Townhouse Regulations on Turkey Fryers

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njnear76

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Joined
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Location
Middlesex,NJ
Hi Guys,

I'm thinking of moving to a townhouse this year and was wondering what the normal procedure was regarding propane turkey fryers. I suppose it varies based on the townhouse association. I also wanted to know if you ever ran across problems with neighbors regarding brewing outside your townhouse.

Thanks,
Mike
 
I'm not sure what the actual rules are, but I really think it comes down to what the neighbors think of it. If it's against the rules and the neighbors don't report it, no harm done. Conversely, if it's not against the rules but the neighbors complain, you will be asked (sternly) to desist. So, get to know your neighbors and let them no what you're doing so they don't think you're cooking up meth.
 
Prior to purchasing your townhome, you should request a copy of the HOA rules from the current homeowner. Unfortunately, I can see that if a HOA prohibits anything, it will be the use of turkey friers NOT frying of food in turkey friers.

A turkey frier used to make beer or do a crab boil isn't any dangerous than using a gas grill. Frying food using a turkey frier is a bit more dangerous.
 
DraconianHand said:
Prior to purchasing your townhome, you should request a copy of the HOA rules from the current homeowner. Unfortunately, I can see that if a HOA prohibits anything, it will be the use of turkey friers NOT frying of food in turkey friers.

A turkey frier used to make beer or do a crab boil isn't any dangerous than using a gas grill. Frying food using a turkey frier is a bit more dangerous.
Most of the townhouse rules that I see basically state: "Propane grills can not be used within 5 feet of the building."

I can see people looking at me weird, because they think I might burn down everything. Maybe the thing to do is to introduce myself to the neighbors prior to moving in and telling them that I brew beer and I would never do anything to endanger the neighborhood.

I wish I could buy a house, but NJ is so expensive.
 
Funny you should ask as I'll be finding out tomorrow. Its probably against the association laws but quite frankly, they can go **** themselves. I called the town to see if its against their laws and they said "I dunno". So assuming my neighbors don't freak out and call the cops, I should be fine. I'm only doing the boil outside so I won't be out there the whole time. I'll let you know how it goes...
 
Soulive said:
Funny you should ask as I'll be finding out tomorrow. Its probably against the association laws but quite frankly, they can go **** themselves. I called the town to see if its against their laws and they said "I dunno". So assuming my neighbors don't freak out and call the cops, I should be fine. I'm only doing the boil outside so I won't be out there the whole time. I'll let you know how it goes...

Out of curiousity... Where were your brewing prior to this?
 
njnear76 said:
Out of curiousity... Where were your brewing prior to this?

At my buddy's house about 5 minutes away. It just sucks hauling my gear every time so I'm trying it at my place now. I brewed at Bobby's as well but thats even farther away...
 
Soulive said:
At my buddy's house about 5 minutes away. It just sucks hauling my gear every time so I'm trying it at my place now. I brewed at Bobby's as well but thats even farther away...
Yeah. I brew at my brother-in-laws and I keep all my equipment over there. It is starting to become a hassle, because I feel like I'm infringing. Frankly, I just want to do this crap at my own house.

I'll admit that it is one of the major reasons why I want to move. There are other reasons of course, storage space being the number one issue. I maxed out hiding stuff behind and under furniture.
 
njnear76 said:
Yeah. I brew at my brother-in-laws and I keep all my equipment over there. It is starting to become a hassle, because I feel like I'm infringing. Frankly, I just want to do this crap at my own house.

I'll admit that it is one of the major reasons why I want to move. There are other reasons of course, storage space being the number one issue. I maxed out hiding stuff behind and under furniture.

I wish I could keep stuff at his house! No but I can see it getting awkward after a while. I also want to move for this reason. SWMBO and I are looking at other states, mostly NC now...
 
Soulive said:
I wish I could keep stuff at his house! No but I can see it getting awkward after a while. I also want to move for this reason. SWMBO and I are looking at other states, mostly NC now...
Sigh. It's really sad that people our age can't make it work in this area. I have a great job and get paid well, but it's not enough to really buy something half-way decent in a nice neighborhood. Even if you can do it, you feel like you are just getting by. If God forbid you lose your job or something, you just might lose everything.

I really want to move away from this state, but my wife's family lives here. I think she would have a tough time adjusting.
 
njnear76 said:
Sigh. It's really sad that people our age can't make it work in this area. I have a great job and get paid well, but it's not enough to really buy something half-way decent in a nice neighborhood. Even if you can do it, you feel like you are just getting by. If God forbid you lose your job or something, you just might lose everything.

I really want to move away from this state, but my wife's family lives here. I think she would have a tough time adjusting.

I agree that its sad, but we could make it in NJ, we just don't want to. Even if you can afford this state, you don't get what you pay for. We get ripped off left and right living here IMO...
 
Soulive said:
I agree that its sad, but we could make it in NJ, we just don't want to. Even if you can afford this state, you don't get what you pay for. We get ripped off left and right living here IMO...
I agree 100%. A realtor sends me links of homes in my price range. Ouch. It's twice the price for half a house that I can get anywhere else. This isn't living.

NJ wasn't that outrageous when I moved here 8 years a go. This is a very recent phenomenon that happened when people started believing that real estate could make them millionaires over night.

A house is a place to live, it shouldn't be some sort of lucrative business proposition. At most a home should increase in value a few percentage points above inflation.
 
I think it depends on many factors, from township laws to HOA or rental agency rules.

In Maryland, certain counties prohibit any sort of propane tank systems in rental properties/HOA communities.

I've been told by rental agencies that if they saw a propane tank or grill on their property that they would confiscate it (permanently). I had to move to another county with less strict guidelines and a rental agency happy to have me.

That said, I think it depends on what kind of townhome it is and how much space you have outdoors on a ground level. Some townhouses have very limited space on ground level and often have 2nd story decks and such which are somewhat dangerous to grill on. Many firefighters will strongly advise against having propane up on an upper deck.

Ask before you sign anything!
 
njnear76 said:
I agree 100%. A realtor sends me links of homes in my price range. Ouch. It's twice the price for half a house that I can get anywhere else. This isn't living.

NJ wasn't that outrageous when I moved here 8 years a go. This is a very recent phenomenon that happened when people started believing that real estate could make them millionaires over night.

A house is a place to live, it shouldn't be some sort of lucrative business proposition. At most a home should increase in value a few percentage points above inflation.

Baltimore is the same way, although it's finally levelling out. Houses cost more than you can afford to pay for, which sucks. A single person making $45-50k cannot reasonably afford a $250+ 2BR townhouse. It's coming down, but they're still right around $175-200k for what is a crappy basic 2br apartment.

In PA, I bought a 5BR house for $98,000. It had a pool too.
 
jezter6 said:
Ask before you sign anything!
I suppose you are right. I think it is worth calling up the home owners association and asking them up front.

I would still be powerless if the HOA decided to change the rules after the fact. That is one serious drawback to living in a townhouse.
 
jezter6 said:
Baltimore is the same way, although it's finally levelling out. Houses cost more than you can afford to pay for, which sucks. A single person making $45-50k cannot reasonably afford a $250+ 2BR townhouse. It's coming down, but they're still right around $175-200k for what is a crappy basic 2br apartment.

Those are the same prices in central NJ.

Greed sucks. A hard working citizen should be able to live in a nice neighborhood with a decent school system. The fact that they can't means that there is something seriously broken with the system.
 
We'll be listing our 1BR townhouse for around $220k. Would you pay that for one bedroom? I would've in the past, but not anymore...
 
Soulive said:
We'll be listing our 1BR townhouse for around $220k. Would you pay that for one bedroom? I would've in the past, but not anymore...
Oh God. I think our 2 bedroom condo is a better deal than that. The only drawbacks are that there is no outside area and only one bathroom.

It's weird that it increased 60% in value in 5 years. WTF?

Geez. You'll be rich once you move out of this state.
 
njnear76 said:
Oh God. I think our 2 bedroom condo is a better deal than that. The only drawbacks are that there is no outside area and only one bathroom.

It's weird that it increased 60% in value in 5 years. WTF?

Geez. You'll be rich once you move out of this state.

We only have one bathroom too. Its a town house though so its 2 levels, plus the basement. The price is determined by the location, the new kitchen, and new bathroom. I remodeled those 2 rooms as soon as we bought the place...
 
Soulive said:
We only have one bathroom too. Its a town house though so its 2 levels, plus the basement. The price is determined by the location, the new kitchen, and new bathroom. I remodeled those 2 rooms as soon as we bought the place...
Ahhhh... the basement is a good bonus. I tell my wife that we need one of those so that we store all the crap her mother gives her. Not to mention it makes fermenting beer easier.
 
njnear76 said:
Ahhhh... the basement is a good bonus. I tell my wife that we need one of those so that we store all the crap her mother gives her. Not to mention it makes fermenting beer easier.

Yeah, the basement is clutch. Its the only aspect I like...
 
I'd be looking at the rules for propane BBQ grills to be honest because "turkey fryer" assumes you're frying turkeys. The local fire dept. likely has a hugely different opinion of those two situations. We're really talking about a slightly overstated side burner and not 3 gallons of 350F oil.
 
Bobby_M said:
I'd be looking at the rules for propane BBQ grills to be honest because "turkey fryer" assumes you're frying turkeys. The local fire dept. likely has a hugely different opinion of those two situations. We're really talking about a slightly overstated side burner and not 3 gallons of 350F oil.
Thanks Bobby. You're making me feel a little bit better about it. I still wonder if it is a good idea about informing the HOA. Most people get scared about what they don't understand.
 
njnear76 said:
Thanks Bobby. You're making me feel a little bit better about it. I still think it probably would be a good idea to check with the HOA if the neighbors can see what I'm doing.

Sounds like your HOA actually does their job, you're lucky man. I pay $165 per month for pretty much nada. The snow removal guys came around 5pm the other day after I shoveled our area. We're in the process of impeaching the board and terminating the manager though...
 
Soulive said:
Sounds like your HOA actually does their job, you're lucky man. I pay $165 per month for pretty much nada. The snow removal guys came around 5pm the other day after I shoveled our area. We're in the process of impeaching the board and terminating the manager though...
I'm somewhat happy with my current HOA. I had problems in the past with neighbors. When I lived in an apartment the landlord tried to kick me out for being noisy. Ever since that happened, I've been really careful about not pissing off my neighbors.
 
njnear76 said:
I'm somewhat happy with my current HOA. I had problems in the past with neighbors. When I lived in an apartment the landlord tried to kick me out for being noisy. Ever since that happened, I've been really careful about not pissing off my neighbors.

Yeah, my neighbors are the only ones I don't want to piss off. The HOA can kiss my arse on the policies...
 
Soulive said:
Yeah, my neighbors are the only ones I don't want to piss off. The HOA can kiss my arse on the policies...

The problem is usually the old woman who lives nowhere close to your unit, that has nothing better to do but rat on you.

"I just want to inform you that the new kid at #5 Elm road is doing something that goes against the rules. It looks dangerous. There's fire involved. Hurry! Won't you think of the children?"

Sigh.
 
I'd rather live in a run down shack of a single family house than put up with HOA rules. I used to date a chick that owned a condo and the hoops they make you jump through is nuts.
 
Bobby_M said:
I'd rather live in a run down shack of a single family house than put up with HOA rules. I used to date a chick that owned a condo and the hoops they make you jump through is nuts.

+1...me and rules I deem senseless aren't a good combo
 
Soulive said:
+1...me and rules I deem senseless aren't a good combo
I suppose I could always do Partial Mash indoors if this was a problem. I'm not sure if my wife would be too happy though.
 
njnear76 said:
The problem is usually the old woman who lives nowhere close to your unit, that has nothing better to do but rat on you.

"I just want to inform you that the new kid at #5 Elm road is doing something that goes against the rules. It looks dangerous. There's fire involved. Hurry! Won't you think of the children?"

Sigh.
Gawd, yes! I moved into my fiancee's condo for three months before recently moving and her building had a busybody exactly like that. We just moved into a single family house - what a relief!

Funny thing is, we were told the propane was fine but wood or charcoal flame was not. So, I couldnt use my smoker at all during that time. I guess the board figured you could control a propane flame easier than a wood or charcoal flame.
 
Rhoobarb said:
Gawd, yes! I moved into my fiancee's condo for three months before recently moving and her building had a busybody exactly like that. We just moved into a single family house - what a relief!

Funny thing is, we were told the propane was fine but wood or charcoal flame was not. So, I couldnt use my smoker at all during that time. I guess the board figured you could control a propane flame easier than a wood or charcoal flame.

Not being able to do what I want when I want is always a sore spot with me. It's right up there with people not minding their own business.

I think if I move into a townhouse and they tell me that I can't make beer using a propane stove, I would seriously be upset. Especially since the reason will most likely turn out to be lame.

I guess what I am really looking for is who brews outside of their townhouse using propane. Maybe I should start a new thread.
 
njnear76 said:
... I guess what I am really looking for is who brews outside of their townhouse using propane. ...
FWIW, I brewed three batches out on our patio. It was a first floor unit with another unit's balcony above. Nary a peep from anyone.
 
Rhoobarb said:
FWIW, I brewed three batches out on our patio. It was a first floor unit with another unit's balcony above. Nary a peep from anyone.

Thanks. That is good to know.
 
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