I am curious about getting into casting, but I'm concerned that I may have some limits on what I can do in my yard.  Not only do I lack shade in the back yard, I have very nearby neighbors - including a school on the other side of the back fence.

I am curious if it's possible to SAFELY set up to cast in a garage given adequate ventilation.  With both cars out, there's plenty of elbow room, and I have a good-sized fan I bought specifically to keep from suffering from heat stroke while working in the garage.

Alternately, how loud, smelly, or otherwise obnoxious is the actual smelting and casting process?  Could I cast without my neighbors becoming upset?

A garage with the door up, and a good size fan is perfectly fine for bullet casting.

Bullet casting is not loud, and I don't consider it obnoxious though it can be a bit smokey.

If your neighbors are reasonable, you should be just fine.

We did it in the driveway,no problems,plumbers furnace makes some noise but not enough to bother the neighbors.

I cast in my garage with teh door open.  And nobody casts bullets in the summer.

It's a lot quieter than mowing the lawn.

I cast in my 2 car garage.

Its silent, as most electric furnace pots are, but can get a little stinky when fluxing with sawdust which goes by quickly anyway.

Both doors open and windows gives plenty of ventilation.

Now smelting lead into Ingots is the real issue for me.

Outside only and the stink is horribley
nauseating.

The noise of my open fire smelter closely resembles a screaming jet engine.

I smelt on back patio using one of those large crawfish boil tye burners I converted to natural gas and plumbed to house. Not loud at all. It can be smokey but you shouldnt need to smelt often. I smelt down the lead we collect from my friend's ramch where we shoot.

Casting I do in my garage but I converted a carport into a garage. Single car size with normal garage door front and barn door on side specifically for more ventilation. I had been using floor fans but recently purchased one of those wall mount fans. Mounted it to the wall that happens to be adjacent to the wife's home office. It vibrates the entire wall. She is not impressed.

It really is a neat hobby in itself.

All good points above..  The one thing you have to really think about these days is where are you getting your lead from ?  If your buying on line your not going to save a lot casting.. Wheel weights were the bomb but many of converted over to zinc now instead of lead mixture..

When I lived in the northeast I was able to get lead pretty easy since I knew guys that worked in construction and I had a couple of tire shops I could take as many wheel weights as wanted.  So it was worth it.. living in the South I don't have those options yet but if I had to pay the going on line prices for lead just makes it cheaper to buy already casted instead.

Wheel weights are good stuff; I sort mine to filter out the zinc and cast iron; I average about 60-75% useable alloy weights.

One thing I've heard is that sailboat keel weights are lead. One guy found one being scrapped, took a chainsaw to it, and wound up with nearly a lifetime supply of lead.

I use a propane fueled turkey fryer and a cast iron dutch oven to render wheel weights, outside.

The turkey fryer has a timer mechamism on it that goes "DING!" when it is done and shuts off the gas.

I can hear that from inside the house, so that is when I go back outside.

I use a Rowel bottom pour ladle.

i take the time to check each wheelweight by hand...cutting it with a pair of lineman's pliers or an old wood carving knife I have.

EDIT:

so, yes, you can cast inside your garage.  I just wouldn't make a habit out of rendering dirty or painted lead in your garage.

I cast outside winter or summer.  I have a nice shady corner.  An electric pot makes no noise and my flux makes no smoke.  I smelted my 300 pounds of wheel weights with the same pot.  I just didn't do it all at once.

I cast in front of my garage and the neighbors don't care.

If you're not melting down dirty scrap tons at a time no one will notice objectionable sounds or smells more than 10' away, they might wonder what their crazy neighbor is doing out there with that pot, but who cares.

I cast in my detached garage/shop, prefer to "smelt" outside, but can do small batches inside with a fan going and air flowing through.

Thanks for the inputs so far.  I'm feeling more confident that I can get going with casting without worrying about bothering my neighbors.

Keep the info coming!  I'm learning a lot.

I use a cast iron dutch oven, on a turkey fryer burner for smelting. As others have said, smelt outdoors.

Load your smelting pot with the wheel weights or lead you plan on smelting, load the pot cold. Start the fire and let the lead melt.  The building heat will cook off any possible trapped moisture before the lead melts which reduces any chances of the tinsel fairy visiting during smelting. My dutch oven holds  at least 50 lbs of lead, probably more. When I have gotten all I can out with a ladle I shut the fire off and let the pot cool a bit before reloading and restarting the fire. That way I am not dropping cool or cold lead into hot melt.

Casting is done in the garage, generally in the winter but I will run a summer pot if I run out of cast, sized and lube bullets. Summer casting gets way too hot.

I cast in the garage with the door up. The only time you will have much smell or smoke is when smelting or when melting down stick on wheel weights with some adhesive attached. There is no noise involved other than normal hand tools, like a mallet to knock open the sprue plate, and the sizzle of a bullet landing on a wet cloth or bucket of water.

Summer casting can be unpleasantly hot, although that obviously depends on where you are.

Start making that list of molds and start collecting lead. Wait till winter. I use one of those cheap face masks from HF when I cast. In case of splatter.

If you want to go cheap, the lee bottom pour is good. But if u plan on waiting till winter, save some money and buy an RCBS. I hated the dripping from the Lee pot. Tried all the fixes. Gave up. RCBS dont drip. Not sure about the newer Lyman.

I have had all the brands of pots. The RCBS doesn't drip. I currently use the Lyman for integrated PID and thermometer. It drips slightly at times but is not an issue.

My Lee 20 lbs were all drip omatics despite the fixes and trying everything from new plug rods to fitting the parts and adding weight to the handle. If the pot was more than half full it dripped. However they did heat up quickly and dripping is annoying but not a huge deal.

A good time to smelt nasty stuff like wheel weights, is on a cold gray winter day, like a Monday, when most folks are at work, or inside.

July 4th weekend, is probably not the best

Considering that San Antonio's expected highs for the next several days are inching up toward 100ºF, with "AM clouds, PM sun," I hadn't even considered anything like that for this weekend!  

In fact, I haven't bought anything yet.  Truth is, just going through mould catalogs is pretty daunting.  Looking at NOE's or Accurate's listings, for example, is like walking into Ikea when you're looking for an end table...  WAY too many options.

This.

In the garage, door open, when it's cool outside. I do a whole years worth in a couple of weekends.

Lead supply should be your first concern not your neighbors.

Casting can very easily become another, of the same type, of addiction as reloading. But, it takes the "you'll shoot more for the same money" and adds a multiplier to it. Here's another good, free resource: From Ingot to Target. Additionally, pick up Lyman #4 Casting Manual. It's like the Lyman 50th, but only for casting. 

Keep your eyes out for COWW(clip on wheel weights) that have already been smelted. Maybe post a WTB in the EE here or check out the "Swappin and Sellin" board over at Cast Boolits. Expect to pay $1.25/lb shipped. Give or take. There will be those who say that takes the savings out, but 1lb of COWW will yield about 50 9mm/38SPL boolits. So, you're looking at just over $.02 each. Good luck finding store bought for that. Can't recommend starting with lead that is ready to drop in the pot enough.

Also, get a lead thermometer. It helps.

A Lee bottom pour pot and a 2 cavity mold is a good way to start. That's what I started with on a folding table on the back porch. Important things are:

1. EYE PROTECTION
2. Long sleeved shirt
3. Long pants that hang over your shoes
4. Workboots to protect your feet
5. Fan to keep air moving

If you aren't smelting, you'd be surprised at how little smoke there is. You'll get more fumes from a woodburning set. Safety is key. The Tinsel Fairy (look it up) is a cruel one.