6x8x1 5/8 fire brick

[franklussier]

Hi guys
I just got some bricks that are 1 5/8 thick - I would like to use the brick for the cooking floor, is this possible? Should I add more insulation to compensate for the base?

Thanks
Frank

[Jed]

Hi Frank,

I would consider using two layers of these brick for your cooking floor. The objective it to get the appropriate amount of thermal mass.

The standard Pompeii plan uses one standard fire brick or 2 1/5 inches of thickness and two of your brick will be just a bit over 3 inches. - a bit more mass will require a bit more fuel to get to temperature, but would hold heat a bit longer.... The 2 1/5 inches has proven to be a good amount of mass for most residential applications. I don't know if there would be any problems with the thinner floor - 1 5/8 may be enough... and a bit over 3 inches would certainly work fine.

And lots of insulation is a good thing, regardless of the mass in your cooking floor. - a couple three inches of refractory insulation or four inches of perlite or vermiculite / concrete - at a minimum in the cooking floor.

Good luck with your build, and send along picture if you can, we like to see the progress!

JED

[franklussier]

Thanks Jed

I might just buy new brick for the floor, but the thing is in my area the
bricks cost $5/inch it is quite expensive.
I will post some pics soon.

Frank

[dmun]

You could also do an "island hearth" with a slug of ordinary concrete or common brick below the thinner refractory tiles for additional thermal mass. I do think the inch and five eighths tiles are a little thin by themselves.