Michigan WFO Brick Oven Photos Discuss Michigan WFO in the Good Background Information forums; Mike, I didn't mortar the bricks down under the arch sides. I don't think it's necessary....

[Ken524]

Mike,

I didn't mortar the bricks down under the arch sides. I don't think it's necessary.

[mfiore]

Ken, how about this brick? Isn't that mortared down, or am I looking at that wrong?

[aureole]

That's sand and fireclay base for the bricks - except I think Ken used the leftover grindings from his cuts (which is basically fireclay).

[Breven]

Yeah Mike...that's a fireclay mixture. I did the same thing (per the FB plans). That mixture really holds the floor bricks in place, it's a really sticky clay. However, since there is no concrete in it, it allows some room for thermal expansion.

[Breven]

Oh, one mroe thing. When I went looking for a bag of fireclay, I could only find something called Mortar Clay- which, as it turns out, is the same thing.

[mfiore]

If my bricks all sit level, is the fireclay necessary? (I'm using insulation boards, not vermicucrete).

Also, do I really need to mix the fireclay with sand?

[Breven]

Thats a good question. I think the main function of the fireclay slurry is to help you level your bricks. Even if the floor is perfectly level, the bricks usually have slight differences. I thought my bricks where spot on even, but after laying them down, there were little curves here and there...some of the bricks rocked a little if I put a bit of pressure on one side or the other. Also, it was nice to have them seated in that bed when I ran the belt sander over the floor so they didn't move.

[mfiore]

Had a productive weekend (relatively speaking )

My boards arrived. I was surprised, but they were not very uniform in size. It took quite a bit of work to level the bricks. I used the fire clay that I gathered from the sludge on the bottom of the wet saw tray. Mixed dry with sand. It worked out well.

[mfiore]

Next, I built the side walls for the vent area. I don't know why I did this first, rather than the dome. Just worked out that way. Hope it's all right. I tried to stagger brick whenever possible to avoid continuous lines of mortar.

[mfiore]

I got the first three brick in my soldier course down before having to wrap it up. The rest will have to wait until next week!