We Bought Some Land and My Parents Had a Chimney Fire

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 01/30/2020 at 12:40 • Filed to: None

15

26

Crazy day today. This morning, we closed on the land next to ours. I’ve shared some about that before, but basically it’s 6.48 acres, of which about 2.4 was clearcut this past fall by the (now) previous owner. We think one of the reasons they sold it at all was how it looked after being demolished like that. But for us, it’s a back lot to our current house and 5.5 acres. We’ll do very little with it, beyond keeping some of it clear, planting evergreen seedlings in the spring, making a campsite, building a simple road for access, some MTB trails... that’s about it. We’ve lived next to (and used) this land for 11 years, and we are psyched that we were able to finally buy it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

So I get back to work and I’m standing in someone’s office, chatting. They have the local police and fire dispatch on in the background. I hear “chimney fire...” then I hear the address... it took me a minute to process... HOLY SHIT THAT’S MY PARENTS’ HOUSE! So I left and got to their house just behind the fire truck - I’m work pretty close by - and by then, even, the chimney wasn’t doing what it had been.

First of all, my father was in the fire department for 29 years. He’s very cautious with fire, and the woodstove. He also cleans the chimney diligently every year, sometimes twice. So what happened?

When they started up the stove this morning, they noticed black smoke coming from the chimney outside. So they closed down the air to the stove pretty well, and the smoke subsided... that can happen. A little creosote in the chimney burns up and then it’s gone. So they open the stove back up, and, worse. A LOT more black smoke. Call the fire department.

By the time I arrived, the chimney looked more or less normal, though you could smell something other than wood smoke. It wasn’t healthy. The guys got up on the roof easily - because the ladder stays up all winter so my father can clean the solar panels with a broom - and dropped a weight on chain down the offending flue. Pretty quickly they found a blockage of what seemed like... paper. You see, they’d been burning some old paperwork in the stove from time to time, and it seems that some of it got clogged up as it went up the chimney only partially burned. This caused a backup and led to creosote buildup, just in the 2 months since it was cleaned.

I didn’t stick around as there was no danger to the home or its occupants, and by that time, too, there were THREE fire trucks there - I guess nothing else was going on, plus, it could have been a lot worse. Definitely better safe than sorry when it comes to dispatching fire trucks to a chimney fire, at the home of a fire department veteran (it’s a small town, everyone knows everyone). I’m sure some people thought “geez if HE’S calling 911, it MUST be bad. But luckily, my father was calling a) out of an abundance of caution and b) there really was something wrong, that, left alone, could have caused far worse problems.

So, back to work. Tonight, the sky should be very clear. Stargazing is excellent on the new land, because it’s so open; I’ll probably take the dogs over for a walk after dark. I’m also going to cut a few more trees, ironically, to open up the view a bit more from our house, now that we own the land where those trees are.

More to come. Also, now I need a tractor.

Pics:

shop-teacher > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 12:48

1

I’m glad everything turned out OK.

Your land and view is gorgeous.  I’m jealous.  I look forward to seeing CL and FB tractor ads :)

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 12:50

1

Glad to hear the fire turned out as best as it probably could.

Congrats on the land purchase!

When they clear cut did they rip out the stumps? Or are those all still there?

HammerheadFistpunch > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 12:52

1

Super jelly on the land purchase.  Always wanted to buy some, but it hasn’t made sense for us yet.

functionoverfashion > shop-teacher 01/30/2020 at 12:55

1

Thanks, the view is really good. It’s nearly the same from our house, with less of the valley visible (for good reason).

I’m also quite relieved my parents’ fire turned out to be ok. Their house is post-and-beam like ours, and everything is wood. Very dry wood. 

RallyWrench > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 12:56

1

You got it!!! That is so, so cool, congratulations!  I dream of land to build my own MTB trails on. Glad your folks and their place are ok, I’m going to get up on the roof and check my chimney now,been a couple years...

functionoverfashion > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2020 at 12:57

1

It didn’t really make sense, exactly. If we’d had to finance it, we never would have / could have done it. But being able to buy it outright, we basically moved money from a bank to a less-liquid bank. Its value will only go up, while our annual expenses will not. Other than tractor maintenance...

functionoverfashion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/30/2020 at 12:59

1

Stumps are all still there. It’s a disaster. We’ll work hard to keep some of it clear. I’ll plant a lot of field-mix type seed on the are we want to keep open, and maybe get an acre or so into a condition where I could mow it with a tractor / brush hog attachment. Some areas we’ll just let go, with minimal management. And we’ll strategically plant trees in places to block the view of the trailer park / industrial complex, lol

Oh, and yeah, so glad the fire turned out ok. 

functionoverfashion > RallyWrench 01/30/2020 at 13:02

0

Thanks! We are psyched, and now I want a tractor. For now, I’ll be doing what I can by hand. And cutting about a dozen trees for a specific mountain view I want. But those can become firewood! Speaking of which...

I’m relieved about my parents’ place, too... it’s really surprising. We have our chimney cleaned every other year, per recommendations by the guy who cleans it. We burn about 3-4 cord of wood every winter, but it’s all pretty well seasoned and our stove burns fairly clean.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:11

1

Congrats on the land! Glad it went the way you hoped.

And glad everything is okay with your parent’s house.

Where do you live?  We haven’t seen more than a couple of flakes all winter in the Philadelphia area.  Not that I’m complaining, mind you, I don’t care for snow. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:17

1

Fantastic. Happy for you all.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:20

0

I hate stump removal...unless you have some equipment that makes it easy it’s the biggest PITA

functionoverfashion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/30/2020 at 13:24

0

I might pay someone to come in and remove some on the level-ish area near the top. That way we can mow it more easily, and do things like, park the truck there - or the boat, off-season? - without worrying about ground clearance quite so much.

Because yeah, stumps are really, really tough. 

functionoverfashion > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 01/30/2020 at 13:28

1

Thanks, on both fronts, yeah.

We’re in central NH. 20 minute south on the highway, there’s almost no snow on the ground. I love snow, and I want more! On the other hand, we’re paying to have our driveway plowed this year, and it’s been a smoking deal for us, because we pay by the storm. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:30

1

I’ve removed 6 stumps ranging from 10" to 30" in diameter from my yard... by hand.

While it’s a good workout, I don’t ever look forward to it. I have at least another 3 that need to be removed still (emerald ash borer killed all our ash trees)

functionoverfashion > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/30/2020 at 13:33

1

Thanks! I got the usual sales-y vibe from the selling realtor, but to her credit, she really did help us out, as did the seller. Rather than taking a bunch of offers, they knew we were dead-serious  buyers and wanted to work with us first. So they saw us through to the end before talking to anyone else. They didn’t have to do that, but they did. So there’s some integrity there that I didn’t expect, even if I hoped for it . I’ll be honest, that’s just how things tend to work for me. I am very lucky, and appropriately grateful. 

functionoverfashion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/30/2020 at 13:42

1

Ugh, it is a ton of work but yeah, good exercise and satisfying. I’ll do some smaller ones, and I can use the truck to give a tug here and there . I might be able to borrow a small tractor with an excavator attachment.

I feel like if I can get a guy with a big machine to spend a day over there for less than a grand, it’ll be more than I’ d be able to do in a year . But I don’t want to spend a lot of money, either.

Serious bummer about the ash trees.... 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:43

1

Wow, that’s great.

I also feel incredibly fortunate to find myself where I am now ... These last 15 years (especially the last 5) were completely unexpected to 25 year-old me.

functionoverfashion > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/30/2020 at 13:50

4

These last 15 years (especially the last 5) were completely unexpected to 25 year-old me

Same here completely. I had barely had a long-term girlfriend 15 years ago, and still had my 200,000 mile Honda that I had in college. I met my wife almost exactly 15 years ago. Now it’s the whole deal, wife, kids, dogs, all the toys , and a nice house now with 12 acres. Now we need a garage.

*deep breath*

Cheers.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 13:56

3

Words can’t really express the feeling... but I’m smiling really big inside for you (and me).

Saracen > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 14:10

4

Pretty sure if I bought that much open land I’d build a 2000 car garage/mancave.

razorbeamteam > functionoverfashion 01/30/2020 at 14:48

1

That is some sweet looking property. I bet you’ll have some pretty nice singletrack on those hills in short order. Glad your folks are ok. Coulda been a lot worse. 

functionoverfashion > razorbeamteam 01/30/2020 at 14:50

0

Thanks on both fronts... yeah. I’m hoping someone with a miniex can come over and do some work on the trail front. But that’s a dream, because I don’t know anyone with one of those who isn’t gainfully employed... using it. SO. Anyway

functionoverfashion > Saracen 01/30/2020 at 14:52

1

There’s a whole area down at the bottom where my wife won’t go very often. It’s accessible via rough powerline road, too. I could totally park 15-20 old jeeps, etc. down there and no one* would know.

* I mean, not my wife. And probably no one who would really care. 

OneSlowScion > functionoverfashion 01/31/2020 at 16:35

1

Nice little piece of property, love the view. For a tractor I’d recommend something older   and reliable like a Ford 20 series, depending on what size you want.  Too bad you don’t live closer to central Ma , I work for a company that does lot clearing/stump removal.

functionoverfashion > OneSlowScion 02/03/2020 at 09:38

1

Yeah, it would be a long ride from central MA. I’m not sure yet if I’ll pay someone to come in, or just do what I can myself and beg/borrow/steal a tractor for a weekend at some point, if I can. My parents have a 2wd old tractor with a bucket, so they could bring that over and it would be helpful, if not as good as a big ol’ excavator. It’s not going to pull any stumps out, that’s for sure.

Over the weekend we spent a lot of time over there, and I think it’s less than an acre that I’d be trying to clean up thoroughly. The lower area I can just do very little / nothing and let it grow. I’ll pick some areas to plant trees and clean up somewhat, and I’ll just have some brush piles to burn when the weather allows.

As much as I’d love to buy a tractor, I’d really need it very little after the initial push. We’ll see what it looks like after the snow melts...

OneSlowScion > functionoverfashion 02/03/2020 at 12:55

1

Tractors a lso work great for plowing snow.