Burning treated wood

michaelgordon

Hi everyone


I have just had some decking installed in the garden and they trader who did it had a lot of off cuts and spare bits that I asked to keep as I may be able to burn.


Am I safe doing this? I know the decking boards cant be burnt as they are pressure treated and there is only a little bit of this anyway. The rest looks like it has been stained (its a dark brown colour) but where the wood has been cut it only appears to be on the outside and not penetrated, is this ok to burn?


I have a stove with lining in the chimney.

Ectophile

If you don't know what it's been treated with, then you really shouldn't.

Greenfires

Are you safe doing this? Probably.

However - if you care about what your neighbours and the rest of the planet are having to breathe in, then probably not the best idea. Domestic stoves operate at very low temperatures (compared to a commercial incinerator) and so wood coatings and treatments can end up producing all sorts of very unpleasant compounds when burned, and the temperature is not sufficient to break them down into their component atoms. If you'd be concerned about your kids breathing this stuff in, then you should be equally concerned about everyone else.

ilikecookies

... and God knows what it will leave in/do to your (expensive) flue.

I know it's tempting but it's just not worth it IMO.