conmstruction waste as fireplace fuel?

[xscorex]

so Ive been remodeling the house and the garage and over the last few months, Ive created a large pile of scrap wood. mostly 2x4s and mdf board scraps, a few doors, stuff like that. I was thinking of taking a day and ripping everything into small manageable pieces and just burning it in the fireplace this winter. Its about a pickup truck full of stuff. I figured Id kep it out of the landfill and save on heating costs. Any reason not to do this? I also have a stack of ceiling tiles I thought about burning but Im not sure whats in them, like chemicals. Anyone do this? will it work or is there something I dont know about that will kill me? lol thanks guys

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Burning the wood should not be a problem assuming its not AC2, or Pressure Treated, and doesn't have any liquid nails on it. The ceiling tiles, unless they are something other than what I'm thinking, probably wont burn, as in they are heavily treated not to burn.

You will be cleaning nails out of your fireplace. Im sitting on a pile right now, same as you, for the same reason.

 

[Frank]

unless its just plain wood, no plywood, no glued together kind or any other chemical treatment, i don't see what it could hurt.

 

[nehog]

You can burn wood that has:

1. No treating (such as pressure treated wood...)
2. No paint, varnish or such
3. No glues (So none of this which includes plywood, OSB and MDF for example. and other engineered woods).

One small caution, is that most construction lumber is softwood, and from a burning standpoint, relatively green and will build up creosote faster than properly seasoned hardwoods. But generally for a load of scrap from a smaller project, that's not an issue.

BTW the stuff will burn fast, you'll probably spend a bunch of time just tossing pieces into the fire!

Oh, and regarding nails: Take a strong magnet, wrap it in a good rag and just 'troll' your ashes, and it will pick up the nails. Then peel off the rag over a trash can and the nails will just drop off... (This works for cleaning up spilled nails and screws off the garage floor too--leaves the dirt and picks up only the steel/iron bits.)

 

[scott37300]

2x4s are fine. MDF is a no no because it is glue and saw dust pressed together, the glue can be toxic. The ceilings tiles also aren't a good idea, not exactly sure what they are made from but they do have a fire rating and probably won't burn all that good.

 

[aqr81]

Agree with all the comments here. A good dose of caution is needed. Is there a place you can take the wood to be ground up to be used for ground cover in your area? Maybe that's only a west coast thing.

 

[chimo]

the only downside to burning construction material is that most of the lumber may have been kiln dried.. therefore it will burn much faster and much hotter.... and if you are burning it in the manufactured wood stove or insert, don't be letting on that is what you were burning when you try in get it fixed.... same with pressure treated lumber or wood that has washed up on the beach... salt water beach... burning this stuff will also remove your warranty .... and the bottom of your stove.

I designed wood stoves and gas stoves for a company that sells all over north america... and have denied a number of warranty claims do to burning stuff that was not recommended... I also did a lot of the EPA and certification testing... so I know what an abused wood stove looks like... its pretty amazing to see the 3/8" plate on the top of a stove glow red and start to bulge...

 

[xscorex]

thanks guys, Ill go through it and toss the plywood and ceiling tiles then.

 

[electrodude]

I burn scrap wood and pallets, easy to collect and the price is right A little time spent with the chopsaw leave a nice piece of wood that is easily stacked... a couple pallets a week and I have several cords of this wood set up for winter.

I haven't done it this year since we moved but the last few winters I've heated my house pretty much for free by doing so. As for nails, well, they go right into the ash bucket and then the trash (after a couple days to cool). I burn rounds (unsplit logs) at night for convenience also, just because the lumber does burn a bit quicker, and the logs seem to hold as coals better at night.

 

[xscorex]

**** i didnt think about pallets! i have an 18 wheeler full of them here at work! awesome

 

[Motown 454]

I used the 2x4 from my house build to start the fire in my wood stove.

 

[930dreamer]

I feel bad about burning waste from a cabinet shop. Maple, red oak etc, I should save it and build a small table or something.

 

[electrodude]

the only downside to burning construction material is that most of the lumber may have been kiln dried.. therefore it will burn much faster and much hotter.... and if you are burning it in the manufactured wood stove or insert, don't be letting on that is what you were burning when you try in get it fixed.... same with pressure treated lumber or wood that has washed up on the beach... salt water beach... burning this stuff will also remove your warranty .... and the bottom of your stove.

I designed wood stoves and gas stoves for a company that sells all over north america... and have denied a number of warranty claims do to burning stuff that was not recommended... I also did a lot of the EPA and certification testing... so I know what an abused wood stove looks like... its pretty amazing to see the 3/8" plate on the top of a stove glow red and start to bulge...

You can burn out any wood stove with regular wood, my Mom did it regularly when I was a kid. I can remember coming home and seeing our stove actually SPLIT on the seams because she had a roaring fire going in there, and we only burned split, seasoned wood in it... I remember because I was the one who split and ricked five cord every year! We used to have to get a new stove every other year... no amount of talking would get her to stop using the dang thing as a forge!

Burning lumber: it doesn't take much to get a good bed of coals going. If folks can remember that the flames aren't what's making the heat then they shouldn't have a problem... I usually just have two or three, 18" or shorter, chunks of 2x4 in my stove at a time. Yes, I have to put a chunk in every hour or so, but the cost versus inconvenience is well worth it.

 

[electrodude]

...I should add this then I promise to quit: my house (until this year) was a 2200 sq. ft. ranch style with a converted double car garage. The woodstove I have is an Avalon with a firebox that is only 20" wide. This is considered a small stove, the whole thing is about the size of a Earth stove "Princess" model. Burning like I mentioned, I kept that house comfortably warm even when outside temps were freezing. That woodstove is one of the few things I took out of that house when we moved!

 

[Lippyp]

I'll burn just about anything in my open fireplace including stuff with paint and varnish on it. I won't burn MDF/Ply?osb as it doesn't burn well at all but any old scrap wood ends up on there but we also burn coal as well.

 

[Licensed to kill]

Not a bad idea. However, don't underestimate the warning by nehog about creosote buildup. If not kept in check it's a chimney fire waiting to happen. Years ago I used to hunt with a buddy that had a converted school bus as a hunting shack. It had a wood stove in it and for wood, he would go to a local outfit that manufactured trusses. They would have a dumpster full of scrap 2x4's of about 4" to a foot or so long at any given time and were pleased to let Ray take all he wanted, other wise they would have to pay to take them to the landfill. He would bring out a pickup load and just dump them beside the shack. Would last all hunting season. You might want to check local builders/manufacturers for scraps also.

 

[GarageEnvy]

We have a standing joke at our house about this. We claim that what we really bought was a 1/2 acre of land and 25 cords of firewood. Like others have said, although we've burned a lot of plywood and painted plywood, I really wouldn't recommend it. Also wood shake shingles burn scary fast and you end up just walking back and forth to the pile. This year I've got all the old framing from my old garage to keep me warm.

 

[Mattlt]

You can burn out any wood stove with regular wood, my Mom did it regularly when I was a kid. I can remember coming home and seeing our stove actually SPLIT on the seams because she had a roaring fire going in there, and we only burned split, seasoned wood in it... I remember because I was the one who split and ricked five cord every year! We used to have to get a new stove every other year... no amount of talking would get her to stop using the dang thing as a forge!

Are you sure we aren't brothers? We always joked that it looked like the stove was dancing across the floor!

It is good to burn a hot fire, just make sure you start with a clean flue. Chimney fires ****.

 

[PAToyota]

**** i didnt think about pallets!

A lot of pallets are oak - burns well!

 

[drmoonshine]

If looks treated save it and take to a recycling place.

 

[milner351]

Wood heat rocks! I just dropped several standing dead ash yesterday. Not my choice for heating a garage - but I LOVE our pacific energy summit insert in the den - heats our entire house all winter long - $40 a month gas bills - in DETROIT! The manual labor is good work out - I don't get into the gym much anymore - so that's a good thing too.

DONT burn treated / painted / etc wood inside - save that for the outdoor bonfires.

 

[billspit]

**** i didnt think about pallets! i have an 18 wheeler full of them here at work! awesome

Years ago I picked up several pallets discarded onto property i was working on. They were all oak and burned like a charm.

 

[rwhite692]

OSB burns a pretty blue and green!

Seriously, I don't routinely burn OSB but it kinda makes you wonder how much weird stuff must be crammed into a Duraflame log.

 

[akdiesel]

Not sure if was mentioned but I will say it anyways. Don't burn card board either. The glues, paint, etc can cause ill effects.

 

[santagary]

ditto in my air tight ALL NIGHTER wood stove in my garage...scraps make great fire starter under some big pieces of oak, aspen and pine. Also cardboard from secret UPS tool deliveries effectively starts the scrap wood! HA!

 

[green.bubbly]

I always heard that the sap in pine was not a good thing to burn. I guess if you get a chimney sweep every year it would be ok.

 

[NUTTSGT]

DONT burn treated / painted / etc wood inside - save that for the outdoor bonfires.

Some of that older PT wood was treated with arsenic, not the smartest thing to be standing around a fire sucking in arsenic fumes.




I save all my kiln dried wood for the kindling box to start my fires with.

 

[browntown]

Save it for campfires at elk camp. Or the outdoor fire pit at parties. I use old concrete forms in this manner and figure outside is safer to burn construction debris.

 

[BlindViper]

Only issue I see is that the spf lumber has a lot of sap and your going to get a lot buildup in the chimney.

 

[electrodude]

I always heard that the sap in pine was not a good thing to burn. I guess if you get a chimney sweep every year it would be ok.

You mean "pitch", the stuff that burns realllll good. Yeah, if you have a chimney that hasn't been cleaned for a while, pitch will do the job for you... your neighbors will also get to go outside and watch the jet flames shooting from your chimney. Like I said before, my mom could burn a mean fire...k

Finding a piece of pitch-y wood makes my day, nothing gets a fire started faster or hotter than some kindling made from that stuff!

 

[Varkwso]

We burned scraps from a cabinet shop for as long as we had the shop.

My Vermont Casting stove is a bit warped from overheating - but it has survived over 11 years as the primary winter heat for a 3600 sq ft house (Georgia is not that cold for that long).