Can anything be done about neighbor's offensive smell?

Contact your county air quality office. They should be able to help.

Go to your city hall and try and talk to a bylaw officer, see if he/she can help you.

I would do as @kritiper suggested. Call them and let them know there is a horrible smell coming into your home and it is making you ill. Don’t tell them about your neighbor. Let them investigate and then let your neighbor know. Who know, it may not be from their pit. Or they could’ve killed someone and burned them in it. So you may not want to be next.

He may be using wood that has been chemically treated. Talk to him if you don’t want to cause any problems for him with local of. You may be helping him out, health wise, as well.

Talk to the neighbour first, before you get the authorities involved.

Talking to your neighbor is a good plan. See how they react. Maybe they are going to agree and tell you they are just hoping to get through this last batch and never buy would from that same place again.

If they aren’t going to do anything then you can go to the city or county (whichever jurisdiction applies to you) and see how they can help.

If you rent you can contact your landlord, especially if you are all in a rental complex and your neighbor rents from the same person.

Don’t get air quality involved until the last resort and give them fair warning if you have to do it.

Epa and agencies working with them tend to go to extremes. Our city / borough is using complaints to justify switching every one to natural gas that they are networking underground to homes. If they don’t have enough people using it they can’t justify the initial expense. Trying to make alternative heat sources illegal by legistlating it so it is impossible to comply.

It could be they need their flue cleaned. Or it could be treated wood. But whatever the case you are doing the right thing by addressing the situation with them first.

A few things can do this. They could be idling the stove rather than having it run hot. They could be using bad wood. The wood can be wet. And they are either using an old stove or are running it below the light-off temperature for the catalytic converter or reburner.

I have a Lopi Freedom stove with a reburner. The EPA specs say it can put out less than 100 grams per hour without the reburner. Once at light off temperature, with the reburner on it puts out less than 3 grams per hour. There is no smoke! Nothing! Just heat waves.
Running the stove inefficiently wastes wood. A standard stove is 40% efficient. The new stoves with reburners are in the 75% range. They will cut his wood consumption in half and his emissions will be negligible.
Your neighbor is wasting money, and building up creosote in his flue increasing the odds of a chimney.house fire.

Those arguments might help your case.

I need to clarify one thing. All stoves, even mine, will smoke when they are first started. There will be low hanging smoke for the first few minutes. I open the bypass (close the reburner), set the air intake at wide open, and let the temperature rise quickly. I set a timer for 5 minutes to remind me to turn the reburner on and choke back the air intake or else the temperature will easily rise above 1000F, 500C.

Are they burning treated wood? The chemicals used to treat it are poisonous, and burning it presents a hazard to him as well as you who must breathe the smoke.

Your house is filling with smoke because of a temperature inversion. The smoke can’t rise above a certain height due to the weather, and so trails along the ground, entering homes.

Start by speaking to him and if you get nowhere, talk to the county/city.

I’d call the authorities, anonymously. They should investigate because ‘burning wood with a chemical smell’ is a red flag for cooking meth. I’m not saying they are cooking chemicals, but that the authorities should come out and look, which should make them stop making the smell.

I personally know of a case where a young couple was keeping a low fire burning in the yard overnight to cover meth production. A nice upholstered chair will cover the smell of anything. When the neighbor called the cops, they were all over it.

For the record, unless they have an “in” at some lumber yard very few people burn treated wood. Treated wood is much more expensive than wood collected from fallen trees that can be obtained for free. Odds are the wood is just wet and they are not running the stove at high temperature. Even the best firewood will smoke and stink if the stove is choked back.

@LuckyGuy Pallets are made from treated wood. Lots of people will try to burn them to save money on firewood. It’s a legitimate possibility, but I’d guess it’s something else such as meth production.

Unless they have a special source, no serious burner uses pallets for heat. Pallets take up so much space, and must be taken apart. They are loaded with nails that can damage your chain saw and end up as junk in the bottom of your stove. The nails end up in the ashes and then in your garden or on your driveway or wherever you discard them. No thanks.
And, oh, they have chemicals on them too.

The meth sounds like a small possibility.

When you talk to your neighbor you might mention that you are pregnant.

@snowberry @LuckyGuy They are using pallets. I see the truck dropping off the load of wood once a week. They are already chopped up into pieces.
@LuckyGuy It’s 100% not meth production. My husband knows them and they have 3 little girls in the house. Both parents work hard. They’re a very nice family, I just don’t think they realize the inconvenience they’re causing in the neighborhood. If the issue is the pallet wood, I worry that speaking to them about it won’t help. I can’t imagine them changing the type of wood they burn just because we don’t like the smell. Maybe it’s all they can afford. Or maybe they have a connection. But if it’s unsafe to burn, I wouldn’t think they would want their kids breathing that in.

They could be using lighter fluid or other chemical accelerants to burn wet wood. One of my coworkers remarked that he was doing this the other day.

There is a host of noxious chemicals they use to treat wood. These chemicals are designed to prevent bugs from eating the wood and causing decay (POISON)! None of them are “healthy” if you breathe the fumes. Get the authorities involved. Now!

Ugh. Pallet wood is awful. It is ok to start the fire with a couple of pieces because it is thin and burns hot. A few pieces mixed with newspaper and the stove will light the “real” wood up nicely.
There is another problem with pallet wood. Since it is so thin and well dried with a lot of surface area, it wants to burn very quickly. A full stove will run away with itself unless it is choked down significantly. Starving the fire or oxygen results in incomplete combustion with higher concentrations of CO and particulates. Not good.

Is he getting whole pallets? If he is, that means you must also be blessed with the sound of chainsaws running at odd hours. The pallets need to be cut down and broken to size. Awful job. And where is he dumping the ash? It will pollute the garden.

Is his stack high enough above the roof? . If it is too low he might not be getting a good draw and the smoke is rolling off his roof.

Like you said maybe that is all he can afford. Too bad.

Contact your local authorities and refrain from using air fresheners.

@ibstubro makes a valuable and plausible suggestion about the possibility of meth production, if it was me I would certainly want to investigate from that angle.

I think it would be best to try to discuss it with them before reporting them. They might need to have their chimney cleaned or be using treated wood with a bad odor.

Update:
My husband spoke to the neighbor. He mentioned the strong odor we have been smelling and the neighbor said it was because he is using only pallet wood this year in his stove. He has no intention of changing the wood he uses or preventing the smell. So with this new information, what should we do?

This is a serious question. Are they poor? Is he unemployed?
Pallet wood is so disgusting and takes so much effort he clearly is not doing it for his health. I’m guessing they are having some serious financial issues.

What would I do? If I liked the neighbor my answer is: Nothing. I would figure they are pretty desperate. Since I have tons of good wood I’d give him some but you probably don’t have a free supply.
I’d keep my windows closed. It is winter after all. I would get a good electrostatic air filter (from GoodWill) and have that running in my house when the wind is blowing from his direction.
I don’t like to bring in the authorities unless absolutely necessary.

#1, @LuckyGuy asked:
“Is his stack high enough above the roof? . If it is too low he might not be getting a good draw and the smoke is rolling off his roof.”

#2, since your husband played his hand, you might look into some window insulation kits to make your home as airtight as possible.

You might try an air filter, but I have not had success with passive, “Ionic” products.

Okay, he isn’t going to change the kind of wood he uses, but you might tell him that pallet wood burns too hot for chimneys. He will end up with a chimney fire, and burn the place down.

If others in the neighborhood are complaining too, maybe everyone chip in some money for better wood to help them?

I would ask them if they are aware of any fuel assistance programs they can take advantage of. Many states offer help with heating bills, often including firewood. Google “fuel assistance” and your state.

And to add: if they say they have applied but it’s been taking a long time to get approval (a common issue), mention that there might be emergency benefits they would qualify for. I would think that using pallet wood exclusively, especially with three little kids in the house, officially counts as a heating emergency.

You really want to find out if the wood he’s been using is safe to burn. Pallets are sometimes fumigated with methyl bromide before use. Can you get hold of a complete piece? Check the label if you can – it will either put your mind at ease, or convince you to take action.

@LuckyGuy I honestly don’t know if they’re financially struggling. Both parents work full time at good jobs. In my household, only my husband works and we somehow manage to pay the bills and keep our heat on. I think we are less well off than the neighbors but its possible they are going through a hardship.

Also, nobody in our neighborhood has a stove. They’re the only ones, otherwise I’d gladly lend them some of my supply of wood and I’m certain the other neighbors would too.

As far as windows in my house, they remain closed of course. Its been an average of 20 degrees here in NY! The windows are old but we put plastic up on all of them for the winter. It has done nothing to keep the smell out.

I think at this point the only thing to do is deal with it. It seems like the only time the smell is an issue is when the wind blows in just the right way. There have been days, sometimes weeks that pass where we smell nothing. Then suddenly, the smell is back again. I’m not sure if the stack is at the proper height but I imagine if they don’t have the money for real wood, they don’t have the money to relocate their stack either.

Thanks for the update.
People like your neighbor give wood burning a bad name. When done right it offers several positive effects. It reduces the need to landfill downed trees that release CO2 as they break down. It reduces fossil fuel usage. (Sixteen to twenty pounds of wood saves 1 gallon of oil.) It offers the opportunity for exercise . It provides heat during power outages or other times of disaster.
The price of heating oil dropped significantly in the last few months. We can hope your neighbor will think it is not worth the effort.

If they are not destitute, I can’t think of any reasonable excuse for what they are doing. I would complain to the authorities at this point, on both personal safety and environmental grounds.

Seriously @ItalianPrincess1217, this smoke is TOXIC. If you’re OK with only getting a dose of toxins now and again, fine. I wouldn’t be! Whenever the smoke isn’t blowing your way, it’s blowing another, which is still toxifying someone else’s home!

Another update. The smoke issue is still ongoing. Tonight, as I type this, I feel my throat getting scratchy and my eyes starting to water. The smoke smell is really getting to me and I realize this can’t be healthy for me or the family. My husband isn’t on board with doing anything about the issue. He likes to avoid confrontation at all costs and he would rather ignore problems than face them. So I’m on my own with this one. I also think I’ve definitely figured out the main cause of why the smoke is going into my house. Their stack is much lower than all the other chimneys I’ve noticed. From my upstairs window I can see several other chimneys for a couple blocks and they’re all above the peaks of their roof. My neighbor’s stack is not. While all the other chimineys have smoke going straight up into the air tonight, my neighbor’s is downdrafting straight into my home. So now that we have narrowed down the cause, what can even be done about this? How can I make them fix their stack height? Is this a simple fix or will it cause a big financial burden on them? And who exactly would I take this issue up with because talking to them hasn’t helped.

Can I call the fire department maybe? In our town people can call them if someone’s backyard firepit smoke is bothering them. Would this be the same type of way to handle a wood burning stove issue?

@ItalianPrincess1217

They’re both smoke-nuisance issues, so I’d say calling your FD would at least be a good place to start.

It seems to depend on the state as to whether indoor stoves are regulated by clean air laws or not, but in any case I’d say start with your state’s DEP or DNR or whatever they call it where you are. Here’s a link or two to get you started. Good luck!

Why the update?
Your choices remain the same:
Deal with the noxious smoke.
Turn the neighbor into someone that will make them correct the problem.

Approximately 2 weeks ago @LuckyGuy posted:
“Is his stack high enough above the roof? . If it is too low he might not be getting a good draw and the smoke is rolling off his roof.”

You, yourself stated:
“He [the neighbor] has no intention of changing the wood he uses or preventing the smell.”

Your options have not changed.
Honestly, if you’d anonymously reported a foul chemical smell coming from the neighbor’s house 2 weeks ago the whole question would probably be forgotten by now.

@ibstubro The update is due to the fact that I noticed how his stack is lower than everyone else’s in the surrounding area. Prior to that I assumed it was smoking us out because the type of wood he burned. Now I realize the stack is low and the smoke rolls down off his roof and into my house instead of going up into the air like all the other chimneys are doing. In this case, I wanted to see if who I should contact changed at all. If the problem is not what he is burning but the height of his stack, I figured it might be a completely different phone call to make. I also wanted to see if this type of issue will end up costing him thousands of dollars to fix if I turn him. As much of a major inconvenience this has been, I’m not heartless enough to want to make them face a huge financial burden. So I’m treading lightly with the situation. I do have to live next to them for the next 30 years.

@ItalianPrincess1217 It looks like the price range for rebuilding a chimney is huge. The estimates I’ve seen go from $500 to over $10,000. Your neighbours would have to call around to different masons to get a reasonable price; I would expect their first attempt to price the work might scare them away.

You say that you have to live next to them for the next 30 years… well, if you are committed to doing that, you’ll need to consider not only how they feel about you, but how their behaviour is affecting your health and your children’s health. I think your decision needs to be based on that.

However, consider that even if he has his chimney rebuilt, it might not improve the situation for you. Is there any chance that this is a meteorological phenomenon? That is, could the winds be pushing the smoke in a direction it doesn’t normally flow? You say that you don’t normally notice much smell from the chimney at all. How long have you been neighbours?

If it’s not the wind, I think you’re going to have to do something. Thirty years is a long time not to be able to breathe comfortably in your own home.

Um…are the stacks just round metal pieces that fit into the one below it? Those aren’t all that expensive.

Lucky could probably explain this better, but it may be partly due to the presence of an inversion layer (cold air with smoke gets trapped under a “lid” of warmer air), which, as I am given to understand, is more common in the winter. Stacks that are too low apparently contribute to this problem. One thing that might make you feel a little better if you end up having to get them to do work on their stack – making it taller would increase draft in the stove, which would burn wood more efficiently and help them use less.

Tradtionally it seems wood stoves are vented through a stack, much as @Dutchess_III asks about.

This would have been a great question for @LuckyGuy 3 weeks ago. Hopefully he’ll revisit this question:

“Is his stack high enough above the roof? . If it is too low he might not be getting a good draw and the smoke is rolling off his roof.”

”#1, @LuckyGuy asked:
“Is his stack high enough above the roof? . If it is too low he might not be getting a good draw and the smoke is rolling off his roof.”

^ C&P from above.

Are metal chimney stacks really popular in the US? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them used except as venting for large, commercial buildings. Here, pretty much all fireplaces have the traditional masonry stacks.

Yeah, most of the people I’ve known with a wood burning stove have vented through an insulated metal tube, either installed inside an existing chimney or external @dappled_leaves.

I had a 100+ yo house and there was a similar insert that would allow me to re-open and use the built-in fireplace.

I think that’s what @Dutchess_III was referring to.

Oh, I see. Yes, as far as I know, most chimneys have a metal liner of some kind. But to extend the liner without rebuilding the masonry might not be a great idea. ;)

@Dutchess_III It is one of the metal ones. It’s not the traditional brick chimney.
@dappled_leaves You make several good points. I say 30 years because that’s our mortgage length and I don’t see us moving anytime in the near future. So unless they happen to sell their house and move their family out, we will be stuck as neighbors for awhile. So either I risk them holding a grudge by alerting the authorities of my concerns or risk possible health hazards in my own home. As for whether its the stack height being the issue or just the wind…I’m really not sure. We moved in during the summer so I didn’t notice the smell during those months. But even once winter started I didn’t smell it right away. It seems that the wind has to be blowing in just the wrong way for it to cause a down draft into our home. The thing is, when I see the other chimneys in my area, their smoke does no such thing. It goes straight up. My neighbor’s smoke is going every which way and has no real pattern. It’s also much lower on their roof than the other stacks. So I assumed the smoke is acting erratic because of the height.

If you spoke with one of the appropriate authorities I’m sure they would approach your neighbour without associating you with the complaint. I don’t imagine that adding length to the metal flue (as we call them here) would be hugely expensive, certainly not like a masonry chimney. If I owned my home and was contemplating spending the next 30 years living next to your neighbour I would certainly do something to get on top of the problem, you can’t live under those conditions and neither can your children.

Try inviting the neighbors over when the smell is strongest. Ask them if they’d like living like that 24/7.

@snowberry Alas, the smoke probably smells much less strong in @ItalianPrincess1217‘s home than in their own – they would probably not understand the complaint.

Maybe not @dappled_leaves. If vented they shouldn’t experience too much smell at all.

@dappled_leaves On days with absolutely no wind they will likely get some odor but not much. With air tight stoves and tight windows there is very little odor inside the burner’s house. They get the heat and eject the noxious fumes. It can be a bit like someone draining their toilet into the creek behind their house.

A couple of things may be at play here. None will fix the OP’s problem.
I’d have to get a good look at the stack to tell.
The stack can be too short so the fumes are not being lifted into the air above the roof.
The stack is has too large a diameter for the stove, e.g. it might be 8” diameter instead of 6”.
The stack was installed in the mid 1980’s when triple wall pipe was the rage Triple wall pipe enabled the installer to run the pipe through a closet or near a wall with only 2 inches of clearance vs. double wall which required 12”(?) and single wall 36”(?). Cold, outside air is drawn down the outer wall while hot flue gasses go up and out the stack. Genius! Triple wall was expensive, ~$100 for a 3 ft section but you could put the stoves almost anywhere. Unfortunately, triple wall worked too well. The continuous cold air condensed the hot flue gases too quickly causing creosote build up if the stove was started and stopped. It never burned off. So much heat was extracted from the exhaust it did not rise quickly into the air. It hovered. The flue caps and ash screens got filthy and needed cleaning often.
If the stack is short and fat vs. long and thin, it could mean triple wall.
You won’t be able to do anything about it. You will just know.

FYI I have a modern stove with reburner. The legal limit (particulates) for mine is 3 grams per hour (I am confident I put out much less – near zero) The stoves with single baffles had a limit of 100 grams per hour. An open fireplace can be much more. My stack is corrugated, single wall, stainless steel inside my existing fireplace flue with insulation at the top and bottom to keep out drafts, and critters. The exhaust is clean and stays hot until it exits. I check my flue every year when I am up on the roof cleaning the rain gutters or adjusting the antennas. In 6 years, I have never needed to clean it. Read that last sentence again!
Amazing.

@LuckyGuy Amazing, I reckon! 6 years without needing to clean the chimney is more than amazing, your stove should go down in the Guinness Book of Records!

You can, news flash notify the proper authorities.

As has been mentioned time and time again, above.

@Adagio I run my stove efficiently and don’t let it idle. When it is running, it is hot. Periodically (about once a day) I bump up the temperature ~200C above normal, to self clean it. Normal operating temp is 200–300C at the top plate. I will kick it up to 400C for a few minutes. Sometimes I forget and it goes to 500C. I should also mention I burn paper trash, pizza boxes chicken wings, old tax records, etc. If it is burnable, it is BTUs.
The stove is a Lopi Freedom fireplace insert. Excellent design.

@ibstubro Fully understand that. Trying to figure out if that’s the route I want to take. Would like to remain annonymous. This is a small town. Would also like to avoid getting my neighbors in any sort of money pit. Lets say the authorities demand they built their stack up above their roof. Say it costs a lot more money than they have but they do it. Then say the stack height was never the issue and the wind keeps bringing it into my house anyway. I sure would feel like an asshole.

@ItalianPrincess1217 Did you see my second to last post? I appreciate you are considering your neighbours but the problem is not affecting them, it is affecting you and your family.

@Adagio You’re right. I hate that I’m being so hesitant. If my husband wasn’t friendly with them I would have definitely done something by now. But also, for the past week I haven’t smelled anything. So now I’m doubting myself and wondering if it’s worth making a big stink over if it only happens every so often. Maybe we had a weird wind direction for a few weeks?

Wait for it to happen again. If it does don’t hesitate just report it. You gave them the chance. They choose to be bull headed. If it doesn’t problem solved

A chimney that is too short is unlikely to vent properly and it may also be a serious fire hazard to the building, risking setting the roof on fire..

If the stack is too short, are you going to feel good if their house burns down?
If the stack is tall enough, there’s no cost.
If the stack is too short, the cost is immaterial, as the family’s lives could be in danger.