My neighbor knocked on my yesterday at 10:40 pm complaining about smoke

Unless you plan to move soon or you know the neighbor is going to move soon, it’s better to be friendly with your neighbors and find amicable outcomes for both parties in situations like this.

Both of you are right:

Your neighbor doesn’t like a room or house full of smoke. Most people don’t, they are correct.

You want to be able to cook your food the way you want to cook it (without breaking any laws / endangering anyone) - unless there is a law that prevents cooking outside in a way that creates a defined volume of excessive smoke, you are correct.

Anger builds more anger, not agreement.

What can you do to compromise? Move your smoker? Adjust it so it’s not a smoke monster? Buy/give them a fan they can put in their window that can blow outward?

What does your neighbor suggest besides not smoking?

I have a small yard and my smoker is in a spot where if I’m making a lot of smoke and the wind is moving in the right direction it will waft right into my neighbors kitchen. If I see that’s going to happen, I move the smoker. It’s not ideal for me, but my inconvenience in this situation is less than the inconvenience of a smoky house for my neighbor.

I smoke meat 2 times a week sometimes more so I 100% support anyone who smokes as well. I have close neighbors on 3 sides of my house and make sure to keep my smoker centered up in my yard to give the smoke as much time to dissipate as possible before it gets to any of their houses.

Gonna be honest, if one of my neighbors had a smoker and it was filling my house with smoke Id be pretty pissed off because I don’t want my smoker filling my house let alone someone else’s smoker.

We all love smoking, maybe your neighbourhood isn’t ideal for this much smoking, houses too close together definitely is not ideal for this activity if you expect to have happy friendly neighbours. I would bet if you ran your smoker once a week or once every two weeks it wouldn’t be a huge problem

You were using multiple smoke sources around the clock for an entire weekend. That’s obnoxious in a populated neighborhood. You need to give your neighbors a damn break!

try offering a plate damn bro

So you had a weekend of running a smoker 24/7, plus a grill and a fire pit, the neighbor lets you know that smoke is getting in their house, you dont bring over a heaping dish to them as a peace offering, then 4 days later on a weeknight (right around bed time for most folks) you decide it’s a good idea to fire up the smoker again? 

And what’s more, you’re aware that they keep the windows open at night and that your activities will require them to close up their house, which will either mean a stuffy and uncomfortable sleep or will require them to fire up the ac, which of course costs them money AND depending on how drafty their house is, can possibly result in smoke being pulled into their house anyway. 

I like to bbq and grill and I think even I’d be mad at you.

I'll be the Karen and collect the down votes, your an asshole neighbor.

Its your property and you can do what you want but said you smoked all weekend, 24/7 on your patio. That sounds like your forcing your neighbor to keep their windows and door closed all weekend and also on weekdays because they don't want the smell in their house. Moving your smoker from one side of your patio to the other fixes nothing, wind carries smoke, fans don't win against wind. Go put your smoker in the middle of your yard away from your neighbors house and windows.

It's not hard to test for wind direction, be aware of it, and put your smoker in the spot where the wind won't be carrying it into your neighbors windows. Not everyone wants their house and clothes to smell like smoked meat. Be a good neighbor.

I'm not a lawyer but the comment about it being a nuisance seems to imply they might consider legal action under public nuisance laws so you may want to make reasonable attempts to remediate the smoke. Not sure if it has been said but my dad has put a chimney on his smoker and it does wonders. Not sure if you could build some kind of smoke shack with a large chimney to direct the smoke upwards. The bright side of that is that smoke shacks are cool haha.

Attorney checking in. You do not get to smoke up their house and demand they roll up their windows to avoid the nuisance you created.

I tried to respond to some individuals, but those full blooded Red, White and Blue guys just don’t seem to accept that while we may love the smell of smoke, not everyone does. Additionally, if you cause smoke, noise, or any other activity to leave your premises and affect the premises of your neighbor, you have created a nuisance. This is in you. This is not on your neighbor. This is on you to fix, or it is on you to cease and desist your activities, no matter how much I support you smoking brisket year around. The second you cause your neighbors to not have peaceful enjoyment of their home, you are the asshole.

I know you guys think that we are trying to tell you what to do with your property, but that is not the case. We are not saying you cannot cook food at your house. We are saying you cannot cause Smoke to enter your neighbors house. The fact that many of you do not get this is beyond infuriating, and I am sad to say we are part of the same community.

I may want to bathe in the smell of your brisket and use it as a cologne, but not everybody agrees. Just because we love it, does not mean we force it on our neighbors. If you live in a community with neighbors who are in such close proximity, you do not need to smoke meat outside your neighbors are complaining. Get a bigger house with a bigger yard. Move into the rural countryside. Do not move 5 feet from a family and complain when you and intrude upon their use of their property.

Also, to the people claiming that the neighbors can simply close their windows, that is an idiotic response. I want to use my house how I want to use it. It is called quiet enjoyment. It is a legal doctrine in which we base everything on in our property laws. You guys simply want to ignore it because you want to enjoy your food. That is wrong. You are wrong. If the neighbor wants to leave their windows down, the neighbor gets to leave their windows down. Again, You do not get to smoke up their house and demand they roll up their windows to avoid the nuisance you created.

Have you tried running a cleaner burn? When I use charcoal in a chimney to start a charcoal bed and I leave it to start, it smokes up a storm like there's a house fire and the smoke travels 100ft+ depending on the wind. It dies off after 15min but that's 15mins of white smoke. If I had to reduce it I just use my electric leaf blower and the charcoal is roaring hot and the smoke is instantly gone and the charcoal is ready in less than 5 minutes. I don't do this because the chimney glows red hot and is hard to handle but if I had people complaining about smoke this is what I would do.

I would also keep a lot of splits ontop of the smoke box to dry them and heat them up so they catch fast and not smoke so much when they're catching. If my splits I throw into the fire do smoke up I try to fan it while it'd catching so the smoke level is low. Once you get blue smoke then usually you can't even notice the smoke smell even if you're 10ft away from the smoker.

Increase the peace! If not smoked meats bring them whiskey or wine or whatever they drink. Move their garbage cans in if its reasonable to do so. Mow their lawn when you do yours. Little peace offerings go a long way.

In terms of smoke and timing start your smoke at a time that their windows are not open so you dont billow heavy smoke into their windows. This will become the art of compromise, the more you can compromise the easier it will be to run your smoker

Not a smoker but my neighbors have bonfires periodically in the summer… I close my window…

If you can't run your smoker without it blowing smoke directly into your neighbors house you don't have room to run a smoker

Sounds more like a lot of dirty smoke.

I mean, I had a neighbor like that once. Next time they hit the door, I was ready. I had a plate made up. Opened the door, looked right at them and said “oh good you made it, here’s your plate”. All good from there. Sometimes, you just gotta high road em.

Edit:I forgot a y. I’m blaming smoke in my eyes….

Not sure what your sleep schedule has to do with theirs. Sounds like you really smoked them the fucked out for an entire weekend and that understandably set things off to a rocky start.

I dunno man - telling people to sleep with their windows closed in the summer so you can smoke all night isn’t really fair and considering the first interaction can see how they might not be thrilled

Always bring a plate of whatever you are smoking to your neighbor. This would help your cause to understand. Why you’re smoking that delicious meat.

A buddy of mine when he first started his smoker. He saw death stares from his neighbor. The following day he brought a plate of his smoked bacon. The death stares turned into delicious smiles. Now whenever he smokes meat. The neighbors treats smoke as a fragrant scent.

I fire up my Kamado Joe 2 to 3 times per week. The little kid that lives behind me calls me the smoke monster and runs inside. A few times a year they rent a bounce house I never smoke on those days.

Since I'm in Texas, I believe you can legally kill someone who complains about your smoker running under "the boy needed killin" statute.

Personally haven’t had to deal with this (very lucky to live in a chill neighborhood), but as long as you make all the reasonable efforts to not smoke them out and aren’t obnoxious about it, nothing more you can do. Just enjoy the food.

I once had a neighbor that didn't like smoke in general. Didn't matter what it was, camp fire, burning leaves, fireplace, smoker, all the same to him. Because I didn't want to stir shit up, I'd only really run the smoker if the wind was blowing away from his house. He was a pretty nice guy, so I was more than happy to come to some sort of compromise.

If he was an asshole, it would be a different story.

Beer might help. For them and you. Maybe together.

Move to California (where I live) and they can’t tell if it’s wildfires or smoking meat. 😂

Keep in mind that the optimal smoke is thin and blue. You don’t need massive smoke production, that produces creosote.

Google it or have a look here: https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/thin-blue-smoke/

Feed them.

Honestly if my clothing in my closet smelled like smoked meat because of the neighbors I would be annoyed. If I had to schedule with a neighbor as to when I keep my window open for fresh air I don’t think I’d like that either.

Damn, bro, how much smoke so you produce? You want thin blue wisps, not billowing white

You have to live with your neighbors. Smoke them out, and next thing you know they're rebuilding and testing motorcycle engines in their driveway at 7AM every weekend.

If you make their lives miserable - even if you don't agree that you're making their lives miserable - they can do the same to you. Pick your battles, or it will be a losing battle as each of you try to out-annoy each other.

" after a crazy weekend of smoking almost 24/7, Webber kettle, and firepits, "......I would not want you for a neighbor if the houses are that close together.

Southern USA here: You can open your windows? I wonder what that’s like?

Idk this one is kind of tough. On one hand the neighbor has somewhat of a "right" to be annoyed. If you're smoking things constantly and regardless of what you do it's getting in their house, that's enough of a reason for them to be upset/annoyed especially if you don't stop.

On the other hand, if you're not breaking any laws what you do on your property is up to you. If wind carries smoke, then they need to close their windows.

Lot of people on here dogging on you saying that you're an asshole and need to stop smoking. I think at this point it's compromise. Sounds like you've done some things but it hasn't really solved the issue. I would keep giving them notice when you're going to smoke something even if it seems they just get pissed and close the door in your face. But most importantly, I would limit your cooks to what most people would consider reasonable. If you're smoking every weekend all weekend that might be a bit much. Especially if you're sprinkling in some week days/nights. Just be mindful of how much you're smoking.

In all honesty I think it just constitutes a really calm sit down where you empathize with them and genuinely try to come up with a solution. Even if they're being shitty/snarky, a lot of people jump to that right away and if you respond with calmness and empathy they will change their tune a bit. It also may help if you explain your love for smoking and wish it didn't negatively impact them.

Maybe an industrial type fan pointed upwards on that side of the property to hopefully redirect the smoke away from their windows? Build a grill/smoke shack with the roof tilted to direct the smoke elsewhere or maybe even a roof on its own might dissipate the smoke. At the very least it’ll break it up some. Like someone else mentioned a plate of delicious smoked food might help appease.

Just make sure to give them some every time. They will stop complaining.

You sound like a bad neighbor.

My litmus test would be this:

Replace every time you said "smoke" with "noise"

Now, how do you feel about it?

I got neighborly complaints. Was pissed but decided it was worth more for my peace of mind to move my smoker to the other side of the yard. Now my revenge is giving leftovers to my chill neighbors on the other side instead of the assholes

how the fuck is her closet full of smoke? Something is seriously wrong with her insulation or drywalll etc..to get smoke in her closet.

Is your patio covered? I have panels along the side to create a wall for wind protection but it doubles as a shield to block smoke from going to my neighbors house. Maybe you could make something similar to funnel the smoke somewhere

Maybe text them the day when you plan on smoking something. Or ask if you can check if the smoke is still leaking into their house after moving your smoker.

No one wants bad neighbors, it's the worst possible outcome.

Adding to it... ask the neighbor if he wants to buy some meat for you to smoke so that he can have it to himself.

If this was posting in /r/amitheasshole, YTA

Nothing you can do. Sounds like they'll be calling bilaw on you next. Of course, unless your area has some bilaw against it, they won't do anything. Although if there is a burn ban on some neighbours can try and get you fined under that, because you're burning solid materials & not gas, but since it's in a BBQ you can usually get out of it.

I had a neighbour like that once, when I was renting. They'd complain to the landlord, the landlord would drive up, ask what I was cooking, and then leave.

Your rights end at my nose. If you’re polluting their space, you’ve got to address it.

Let me summarize something here:

1) There was one crazy weekend. Other than that, my last smoke was 3 weekends ago.
2) I moved the grill, added a fan, and let them before. Everything they asked me to do I did
3) Even after letting them know before so they could close their windows, as they asked, they didn't close the windows
4) The grill is currently situated 70ft away from their house and 15ft from the other side neighbor. The other side's neighbor never complained
5) I'm here asking for opinions on what to do to help.

If after reading this, you still think I'm an asshole, I'm sorry for you

Ok here's my take. I have an offset smoker. When I first get it going it's smokey for about 20 min until it comes up to temp and I get clean smoke. I have actually went and stood in my neighbor's driveway on both sides of me just to see the impact of that smoke because frankly when I lit that thing up for the first time I was concerned. It looks like a lot of smoke. My take away was that you can smell it, but by the time that smoke travels even 30 feet, it's completely dissipated. The smell is not bad. No worse than a fire pit. IMHO your neighbor is just a douche who should close his window if he can't take it. I highly doubt their house is filling with smoke from a smoker 70 feet away that is popping dirty smoke for all of 20 min at most.

Is it really filling their house with smoke? Or do they just smell that someone is running a smoker? Some folks are quick to exaggerate a mild inconvenience to get their desired outcome

Just be as nice as you can and compromise. There’s some Karen in my town who moved in right next to a meat store where they smoke constantly and have for years, and she’s trying to get them shut down. He tried to work with her at first but she was zero sum. Now people are going down to Rick’s even more to show support, and he had to buy another smoker for the demand. lol.

In your case I’d try to do everything I could not to antagonize them. Be good to your neighbors and you’ll have better neighbors

Be mindful of your neighbor's when planning a smoke. They're right to be upset when you're smoking all weekend and then continuing during the week when the smoke carries directly into their house.

Plan fewer smokes and try to avoid overnight smokes whenever possible.

Honestly dude, just do your thing. As long as you aren’t in violation of an ordinance or HOA rules, there’s nothing they can do. Bad neighbors are everywhere and you have to learn how to spot them and not be a people pleaser all the time. Don’t go out of your way to piss them off but you can’t make everyone happy all the time. We’ve had neighbors pick fights over trees, let their dogs bark all day every day, refuse to fix their fence, mow their lawn at 6am, etc. It just comes with the territory.

Part of having your windows open is you have to smell what’s outside. They can live with it once a month.

I'm about to post in r/AmItheAsshole. lol

Found the pictures of their house in zillow/redfin. Their bedroom is on the opposite side of the house and their closets have no windows. I mean... I'm done

Connect some ducting to your smokers vents and redirect it to an area where it won’t be a nuisance. Add a small duct booster fan if the run of ducting is a significant length.

Too bad you cannot build a hood with a longer stack to send the smoke over their house instead.

Offer if they want some. You tried moving the smoker and etc. I have been fortunate and have not had this issue. But again, I live in the Midwest and people love there bbq.

You can shorten the length of smoking, in example you can smoke for a few hours and then finish in the oven or smoke cuts that finish sooner (tri tip or ribs vs brisket). I feel neighbors would be more annoyed when wanting to open windows to sleep vs during the day.

I had a komadoe Joe on my rooftop patio in an urban townhouse for years. Definitely not allowed by strata so what I did and got away with it is bought an 8” grow op fan and Charcoal filter and made my own outdoor bbq hood. Only cost 200 to 300 bucks and worked great for years. Filter canisters can be replaced each year for 80 bucks. I’m in Canada

Invite them over for food. Make them complicit!

I know a guy who was smoking peppers for hot sauce and gassed his neighborhood.

Can you move the smoker to the front or side of the house?

Is there such a thing as like a vent a hood for a smoker? XD

You need a stack. If it has a wide opening and then narrows it'll induce a draft and then pick up enough velocity that it'll blow upwards and not go into your neighbor's.... Closet??

Where do you live?

Man my neighbor across the street came over and just wanted to eat some BBQ when I first bought a smoker and the smoke was wafting away to his doorstep lmao.

Make a chimney.

Sounds to me like you’re in the wrong neighborhood for your hobby.

Invite the neighbors, feed them fuckers.

The compromise is, you like to smoke meat and never had ill intentions. You’re now faced with a dilemma. Invite them over. Show them your skills and ask them what they would do? I do not know where you live but it sounds like you’re putting in a honest effort to make things work. If both parties don’t agree. May I suggest you ordering out bbq and them paying for it? Win,win,win. Everybody wins. Even the bbq restaurant. So, win,win,win,win!!! Also I don’t want to sound like an ass and dictate what you eat. You’re smoking food 3/5 days of the week? Smoked meat is good but I’m not sure if that’s healthy to have smoke food that many times.

Can you attach a pipe or something to the chimney and have it go above their window? If it’s going high, it’s not going in their home.

What type of smoker do you have?

Maybe if they tasted your food, they'd shut the hell up!?

Set the expectation that you aren't putting up with their shit. Next time they come over and complain, formally trespass them.

Share the meats!!!

Can you move the smoker to the front of your house? I’ve seen plenty of guys with big green eggs or pellet smokers in their garages and they roll them out to the driveway for cooking.

I get it from both sides but if I were the neighbor and you told me the smoke is intense for the first x amount of hours before it calms down then I would be fine closing my windows until such time. It’s not like you have a commercial smoker and you’re running it 24/7.

Someone mentioned a fan for their house to blow the smoke out, I don’t think that would work as well as some may think.

I’d say work as much of your magic to try to reduce the smoke getting into their direction and offer them some of the delectables from your smoker. Hopefully they aren’t vegan. :-)

I smoke just about everyday but I also have about 60feet between houses where I live so I don’t have those issues. However, my garage smells like hickory all of the time now because my smoking pad is off the front of my garage. I love it, but that’s just me. :-)

Good luck.

Lol told them to shut their windows. In this weather.. absolute cheek.

Invite them over, few drinks it'll all be good once they eat. If not dig some holes out back... lol I get it, my entire block knows when I'm cooking.. they come and eat.

"I bought this house 6 months ago and recently bought a CampChef pro with a smoke box and after a crazy weekend of smoking almost 24/7, Webber kettle, and firepits"

I feel your post would be best suited for AITA.

So, is that at least 3 (potentially more) sources of smoke coming from your block for almost 24/7 all weekend and then as a finale, you light it up again at 10:40pm and you "saying that I was not going to stop cooking" because you have total disregard not only for their comfort, but also for their sleep.

These are your neighbours. Show some respect for other peoples needs.

Main character syndrome. You sending smoke into your neighbors house is legally a trespass/nuisance etc. If you want to operate a smoker 24/7 you need to mitigate the effect to your neighbors property.

My immediate neighbor smokes and caters full time out of driveway not 3 feet from my house. His daughter once melted our siding with an uncontrolled grease fire. I love the smell and smoke isn't an issue. Can't complain about free BBQ!

you could just get a commercial fan, put it outside near the smoker and trying to thin out the smoke that way if they call the cops on you or they having to come by it shows that you’re trying to do something about it less likely to complain. Even if you are legally within your right to do this, there’s a whole neighbourly laws that are softly written in most counties.. they use the words like reasonable and typical.

It’s very likely you know the answer and are simply seeking affirmation - these posts always seem like a loaded way for Reddit to unleash holy hell upon people genuinely wanting to help. That said, taking it at face value that you really are asking for ideas…

Many rental property owners don’t allow grills and smokers because of these things. The easiest way to reduce conflict is to take away the potential sources of conflict. But that’s not fun or as tasty.

You don’t have to get along with neighbors, but it’s nice when everyone has one another’s backs. I’d open the conversation that way - ask the neighbor nicely to meet - not right away, but in a day or two. Ask what they like to drink, or invite them for a burger on the grill. Find out what they like. You don’t have to give them $50 worth of brisket, but maybe offer to smoke something they enjoy. Chicken hind quarters are cheap by me and take smoke fast and easy. $8 for about 10lbs.

Maybe they don’t eat meat? Smoked cauliflower, corn, mushrooms - all work well. A $4 box of kosher salt makes a ton of gifts that go a long way to making friends. Maybe start an hour earlier so the smokiest parts are already done by bedtime? Can you extend an exhaust pipe higher in the air?

OK, but why do they not have adequate insulation to prevent their home filling with smoke. Seems like they probably need a better ventilation system and insulation. I can’t hear or smell anything. My neighbor does. It literally doesn’t affect me because I have adequate insulation and adequate ventilation.🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

New guy on the block smoking all day every week? oh boy.

Is it any different than a neighbor playing loud music at night? I believe your neighbor is right.

I wish my neighbors would smoke meats all the time. But yea the solution is close ya windows

saying her closet was full of smoke and she couldn't sleep.

First thing I'd ask is why she's sleeping in the closet. Then I'd tell her to GTF off my property.

Just ignore her and keep cooking.

You’re filling their house with smoke and refusing to stop what you’re doing or try to make changes. I get that you tried a few things already, but they aren’t working and you need to keep trying. Your neighbors deserve to not have a house full of smoke. I’d be upset too.

I wouldnt smoke or fire pit overnight as i think it'd be disrespectful to the neighborhood.

Personally I’d try to move it to another side of the house if possible. Keep the peace with your neighbors since they already said it’s bothering them. Thankfully the house next to me on my grilling side is a short term rental so they aren’t real neighbors.

You simply need to invite them over for ribs, next you give them some brisket, the Pulled Pork Sandos on a saturday afternoon with Coleslaw will be a huge hit. Food makes everyone happy.

Time to offer them some of the meats…maybe they will encourage you to smoke more LOL

Give em food.