Don't seal cedar

To the real estate editor: In your column of March 21 you recommended a latex stain with "film integrity." I have seen cedar dry-rot whenever it was sealed so I would guess that a film would not be wanted.

In the same column there was an inquiry about insulating a flagstone fireplace which was built in an exterior wall. One solution is to spray a foam on the outside surface. I have done it in such a manner that the foam resembled the existing surface, either rock or flagstone.

The foam can be painted to resemble the original appearance. Charles Qualle Fairbanks, Alaska