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Cedar Wood Question

JeffM
JeffM Posts: 103
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum
In Home Depot I noticed cedar fence boards  6" by 4-8' and thought these would be great for grilling when cut  in short lengths and very inexpensive.  I asked the store clerk if this was OK and he said no that the cedar was treated.  I don't know if this is correct and was wondering if any of you know  for sure?

Comments

  • I wouldn't trust it. Prob has chemicals, but I'm not sure. Just my 2 cents...FWIW
    LBGE 4/2012, MBGE 6/2012 & Mini 11/2013
    Rome, GA
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    They dont treat cedar.
    Still, skip the boards and buy shingles. Untreated (not fire retardent) undercourse shingles

    There will be some too narrow, and some with knots. NBD

    Soak them and snip off about two three inches of the thin end, and good to go

    I have heard of pressure treated cedar from many people. As an architect, i have never actually seen it or found it anywhere as an actual product. Cedar by it's own nature is resistant to rot and insect damage. You just dont want fire retardent shingles, and they will be strictly labelled as such if they are

    No worries. Buy simple shingles and laugh at the williams sonoma crowd
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • They dont treat cedar. Still, skip the boards and buy shingles. Untreated (not fire retardent) undercourse shingles There will be some too narrow, and some with knots. NBD Soak them and snip off about two three inches of the thin end, and good to go I have heard of pressure treated cedar from many people. As an architect, i have never actually seen it or found it anywhere as an actual product. Cedar by it's own nature is resistant to rot and insect damage. You just dont want fire retardent shingles, and they will be strictly labelled as such if they are No worries. Buy simple shingles and laugh at the williams sonoma crowd

    WAIT A MINUTE!!!  Are you serious about being able to use regular cedar shingles?  I mean, are you sure?  I bought 2 bundles of regular cedar shingles a couple of years ago from Home Depot or Lowes for a yard nativity, but my wife & I decided we like the light from the open roof lighting our trees.  I kept the shingles as I've thought maybe I'll roof it just to see how it looks.  Hasn't happened yet!  Now I got these shingles and I've wondered many-a-time if I could use them for planking instead or if they were treated with unsavory chemicals.

    I don't think they are fire-retardent as that would make them more expensive and my proud-to-be-a-cheapskate wife would not approve buying them.  She was with me when I bought the lumber for the nativity project.  We live in Michigan where there's not too many wildfires.

    Flint, Michigan
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    All the homes in my Delta BC neighbourhood have shake roofs. I keep a bundle for repair. Great for planking salmon. Ours are 24" heavies, so to get them in my medium, I am pretty much cutting them in half. (one for the BGE one for kindling in the air tight when it gets cool)
    Have used them for years, from a trusted cedar mill. Cedar is often treated with both Fire retardant and preserve - so know what you are buying. According to my local mill, about 80% of export to USA is treated. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • So we have 2 different opinions here.
    Flint, Michigan
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Nope. We dont
    Both said know what you are buying
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • GreenhawK
    GreenhawK Posts: 398
    I have always heard that Cedar will make you very sick.  I would look into it a little farther.

    Large BGE Decatur, AL
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    What?
    Cedar plank cooking isnt exactly new

    Man. Every time someone mentions something here, it requires a full wikipedia page-level dissertation to convince people we aren't making it up
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I've never seen treated cedar that wasn't a shake or shingle before.  If it were treated, it would say it on the label.  It costs money to treat wood and they want to get that back by making it a value-added process, like fire-retardant, mold resistant, etc. They'll trumpet that on the label. The Home Despot guy probably didn't know and erred on the side of caution.  If it's not labeled, don't assume it isn't treated.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • eggo
    eggo Posts: 492
    I'm living proof that cedar planked salmon won't make you sick. Done it many times. Folks been doing it for a long, long time.
    Eggo in N. MS
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    edited August 2012
    a local grocer cuts up what appears to be Home Depot fence board, shrink wraps them and puts a $5 or $6 price sticker on each 10"/12" piece ;-) perhaps making more money on the board than the fish, lol!
    canuckland
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    Another thought on this, use western red cedar. If you live in the east, there is white cedar, quite different, don't use it. WRC and alder has been used by the Pacific coast indians for centuries, it is easy to split and it makes a great "oven rack" for salmon. 
    WRC fencing is seldom if ever treated as it is pretty much bug and decay resistant as it is, it is also too thick to heat through and get a little char going. A shake or shingle, about 1/2 inch thick,  is just about perfect. 
    (sorry stike - I will now shut up)
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • Outcast
    Outcast Posts: 112
    Stike, what if has a sulpher smell to the cedar ?
    :ar!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    No need to shut up
    Skiddymarker. More info the better. Thanks
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Try a real lumber yard, they tend to know more about the wood and if it was treated.
  • A true egghead would use a surface planer to get that smooth surface.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    what does a smooth surface offer?
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I ran a few boards of cedar though my planer just to clean all the mold and stains they accumulated over years in the wood pile.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..