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Original poster

Fire pits?

99 replies

womanity · 02/04/2021 18:56

Are wood burning fire pits acceptable in a suburban garden?

I want one, with all socialising being outdoors and all, but I can’t get past that they create a lot of smoke and I’m not sure I’d like it if my neighbours were using one.

Are they okay or are they polluting, anti-social monstrosities?

OP posts:
Harrykanesrightsock · 02/04/2021 21:01

You can have ours. We, much like you thought it would be great and bought one last summer. Bloody stinky polluting smoke blinding hell pit. We have bought halogen electric heaters for this summer.

LovePoppy · 02/04/2021 21:03

@TheQueef

I think this year everyone will understand. Don't kick the arse out of it and burn as clean as possible but don't be put off.
This year is likely the worst one to do it A year into a pandemic when nerves are frayed??
Shrivelled · 02/04/2021 21:04

Sitting round a campfire in the wilderness after a day of hiking is bliss. But light a fire in a suburban or urban setting and you immediately become a class A twat in my opinion.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Gardening Home improvement
LovePoppy · 02/04/2021 21:05

@MissyB1

I love the smell of them too. I grew up in a house with a real fire.
I grew up with real fires

I hate wood stoves and bonfires. Totally different smell

PinkPlantCase · 02/04/2021 21:10

@TheQueef

I think this year everyone will understand. Don't kick the arse out of it and burn as clean as possible but don't be put off.
This year you’d think people would be more sensitive to those with breathing difficulties.

I have crappy breathing and I absolutely hate them. They make it very hard for me to breathe. Thankfully our neighbours don’t have one.

LemonMeringueThreePointOneFour · 02/04/2021 21:29

They're the pits.

murbblurb · 02/04/2021 21:31

Bonfire in a hole.

And for everyone using electricity or gas to heat the outdoors - zero fucks given for the planet, I see. Put some warm clothes on.

warmandtoasty2day · 02/04/2021 21:33

doesn't this come under antisocial behaviour if it's a regular problem with smoke ?

Camandmitch · 02/04/2021 21:41

doesn't this come under antisocial behaviour if it's a regular problem with smoke ?

Yes potentially. My council isn't a fire/smoke control area but it was clear on their website that it could still be antisocial/environmental health issue.

JaninaDuszejko · 02/04/2021 21:43

I think most people really don't care all that much. These kind of threads attract the kind of person who think children shouldn't be on trampolines before 1pm and after 1.01pm, having your washing out brings down the tone of the neighbourhood, no-one should ever practice a musical instrument at any time of day and you should definitely not allow your children to play with chalk on the cul de sac. If they think firepits are so awful they should write to their MP to get them banned. In the meantime, use smokeless fuel and enjoy it.

MotherOfCrocodiles · 02/04/2021 21:44

I like them- like the smell and the feeling that people are actually out enjoying their lives! I think people on Mumsnet will only be satisfied if all neighbours are totally silent, invisible, available for cups of tea with lonely randoms at all times and bleach their loo daily. If you wish to do more than exist in a state of terror of being judged, you should live on a private estate of over 100 acres.

DareIask · 02/04/2021 21:45

@LovePoppy the stench of lighter fuel and charcoal worse, but has barbecues with burning fat are almost as grim.

Barbecues are fine on beaches and in the middle of fields. Where you don't have a kitchen.

Has barbecues just baffle me

DareIask · 02/04/2021 21:45

*gas

FlamingoQueen · 02/04/2021 21:47

We use smokeless logs in our firepit. We use it only a couple of times a year - our neighbours enjoy sitting around it (when COVID allows!).

sparklefarts · 02/04/2021 21:54

@FlamingoQueen

We use smokeless logs in our firepit. We use it only a couple of times a year - our neighbours enjoy sitting around it (when COVID allows!).
Can you recommend some good smokeless logs that are actually smokeless please? I need to find some that actually are!
GlueSuedeShoes · 02/04/2021 22:57

@FlamingoQueen

We use smokeless logs in our firepit. We use it only a couple of times a year - our neighbours enjoy sitting around it (when COVID allows!).
I’d also love to know what smokeless logs you use.

Don’t want to be antisocial but would love to be able to sit around a smokeless fire pit in our back garden.

SomethingOnce · 02/04/2021 23:03

Such fun to have to keep asthmatic DC’s garden-facing bedroom window, and the roof lights, closed on the hottest nights of the year.

Thanks, fire pit fans. Thanks a fucking bunch.

freckles20 · 02/04/2021 23:07

Love ours. Also love a BBQ, and cooking outdoors generally. Our neighbours on both sides have one and no one minds at all.

Sometimes I notice the smell of smoke from my neighbours, also sometimes they are a bit noisy. It doesn't bother me at all, it's nice to hear them enjoying themselves- live and let live.

STARmyarse · 02/04/2021 23:16

I’ve actually just bought one it’s sitting in its box in the porch. Tempted to return it after reading this thread but is it just one of these mumsnet things that people in the real world don’t get quite as heat up about?

Cowbells · 02/04/2021 23:17

I love the smell from a distance. We have one, used only rarely when DC have friends around, although it has been useful during restrictions as they have had to meet outside in very cold weather, so have lit it a few times,. Our neighbour has one going constantly so I guess ours doesn;t bother them.

0blio · 02/04/2021 23:39

@STARmyarse

I’ve actually just bought one it’s sitting in its box in the porch. Tempted to return it after reading this thread but is it just one of these mumsnet things that people in the real world don’t get quite as heat up about?
Well no, not really. Our local authority doesn't allow bonfires and we are encouraged to report any. I wouldn't know the difference between a bonfire and a fire pit, they're both anti social. I can't understand why fire pits and log burners are fashionable just now, they're bad for the environment and must be torture for anyone suffering from breathing difficulties especially at the moment with a serious respiratory virus going about.
Original poster
womanity · 03/04/2021 00:09

@Somanysocks

Get a trampoline and a hot tub as well, just in case you're not being annoying enough with a fire pit.
My neighbours have sex on their trampoline at 2am, so maybe I should get a fire pit as payback.
OP posts:
LovePoppy · 03/04/2021 00:11

[quote DareIask]@LovePoppy the stench of lighter fuel and charcoal worse, but has barbecues with burning fat are almost as grim.

Barbecues are fine on beaches and in the middle of fields. Where you don't have a kitchen.

Has barbecues just baffle me [/quote]
That’s so interesting
Bbq-Ing is so ingrained in the culture here.
It’s the only way to eat hamburgers lol
We (and most people I know) use year round. Even in 3 feet of snow lol yay Canada

SaucySarah · 03/04/2021 00:20

@STARmyarse

I’ve actually just bought one it’s sitting in its box in the porch. Tempted to return it after reading this thread but is it just one of these mumsnet things that people in the real world don’t get quite as heat up about?
I think they do get het up about it in real life but no one wants aggravation with their neighbours. My neighbours have installed some kind of outdoor wood burner and it stinks. The smoke seeps in through our (ill fitting) closed windows. I really, really resent it and silently seethe every time it's lit and I have to come in / bring washing in / close windows and STILL smell it! I think they're an incredibly selfish choice unless you have a very large garden and can situate it well away from nearby houses.
BoringBettie · 03/04/2021 01:02

Our neighbours have one. we are mid terrace and they are end terrace (although still very very close to the next house). I hate it, it’s awful and so smokey, I have to close all the windows in the summer as they have it going all night. I would say something but didn’t want to create friction in lockdown and hoping to move soon.