extra large brick for hearth

[Fishnfowler]

I can get some 3x9x18" firebrick. Is there a downside to such a large size for the hearth? The price is good enough, I might consider cutting them down if needed, but that seems like a pain.

Rob.

[Jed]

Hey Rob,

Welcome to the forum.

I don't see a down side to using the larger fire brick. You end up with a bit thicker cooking floor than a regular fire brick. A bit more mass but not a significant change. And the 9 x 18 inch brick should work fine... You will want to trim the edges of the cooking floor (if you are building a round oven) so there isn't a big chunk of fire brick extending beyond the foot print of the oven wall... easy enough..

Keep us posted on your build! Pictures are good.

JED

[Fishnfowler]

Jed,

Thanks for the reply. I have one of the HF 10" tile saws so trimming to shape should be possible. I am in the materials acquisition phase of my oven so I'm a long ways off from the build yet. The ground is frozen and it will probably be 3-4 months before I can start. I'll start a thread somewhere on my oven construction once I get running.

Rob.

[jmhepworth]

The only down side that I see is that I like the traditional look of the herringbone design on the floor. I don't find that the peel catches. Occasionally the rack catches when I'm cleaning out ash. You would significantly reduce that problem with the larger bricks. By the way, James sells larger ones with his kits, but I don't think they are 3 inches thick.