# Old cedar shakes for kindling?



## Sprinter (Aug 26, 2012)

There is a running ad in a local advertiser for free cedar shakes, delivered.  Is this a common thing for roofers to do?  Do old shakes even make good kindling, or is it usually too rotten anyway?  Also, I believe that most shakes have a fire retardant.  I wonder if it's even alright to burn them.


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## bogydave (Aug 27, 2012)

Good questions
Hope someone form your area with the answers chimes in.
Never though about the shakes being fire treated, but makes sense.
Doesn't  moss grows on  shakes? they may be treated with zinc or copper to prevent that too.
Just the questions make me leery of burning them.


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## Beetle-Kill (Aug 27, 2012)

I replaced my cedar-shake roof about 3 years ago. The cedar was about 35 yrs. old, no evidence of any treatment.
I use it in a CAT stove without problems. My friends with tube stoves burn the heck out of it, without problems.
Get it if you can, but beware- a truck load should last a loooong time. make sure you have some space to store it.


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## Sprinter (Aug 27, 2012)

bogydave said:


> Good questions
> Hope someone form your area with the answers chimes in.
> Never though about the shakes being fire treated, but makes sense.
> Doesn't moss grows on shakes? they may be treated with zinc or copper to prevent that too.
> Just the questions make me leery of burning them.


You're right, preservatives are used also, especially in this climate, probably. I think copper and zinc are both used. Fire retardants seem to be at the whim of local ordinances or preference, so there's probably no way to know if something was treated or not. And I just now learned that there are no less than three levels of fire protection for shake roofs; A, B and C. I guess A is virtually fireproof, and so on down. Be my luck to end up with about 10 squares of fireproof firewood!

Beetle Kill - it does sound nice.  Maybe they would let me pick some up at a work site and try to burn it.  Shouldn't take long to find out if it burns.


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## Jack Straw (Aug 27, 2012)

I'd be weary of nails if they are gonna drop a load  on your lawn (ok let's see who bites). I have used cedar shims and they work great. Good Luck!


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## firefighterjake (Aug 27, 2012)

Probably depends on the area of the country and what they're used for . . . here in Maine it's pretty rare to find any home that use cedar shakes for actual roofing other than maybe a well house or shed possibly. More folks tend to use them as siding . . . and those may or may not be treated with stain, preservatives, etc.

In my own home's case I have used old cedar shingles as fire starter as they are not treated and they burn quite well.


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## cptoneleg (Aug 27, 2012)

Sounds like they want a free place to dump their trash.


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## Highbeam (Aug 27, 2012)

I've used them. Spent many hours as a kid with a hatchet, pile of shingles, and a coffee can to put the nails in as I split the shakes into kindling.

It's cedar, it will burn and it will burn very well. No spray is going to stop that. Also, any preservative type spray will also burn right up and not be a problem.

What you don't want is a whole freaking truckload. A little goes a long ways. I always thought that cedar shake roofs were a foolish thing. What a terrible material to build a roof with.


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## Sprinter (Aug 27, 2012)

cptoneleg said:


> Sounds like they want a free place to dump their trash.


I'm sure you're right, and that's why I was a bit skeptical. Who knows what the stuff is like.


> Spent many hours as a kid with a hatchet, pile of shingles, and a coffee can to put the nails in as I split the shakes into kindling.


Sounds like fun. For a kid... Oh, heck, maybe it _would_ be fun. I do have an electric splitter. Think it would work on them?


> I always thought that cedar shake roofs were a foolish thing. What a terrible material to build a roof with.


Me too. We had a shake roof in Spokane when I was a kid, and an open fireplace. Bad combination, although nothing ever happened. Probably because we never had a fire


> . More folks tend to use them as siding . . .


. I didn't think about siding. There are cedar sided houses here and they are always painted. That wouldn't be good. Cedar roofs and siding used to be a lot more common here than they are now. Of course, cedar trees used to be a lot more common, too... That nice, old cedar with the beautiful, fragrant heart wood is hard to even find now, even here.[/QUOTE]


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## Wood Duck (Aug 28, 2012)

You won't need an electric splitter for splitting cedar singles. They'll split with the tap of a hatchet.


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## Sprinter (Aug 28, 2012)

Wood Duck said:


> You won't need an electric splitter for splitting cedar singles. They'll split with the tap of a hatchet.


Yeah, sometimes my attempt at humor falls a bit short...  Actually, my poor little hatchet needs a little attention.


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