The neighbor's fence comment made me rethink my whole fire pit setup

Last Saturday I was out back grilling and my neighbor Jim from two houses down walked over to compliment the stone path I laid last fall. Then he pointed at my fire pit and said, "you know that's too close to the shed, right?" I've had that pit for 4 years and never once measured the distance. Turns out it's only 7 feet from the vinyl siding and the embers have already left these little scorch marks I noticed but ignored. He showed me a photo of his cousin's shed that caught fire from a stray spark in Tulsa back in 2021. That conversation hit different because I always thought I was being careful, but careful means actually checking the numbers not just feeling safe. I moved the pit 12 feet out yesterday and now I'm wondering what else I've been overlooking in my yard. Has anyone else had a neighbor point out a real hazard you completely missed?

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thomas_torres28d ago

Figured I'd be the one to say it, but I think Jim's got too much time on his hands. Yeah, 7 feet is close, but you lived with it for 4 years and the worst thing is a few scorch marks on siding you can replace. My neighbor once told me my compost bin was attracting rats. Turns out he was right, but I also found out he was the one dumping old pizza boxes in there. Moved the bin anyway, but I stopped taking yard advice from the guy who had a tree fall on his own garage. You moved the pit, good for you. But don't go ripping up the whole yard because one guy showed you a photo from a different state.