Fireclay vs. Sand for floor Tools, Tips and Techniques Discuss Fireclay vs. Sand for floor in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; The subject of sourcing fireclay seems to generate a lot of questions. After I went to the trouble of sourcing ...

[Gromit]

The subject of sourcing fireclay seems to generate a lot of questions.

After I went to the trouble of sourcing it for laying my floor, I made a mess of a sand/fireclay/water mixture that I later scraped off my insulation board (and took some of the insulation with it). I then mixed the fireclay and sand together and used that dry to lay my floor. I ran out of fireclay, so I just used sand for the rest of it.

If one is going to use a wet leveling mix, I can understand that the fireclay makes for a sticky mix. But for dry leveling, is there really an advantage to mixing the sand with fireclay?

[dmun]

Sand is loose, and travels, as is shown by the brick walk i laid on sand some years ago. Using the fireclay/sand mixture lets it set up into something more solid, which will be a better base for your floor.

Laying it dry is a good idea, btw, but it works best if you wet the floor afterword to set up the mixture.

[Gromit]

I sealed all of the sand and fireclay in by squeezing a bit of mortar all around where the perimeter of the floor meets the insulation board. So, hopefully my sand will not go traveling too far.