We just finished installing cedar siding on a cathedral ceiling. To save time we pre-stained and finished the cedar before we installed it and now I have all the scraps left over. Can I burn it in my fireplace? The wood is stained with an oil stain and has 2 coats of a Minwax water-based acrylic finish?
It can make you sick I would not burn it inside
Of course you can. Keep in mind that any smoke escaping into the room will have an unusual odor. You might minimize that effect by using the scraps as a fire starter. HTH
Joe
Cedar burns too hot, quick and with a lot of burning embers popping off in all directions to use as firewood in a fireplace. However it does make excellent, quick starting kindling. Its hot, quick heat will get difficult to light logs burning fast.
Remember to keep a screen in front of the fire to catch the flying embers.
You can, but there are two possible down sides.
First the stuff in the finish may get into your home. Not all of it will go up the chimney. Some products will produce some nasty stuff and make you sick. Second, cedar tends to bury hot and fast and your fireplace was not likely designed for it. That could be a fire hazard. There is also the chance for build up of tars in the chimney, which can result if a chimney fire.
In that case you should be safe, but you may get some condensation of the finish on the glass doors. Could be the devil to clean off.
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