Michigan WFO Brick Oven Photos Discuss Michigan WFO in the Good Background Information forums; Originally Posted by Les Mike, Did you use the FB receipt? I found it to work pretty well, not as ...

[egalecki]

Originally Posted by Les

Mike,

Did you use the FB receipt? I found it to work pretty well, not as good as heat stop, but a fraction of the cost. Also, get the finest sand possible.

Les...

yeah, and you really have to prepare smaller batches of dry mix so you can do a good job of mixing them. I don't think I made up more than a gallon dry at any one time. And I still had to keep mixing the dry stuff up- it settles out if you don't, and I did have some issues upon occasion with it not needing the same amount of water added to each batch. It worked great, though. Solid as a rock even with the variations.

[mfiore]

Thanks for the tips. I did use the FB recipe for mortar. Perhaps the sand wasn't fine enough, Les. It didn't have a smooth texture like the heatstop does. It seemed grainy, no matter how much I mixed it. Even with experimenting with different amounts of water. As it set up, the outer surfaces, or little bits that had stuck to the outsides of bricks, seemed very dry and crumbly. Today, however, those areas are rock hard.

My experience should in no way discourage another builder from using the FB recipe for mixing their own mortar, especially if you have any masonry experience. I think my inexperience scared me off a little bit.

I also found this old post from Unofornaio (what ever happened to him? He contributed a great deal to some of the old threads in this forum)

"... Id say defiantly stick with what you have been using. If you switch you may have different expansion issues ..."

Not sure if it really matters. Either way, I have one more bag of heatstop coming.

[mfiore]

Thanks for the good weather coming this weekend, Daren! (new Avatar? Looks good!)

[mfiore]

11th course done. I'm moving at a snails pace. I thought I would cruise once I cleared the arch, especially these upper courses, with fewer bricks and all. It seems to be taking me twice as long. All bricks have to be cut funny to get them aligned. Takes longer to set up before I can move to the next brick.

I hope to see the keystone soon!

I was going to climb in and clean up a little bit. I read the threads about cleaning mortar off brick with Muriatic Acid. Where can I find that stuff? I didn't see it at the regular spots (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc).

Thanks

[Dakota Earth]

Mike,

Menard's carries it for sure - sunnyside brand... $4-5 a gallon.

Dan Avery

[mfiore]

Thanks, Dan. I looked there, but surely missed it. Menard's isn't always laid out the most logical.

[mfiore]

A little more progress from the snail. 12th course completed.

I need to switch to 1/3 or 1/4 size bricks for the remainder.

Also need to clean up a little inside.

Let's pray for a little more nice weather.

[dbhansen]

Woohoo - almost there! Lookin' good.

[Les]

Originally Posted by mfiore

I need to switch to 1/3 or 1/4 size bricks for the remainder.

Mike - CUT the brick. It's very little work, and you will find it a lot easier to work with. Great job Dude - The home stretch is in sight!

Les...

[Frances]

Gives me a funny feeling every time I see a dome closing in like that... Great work, looks good!