Grills & condos.

Hi All,

Well, this is totally off topic, but because you, my empeg family, have been SO helpful on so many topics that aren't relating to empeg, I wanted to get some help.

So I'm the HOA President of a 24 unit building in SF. We have a bunch of units that have private decks and a common deck on the roof. Most of the people that have private decks were told that grills were ok on their decks. A lot of people in the building also want to have a common grill on the roof.

The problem is that a few of the members on the HOA board do not want to have grills in the building. The biggest opponent to this is a lawyer that lives right next to the common roof deck, and he doesn't like people to use the roof deck because the noise can be heard in his place. Regardless of if that's right or wrong, he's now trying to ban grills in the building altogether.

This has turned into a religious war in the building. I am one of the private deck owners, and I want to have a little grill out there.

So the anti-grill folks are doing everything possible to prove their case against the safety of propane tanks. We have hired a lawyer to give his assessment of what the CC&Rs say... (they don't exclude grills, but do exclude flamable tanks - but that could be so that people don't weld (this is a live/work loft building)). We have contacted the fire department to get an opinion. I called all of the propane safety boards I could find in DC and around the US to gather info.

Our goal is to gather as much factual data as we can find, present to the whole building, and then let them vote.

Any other ideas for data gathering on this issue? In my opinion, propane tanks aren't exploding all over the world, and if people are grilling safely, leave em alone!

Ok, the smoke can be a nuisance, but that's not the issue (at this point).

- Jon

God, I hate lawyers.

Haha. Funny thing is that this guy is about 5 feet tall, and I think Napolean has something to do with this guys height compensating mouth.

- Jon

Did the fire department have anything to say? In Austin, it is against fire code to have a grill on an enclosed/partially enclosed patio or balcony. I'm not sure if you are talking about an open air deck or and enclosed patio, though.

We have both. The roof deck is open air, but many of the patio's are surrounded by "walls". The fire department didn't seem to have strong feelings about grills one way or another...

- Jon

That may be a Texas thing. I know it's against the fire code here, though tons of people do it.

Closed in spaces would be more of a hazard because of carbon monoxide poisoning rather than a fire issue. LP tanks are actually quite safe. The only issue is when people leave them on and forget them. I once saw a video of a guy shooting an LP gas tank with an incendiary bullet, the gas did nothing but leak out. Rather akin to throwing a match into a cup of gasoline. That being said, a closed grill left on can easily catch anything touching it on fire.

God I'm glad I own my own home.

This has turned into a religious war in the building.[...]Our goal is to gather as much factual data as we can find, present to the whole building, and then let them vote.

If it's turned into a religious war, don't waste your time any more -- the anti-grill people will vote no regardless of the safety considerations. You're probably more likely to have problems with earthquakes in SF, than you are with grills.

the anti-grill folks are doing everything possible to prove their case against the safety of propane tanks.

Word any regulations carefully enough to not say anything about charcoal grills.

Slight off-topicness about this post, but something that has niggled me for ages.

What exactly is a condo?

What exactly is a condo?

Condo is short for condominium, and is a building or entire development where individual owners own their own unit, and 1/n'th of the common areas of the development. Everyone pays a monthly fee to the homeowners association which then pays for the maintenance of the common areas and buildings in general.

They're something which should be avoided at all costs. I'm currently on the board of directors for the HOA of the complex I live in, and can't wait to live in a real house. They are however usefull in that they're cheaper than owning your own home and allow you to build equity instead of paying rent.

On the grill issue, I've got to say that you should agree to get rid of the proane and switch to charcoal. The food will taste better and no one will be able to complain about propane tanks.

Matthew

That may be a Texas thing. I know it's against the fire code here, though tons of people do it.

Same thing with my condo in Pomona, NY. Though, as I understood it, it was a town law. Grills (of any type) had to be at least 10 feet from a common wall. Everyone grilled on their deck anyway.

I think it's a city thing some towns here in minnesota let you have them and some don't. They also have different rules for apartment vs house.