Building with common bricks (sydney) Newbie Forum Discuss Building with common bricks (sydney) in the Good Background Information forums; Hi All, Has anyone build with common bricks? I think some bricks are kilned and some pressed would the kilned ...

[maximo]

Hi All,

Has anyone build with common bricks? I think some bricks are kilned and some pressed would the kilned ones be good for a wood fire oven?

Thanks,
Maximo.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Hey Max,
From everything Ive ever read here on the forum, Down Under you want to use the pressed reds.... Do a forum search fo pressed reds..

Cheers and welcome
Mark

[dmun]

I think some bricks are kilned and some pressed

All bricks are fired in a kiln, except those made from concrete, which you want to avoid absolutely. Some are harder than others. Look for bricks that are shinier and less porous. You want to avoid bricks with holes. Pressed? All modern bricks are made in a press of some kind.

[Johnny the oven man]

The bricks with holes are extruded, not pressed. Solids in red will do the job but do use a refractory mortar.

[maximo]

Hi All,

I would appreciate appreciate so much your advice on using these materials:

1- use solid common bricks for dome (pick the grey dark ones because they have been manufactured at higher temperature than light coloured ones)

2- use refractory bricks for oven floor (direct contact with fire)

3- for mortar:
1- use as little as possible
2- use a mix of grey cement (builders cement) with fireclay - do not put sand in it because it comes off grain by grain when heated

4- render the dome with 1 to 2 mm of the fireclay and grey cement mix to protect bricks from direct flame

I would appreciate so much your advice:
---------------------------------------
A- what do you think of rendering the dome?
B- what do you think of the materials to be used and the mortar mix?

Cheers,
Maximo

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Hey Max,,,

1. Sounds good

2. By refractory bricks, Do you mean FireBrick ??

3. 10 sand 6 fire clay 2 portland cement 2 lime this is one of the common recipes
I've never heard the sand comes out, (that doesnt mean its not true)

4. No need to render the inside of the dome, You can render the outside for additional
strength and peace of mind...

Pompeii Oven Instruction eBook V2.0 (pdf) :: eBooks & CD ROMs :: Forno Bravo Store

Here is the link, for the free plans if you havent downloaded them yet,,, read it as many of your questions are in here and probably better answers than I have,,,,

Cheers and hope I helped you some
Mark

[cynon767]

maximo- this thread (Refractory Mortar Poll) was a pretty good discussion of mortar, including homemade fireclay-based ones

[maximo]

Hi Mark,

Yes- by refractory brick I meant Firebrick.

Thanks everyone for your help, very much appreciated!

I'll check the forum and the popmpeii pdf for additional information.

Cheers,
Maximo

[nissanneill]

Maximo,,
have a read of the book by Russell Jeavons, he has a wood fired pizza restaurant here in SA and builds all his ovens with pressed red bricks and poor mans mortar. He even uses a double layer of 2" pavers for his cooking hearth.
I used secondhand firebricks for my oven and non refractory mortar and no cracking at all in over 2 years.
Use the bricks that break when hit with a hammer rather than those that shatter. They are harder and fired at a higher temperature. They were closer to the fire within the 3 day firing process in the kilns.
Today's solid fired clay pavers are very popular and a lot cheaper than the med fire firebricks especially here in Australia.
Check out my build for all the finer details and hit me with some specific questions as they rise.

Cheers.

Neill

PS and welcome to yet another Aussie to the forum.

[Rodneyf]

maximo, I have built my oven in Sydney out of 92 yr old bricks from the front fence of a federation house at Bexley. So far the oven has done exactly what it was supposed to do and cooks great pizzas and superb roasts the same way as the Italian community in Australia has been doing for the last 60 yrs. Check out the link below to see my build.

Picasa Web Albums - rodneyaf - Pizza oven