will call the fire deparment and rant and rave on the Internet about it - they might post a picture of you too.
COMMENT 318563	2012-09-11 09:16 AM
which I'm thankful for. no one wants to breath your methane. It stinks.

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