Bricks suitable for fireplace Outdoor Fireplace Design Discuss Bricks suitable for fireplace in the Outdoor Kitchens and Living Rooms forums; Other than firebricks what bricks can be used for an outdoor fireplace? Can any solid clay brick be used? Cheers ...

[bimbo]

Other than firebricks what bricks can be used for an outdoor fireplace? Can any solid clay brick be used?

Cheers
James

[dmun]

Common bricks will crack and spall in direct contact with flame. This is less a problem with fireplaces than with pizza ovens, where brick shards will end up in your pizza toppings, so it just depends on your tolerance for the look of cracked and chipped brick in your outdoor fireplace.

Here's a quote from rumford.com:

You might have noticed the red brick firebox. It's regular solid facebrick (no cores) laid in regular Portland cement mortar. They didn't have firebrick in 1760 and my customer didn't like that "ugly yellow firebrick". I told him facebrick couldn't take the thermal shock and would crack and spall, but I couldn't convince him. A year after I built the fireplace he called to tell me how much he enjoyed the fireplace and oven. He said five of the brick in the fireback had cracked and the face had spalled off another one. "It's great", he said. "The fireplace is only a year old and it already looks as if it's 200 years old." Another sort of customer would have had me back out to replace brick six times.

[bimbo]

So are there suitable alternatives?
I was told that i could use terracotta? tiles or aussie pressed red bricks or are eiter of these going to crack etc as well?

Cheers
James

[dmun]

Back before they had firebrick, and there was no alternative to red brick fireboxes, they often used cast iron firebacks:

This prevented the masonry from being damaged by thermal shock, or at least hid the damage if it happened.

In the US, firebrick fireplaces are still pretty standard, and that's why firebrick is inexpensive to source locally in a lot of places.

[bimbo]

the reason i am trying to find alternatives is that here in OZ firebricks are around the $4-5 mark EACH , makes for a pretty expensive fireplace, especially when you have to for out for another 200 odd for an oven.

[bimbo]

I had a look around at different types of firebricks and was wondeing what types of firebricks are suitable for fireplaces?

[dmun]

Did you read the firebrick primer?

Brick Oven Design | Choose the Right Brick Oven Brick

At the cost of brick in Australia, it may pay to go with a modular fireplace unit.

[bimbo]

so even though the bricks will not get as hot as in an oven I still require the same bricks and can't use insulating bricks or some other type. Might see if i can get thinner firebricks which i would assume would be cheaper. I did a bit of ringing around and found firebricks for 3.30 each which is a bit better.

On the up side the colour of firebrick will actually fit in well with the bricks I am using around the fireplace

[bimbo]

Originally Posted by bimbo

so even though the bricks will not get as hot as in an oven I still require the same bricks and can't use insulating bricks or some other type.

Anyone?

Cheers
James

[Ken524]

I think one of the other Aussie's here (NissanNeil?) has mentioned that "pressed reds" work well in oven/fireplace applications.