Safe to grill here?

by Himmzy12

38 Comments

  1. WanderingWsWorld

    Smoke stained ceilings are evidence of a good time. Ive seen a candle stain a ceiling 8 foot above where it was being burned.

  2. Nikko_blues

    Just make sure you have your phone handy in case you get a grease flare up so we can watch your ceiling catch on fire.

  3. PantsPooper66

    I basically have the same setup height wise but im only a few feet from my house….even with my frequent flare ups i have never had an issue and zero soot marks on ceiling.

  4. Spend $30 on a fire extinguisher.

    I don’t understand people freaking out about running a charcoal grill in anything but open air over bedrock. If things ever start getting out of control you’ll have more than enough time to put it out. But again I emphasize this with the caveat that you *actually have a fire extinguisher right there with the grill*. If you do that I don’t see the problem.

    I would be more concerned about discoloration/damage of the ceiling than anything.

    But personally if I had the setup here I would still just roll it a few feet to the outside because grilling with a roof over me just feels weird.

  5. Dude, just go to the freestanding carport area in the back right of your photo! Why risk burning your house down when you only have to walk 15 more ft to be in a safer spot?

  6. Moosplauze

    I’d just pull it out onto the grass to not take any risks. When you have to ask, you already know the answer.

  7. gumballvarnish

    for some institutional advice, many California fire codes requires 10 feet from the nearest combustible construction (stucco, concrete, or tile) including ceilings, or protected by an automatic sprinkler system. I suspect that would not meet fire code.

  8. SomewhereSalty647

    If you don’t mind a nice black smoke stain on your ceiling, go for it

  9. Emily_Postal

    You’ve got wheels. Roll it out to the grass. When you’re finished and it’s cooled down she’ll not back.

  10. One_Barracuda5870

    I’ve grilled under a roofed deck forever and never had a problem. Ours has been open on 3 sides though, so the smoke always evacuates. I’ve never had a fire taller than 6” above the grate, and even that is rare.

  11. YodaFette

    Either spend $200 to put some pavers beyond the overhang or…Don’t leave it unattended, keep an extinguisher close by, and don’t be afraid to use. I consider myself to be a responsible adult and I would grill there.

  12. YippieKayYayMrFalcon

    I’d grill under the giant metal roof next to your house.

  13. itsReferent

    This is fine. Don’t leave it unattended and there isn’t a problem. Grease fires absolutely happen, but rarely and you can put it out. I cook under cover and have for decades.

  14. Hey-buuuddy

    You’ll get grease all over the ceiling from the grease carried in the smoke.

  15. Your ceiling will most likely char and that patio will get smoky.

  16. AltruisticAd1949

    Grill under that nice metal car port in the background!

  17. [deleted]

    Got a half acre at least of open yard and needs to grill under the patio roof. It probably won’t burn down, but your insurer would deny that claim likely if it did.

  18. Heebie-jeebies386

    Noooooooooooo! Grills should be ten feet from a structure . Check your local towns codes . You could burn the place down using it there .

  19. Odd_Reputation_4000

    Is that where you would want your grill to be if it were to be fully engulfed in 6ft tall flames? If not, move it to where you would feel it would be safe if it were to happen.

  20. 41VirginsfromAllah

    Maybe invest $12 in one of those laser heat guns and check the ceiling a few times during grilling until you have a good idea how much it heats up that ceiling/roof

  21. BrokenGoth

    One time I ran to the hardware store to buy some lump charcoal. I ordered Jealous Devil but it didn’t come on time. I poured the coals into the coal starter and once they were ready, put them into my Komodo egg.

    As much as I wanted to put the grill on my big deck outside the French doors to the kitchen, I had it around the corner on the big stone patio. My deck is trex, and I didn’t want a random spark to burn it. I also have a huge wisteria on a Japanese trellis framing the deck. A fire would cause a ton of damage.

    Coals are in the grill and I hadn’t put the rack in yet. Suddenly, the coals started popping loud. Then they were EXPLODING like bombs. Hot pieces of coals shot a good 25’ into the air and were raining down on my roof! I was about 15’ away from the house too! I had to duck and cover. I was under siege!

    The flames suddenly grew to over 3’ high above the center of the grill and it was audibly roaring with fierceness. My husband was hosing down the roof and I grabbed a fire extinguisher. It made no difference. This fire was from the bowels of hell.
    It evolved into a swirling fire tornado and was making a growl as it spun. I was terrified.

    So I did what made sense and tried to smother it out. I closed the lid (which burned my arm hairs off, that how hot the residual heat was) and closed the vents on the lid and the bottom. Fire was shooting out the side cracks of the sliding vents. Then it started shooting out the center where the lid closes. I felt like this sucker was going to blow like a ginormous grenade. I called the fire department since they were a stones throw away. Glad they came because we didn’t see that there was burning coals on the roof of the front of the house too!

    The final result was my egg was decimated. The seal for the lid was half ash. The paint on the bottom half completely cracked and peeled off. The lid was the same at the very top. The entire grill was warped. It was totaled.

    I’m so grateful I didn’t attempt that on the deck. I can’t imagine the wall of flames that would have happened if this was in your proposed grilling area.

    Turns out that the hardware store had these bags of coals stored outside in their garden center and I live in a very rainy and humid state. I guess one of the kids brought some bags into the store to restock the shelves from outside. It had been pouring rain for two weeks straight, then hot and sunny for a week prior. So the bag was nice and dry, but the centers of the xl lump charcoal were very wet. The hardware store took responsibility for this disaster and replaced my grill.
    So that’s my story about why we don’t grill under or around areas that are flammable.

  22. 2ManyPizzas

    If you grill there frequently you may end up getting a bunch of greasy soot buildup on the ceiling over time. Just food for thought.

  23. hawksnest_prez

    Probably would be fine but that carport looks perfect

  24. Rynobot1019

    It’s probably fine but really not the best idea. If it’s raining and you wanna grill? Go for it. Otherwise it would be better to do it on the lawn.

  25. Suggarbearr64

    What’s wrong with Q’ing it up out from under the covered porch?

  26. Infamous-Zombie5172

    Depends what you’re cooking. If there’s risk of flare ups I’d maybe go to the car port further down, but I’d cook there just fine. Just wouldn’t make it my regular spot in case of discolouring the ceiling

  27. planemanx15

    Jesus these comments, it’s fine. Turn those fans on reverse to blow the smoke out.

  28. Crazy_Event_1654

    The grease from grilling will coat everything. I stopped grilling under my covered patio for that reason.

  29. ilikemyusername1

    It appears as though your ceiling is made of plywood.

  30. Emergency_Buy7244

    My friend. I have witnessed 2 house burn down from this. Heck move on lawn it will cook in the rain.

  31. StepLarge1685

    If you do, eventually, you’ll be looking at a deductible.

  32. Gunk_Olgidar

    From a safety point of view, you’ll get some soot on the ceiling that will build up over time, but otherwise it will be fine.

    Compare to: I have 13′ white ceilings and the only thing that gets soot is the cobwebs. I’m old, and it helps me see ’em easier for when it’s time to get the pool brush and knock them down 😉

    To make the ceiling easier to clean in the future, paint it with a good exterior SEMI-GLOSS paint now. Couple good thick coats will fill in some of that wood grain. You can thank me later.

    To clean the inevitable greasy soot you will get no matter what, use a strong concentration of Dawn and warm water with a sponge mop. Having the smooth semi-gloss paint helps this cleanup ***dramatically***. The more pores and wood grain you can fill in now, the less soot will remain after a mopping. Consider caulking the panels too, so as to avoid smoking up the attic and rest of the house (presuming they’re connected). Been there done that.

  33. YummyBoyGoo

    Of course not. Thats going to hold the carbon monoxide for too long & its going to seep in the door to the house

  34. Expensive-Bell7843

    Like a firefighter would tell you not to, but it’s probably fine