Orange County California

[hb2474]

Anybody know where to find firebricks and all the other materials for a pompeii 36" oven?

[SCChris]

I got my firebrick, they had 3 manufacturers firebrick products, and fireclay at Supply Line Building Materials in San Juan Capistrano.
I used a Harbor Freight 10" brick saw and 3 HF blades and Lowes for concrete and rebar.

Chris

[hb2474]

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going with Pacific Clay bricks. I'm going to pick up the insulation blanket at Gold coast refractory in Santa Fe Springs.

[GianniFocaccia]

hb,
The firebrick seconds I bought from Pacific Clay are 1/8" shy on one end and thus leave a gap on the long side when butted up against each other (see pic below). Because of this, I decided to lay my floor with a running bond pattern instead of herringbone. The pic below shows that alternating the bricks end to end allows each row to conveniently fill in most of the gaps. Builders here say that wood ash continuously fills these gaps but I will be putting soapstone on top anyway. The irregularities shouldn't be a problem building the dome and entryway.

You may give Harbison-Walker a look for your refractory blanket. They had two thicknesses last time I was there. They are not far from SFS.

ANH Refractories
7831 Paramount Blvd
Pico Rivera, CA 90660

FWIW, I observed all kinds of defects in the seconds yard at Pacific Clay and there were hundreds of pallets of all kinds of bricks. I'm much more aware of what to look for now, but when I was in the sales office I overheard the Manager Al tell multiple customers the reason the bricks were there was because the color was 'off'. Let the buyer beware!

Good luck,

John

[hb2474]

Thanks for the pictures of the bricks. I think I'll get the bricks for the floor from sepulveda bulding materials and then get the bricks for the dome from PC. I live in Lake Forest, Do you know any refractory companies closer my way. Gold coast was the closest I could get. How much was your blanket? Gold quoted me 40.00 for a 1" thick 50 square feet blanket.

[GianniFocaccia]

My pleasure, hb. I'm just beginning to lay the floor so haven't gotten around to purchasing the upper insulation yet. I have a sister-in-law that lives in Lake Forest (so I'm down there quite a bit) but not aware of any refractory suppliers. There used to be a killer homebrew supply on Trabuco and El Toro but not sure if they're around anymore.

[SCChris]

John you, your brother and HB might consider renting, if you can find one, a 14" over a weekend just to taper bricks.

Just a thought.

Chris

[GianniFocaccia]

Funny, Chris, my brother suggested the same thing. Think I'll look into the costs involved.

[hb2474]

If you talking about renting a saw, I just bought one. Havent opened it yet, but your more than welcome to cut some bricks if you need to. On another note I spoke with bob at Gold coast refractory and now the blanket cost 125.00. A salesman before quoted me 40.00. Then he wanted to charge be a huge amount for insulating boards. He also said that using vermiculite and concrete wont work and I'm getting info from the wrong crowd. Seriously I thought he was out of his mind. Anyway I'm going to check with ANH as soon as they open.

[SCChris]

If you have a 14" brick saw you are the envy of many around here, most of us have the Harbor Freight 10" brick saw.

Look at your a private messages.

Chris