So I picked up a $20 charcoal BBQ yesterday and plan on making some burgers later. But I’m not sure if it is legal to do so.
My building rules don’t say anything about BBQs on balconies onw way or the other. And I don’t know what the rules are for my city (Montreal).
I am on the top floor (15) of my high rise, so the smoke wouldn’t really hit anyone on top on me. There are apartments on either side of me, but there’s about 15 feet of space between balconies.
Whadya think? What are the rules/laws where you live?
Your smoke won’t necessarily rise. Downdrafts could send your smoke into other people’s homes. There are, oh, roughly two and a half million rules and laws where I live. I am likely breaking one or more of them as I type.
I don’t know if there were any local bylaws about barbecuing on balconies when I lived in a highrise. Certainly enough people used them on the balconies in our building, but–and this is a big but–they were invariably propane barbecues. A simple twist of a valve, and the fire was out.
If you have a charcoal-fired one, I’ll second sailor’s suggestion about going to the park. Or maybe your building has an common area on the property that is far enough away from the building to be safe. (We had a little patio and grassy area on our building’s lot; it was quite popular in the summer.) At any rate, regardless of what the law says or doesn’t say, I wouldn’t use a charcoal-fired barbecue on a balcony. There is too much danger if things get out of control and no easy way to stop them.
I have BBQs mentioned in my lease. Small charcoal grills are fine, as are small gas grills. On the bottom floor, large gas grills are allowed. I’d call the main office and pretend you’re someone else and ask them.
They make these weird plates you put on your stove range top that duplicate having a bbq. Haven’t tried one but people give a lot of them to our thrift shops.
Have you thought about all that CO2 & smoke blowing into your house?
If people are donating their stove-top BBQ’s, they must not work very well
I say take the BBQ back to the store and get your money back. Most parks around here have BBQ facilities, much safer than the towering inferno which you propose.
I’ve got the BBQ going right now out on my wood porch. No sweat.
The design of this charcoal BBQ is such that you’d pretty much have to kick it over for any flaming debris to reach the deck. So, that’s not a problem. And I do, in fact, have a fire extinguisher right here and handy. I just don’t see it as that much of a risk. It’s not napalm, and how long are you going to leave it unattended, anyway? Not long, I’d hope.
And you do close it up when you’re through cooking, right?
Beats the heck out of walking over to the park to cook dinner. Filet Mignon in about 30 minutes - yum!
Y’all realize that in the south it’s essentially a crime to say you’re Bar-B-Q-ing if you’re not using Barbecue sauce. Grillin, cookin out, or just plain cookin outide will be fine, but Barbecue, Bar-B-Q, and BBQ are specifically related to that wonderful concoction that sits next to Catsup and Mustard in the local Publix.
I can’t quote you chapter & verse, but in DC it’s a no-no to grill within 50 feet of a multi-unit building like a condo or apt building. I circulate memorandum to all of my residents every year 'roundabout this time and I always quote our condo bylaws in which they, in turn, quote the relevant DC code. Don’t make me go dig it up now, k?
I had to get some stuff from Sears the other day, while there we looked around the BBQ area to see if they have any electric models. We found one, an electric grill/smoker for $69, which we’ll get for our balcony once we have the money.
I,ve been bbqing’ on my balcony for years and i’ve never
had a problem. All it takes is just a little common sense
like does your grill have a lid! and don’t go overboard
on the fuel. (personaly I use matchlite charcol)
In Austin, TX, it is now against the fire code to use or store a BBQ grill on an apartment balcony. I should know, I got the flier posted on my door earlier this week.
