# Old cedar siding worth splitting up for kindling?



## wahoowad (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm replacing some cedar siding and of course see free btu's  when I look at this pile of removed siding. 

Is it worth cutting some boards down to kindling length and splitting it into kindling? One side has solid color wood stain. The wood feels light...wondering if it would make decent kindling for the effort? Trees did not drop a lot of branches this year so I'm low on kindling.


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## peakbagger (Oct 26, 2013)

It is fantastic stuff, about as good as you can get as long as it doesnt have lead paint. I have couple boxes of it scronged from my neighbors project. Its doesnt take much to light a fire. Only downside is it is splintery and they fester if you dont pull them out.


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## red oak (Oct 26, 2013)

I have some cedar boards from a friend's roof that he redid over the summer.  Great stuff for starting a fire.  I personally would get it.


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## Free BTUs (Oct 28, 2013)

I wouldn't burn it with stain or paint on it, but cedar makes great kindling.  I have big piles or old cedar shingles from working on my house that I use for kindling.  They are thin enough to break with your hands and they light super easy and really get a fire going fast.  They go up like gasoline.  The first time someone sees cedar siding burn they usually say "holy crap, my house is covered in that stuff?"


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## Jags (Oct 28, 2013)

wahoowad said:


> One side has solid color wood stain.



Red flag.  No painted or stained materials in the stove.  Bad mojo and will make you go bald. Some of that stuff can really turn into nasty gasses.


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## bag of hammers (Oct 28, 2013)

Free BTUs said:


> I wouldn't burn it with stain or paint on it, but cedar makes great kindling.



+1.  As a rule I won't burn anything with paint / stain / glues / resin / etc. in the stove.


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## Lumber-Jack (Oct 28, 2013)

I'd take some.
I used almost all the old fir siding off my house for kindling. It had very faded and flaking varnish on it. The sap in a lot of wood probably has more resins and hydrocarbons then most paints or stains. I don't go out of my way to burn painted or stained wood, but a little for fire starter ain't gona hurt in my opinion. I do draw the line at treated wood, some toxic stuff in those preservatives they use to treat it. I'm not so worried about the stove, but about who may be inhaling the smoke down wind of me.


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## peakbagger (Oct 28, 2013)

I didnt notice on the original post that it was solid colored stain. I have no issues or qualms about burning stained wood as the stains generally are non toxic mixed with lots f VOCs for penetration. Solid color stains are a misnomer if they have binders its not stain although most of the time its a latex binder. I expect that the weight by percentage is minimal and thus any impact to catalysts downstream is minimal.


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## Augie (Oct 28, 2013)

Stain is pigment in a evaporative carrier, stain should be ok.... ish YMMV


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## Gunny (Oct 29, 2013)

Well I guess this can both ways.  Not supposed to use paint or stained wood to burn due to the toxins created in the burning process.  On the other hand wood that has been exposed to outside elements have almost no toxins left in them.  Depends on what side of the house i.e.: exposure.  There is a wood recycle place about 3 miles from my house that takes all kinds of wood to be ground down and burned for energy.  They strictly will not take treated lumber yet I have went in and talked with the guy running the place and he has taken old fence posts, decking, and railroad ties on many occasions due to the level of rot and inside appearance of the wood being dropped off.  I personally would burn the cedar siding as kindling because you are only burning a small amount to get the staple wood started.  Just an opinion but to me, fire it up.


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## bag of hammers (Oct 29, 2013)

Lots of voices of reason here.   Me, I draw a line in the sand just to keep myself out of trouble (slippery slope, and all that).  However, I do have lots of clean cut / split cedar, spruce, pine etc. for kindling so it's a non issue for me to keep anything else out of the stove, as tempting as it may be.


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## Lumber-Jack (Oct 29, 2013)

An old guy a few houses away from me accepted the wood from a demolished house a couple years ago. The pile they dumped in his back yard looked just like the wood pile at the dump, full of everything you could imagine. The old guy spent hours out there with a skill-saw sawing up all that junk wood into short pieces he could stack and fit into his wood stove. Lots of terrible smells drifted around the neighborhood that year. 
I'm glad to see he has a load of regular cord wood this year,,, even if it isn't as dry as it aught to be, still better then burning demolished houses.  LOL


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## mrmikefm (Feb 20, 2016)

Here's a dumb question. . .  I'm looking to replace my 29 yr old cedar roof with shingles. The question I have is: Can I burn my old shingles in our fireplace? Would it be safe, and would there be any undesirable consequences?


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## Bad LP (Feb 20, 2016)

mrmikefm said:


> Here's a dumb question. . .  I'm looking to replace my 29 yr old cedar roof with shingles. The question I have is: Can I burn my old shingles in our fireplace? Would it be safe, and would there be any undesirable consequences?


Sure you can burn it but be warned that any western red cedar I've ever burned snaps and pops hot embers like crazy.


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## wahoowad (Feb 20, 2016)

burn away, but I'd still only use for kindling. It will burn so fast you won't get a decent cycle time. Also would not pack a stove tight with it as I suspect it would get very hot


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## begreen (Feb 20, 2016)

mrmikefm said:


> Here's a dumb question. . .  I'm looking to replace my 29 yr old cedar roof with shingles. The question I have is: Can I burn my old shingles in our fireplace? Would it be safe, and would there be any undesirable consequences?


I wouldn't use them for the primary fire. That would burn like a fireplace full of kindling. Mix with some cordwood at least.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 21, 2016)

mrmikefm said:


> Here's a dumb question. . .  I'm looking to replace my 29 yr old cedar roof with shingles. The question I have is: Can I burn my old shingles in our fireplace? Would it be safe, and would there be any undesirable consequences?



I'm still using the cedar shakes stripped from my house a couple years ago ... burning them as kindling. I would not load the stove up with them as it would most likely get the stove too hot.


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## mrmikefm (Feb 21, 2016)

Thanks for the replies.


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## rwilly (Feb 21, 2016)

mrmikefm said:


> Thanks for the replies.



It will be fine. The amount of stain that will be burned is minute. It only takes a few thin strips of cedar to get a fire going. I use old fencing panel that I get off Craigslist.


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## Paulywalnut (Feb 21, 2016)

It is great. I'm still using some old siding I got from a dump. It splits as thin as you want. It's almost as good as Fatwood


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