using 1-1/2" industrial baker floor tiles

[gcarey]

I found these 12 x 12 1-1/2" thick industrial baker floor tiles at earth stone ovens. Does anyone have any experiance with these? I am wondering how the heat retention would be directly on an insulation layer without any additional mass added.

[dmun]

They sound like the big firebricks that are called "refractory tiles". If that's indeed what they are they will work fine: James is putting something like that in the pompeii kits.

Do they look like firebrick material?

My only qualm is the 1.5 inch thickness: that might be a little thin. If this concerns you, you could always put a layer of something like heavy terracotta tiles to beef up the mass to the desired 2.25 inch thickness.

[GianniFocaccia]

I am going to look at some soapstone remnants today and depending on what the supplier has, will probably buy 4-5 small pieces to patch together to cover a 42" floor and part of the entryway. My initial question is: Will a 3/4" thick piece of soapstone work as well as a 1 1/4" piece if placed directly on top of a 2 1/2" firebrick? Given the cost of the soapstone I don't want to invest in splits if I can help it. I don't mind placing 1 1/4" soapstone on top of full firebricks if the additional thermal mass is not cost-prohibitive in wood.

[gcarey]

Originally Posted by dmun

They sound like the big firebricks that are called "refractory tiles". If that's indeed what they are they will work fine: James is putting something like that in the pompeii kits.

Do they look like firebrick material?

My only qualm is the 1.5 inch thickness: that might be a little thin. If this concerns you, you could always put a layer of something like heavy terracotta tiles to beef up the mass to the desired 2.25 inch thickness.

They look like firebricks just much heavier. I have heard that terracotta tiles take a long time to heat up but not sure if that is true. If I used the terracotta tiles and the refractory tiles would you use a thin refractory mortar to bond the two?

I don't have to use these tiles even though they are available to me so do you think it would be better to use standard firebrick?