Vermiculite insulation Getting Started Discuss Vermiculite insulation in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Hi all I will be laying the vermiculite hearth tomorrow and was wondering if it must be kept dry once ...

[spt]

Hi all

I will be laying the vermiculite hearth tomorrow and was wondering if it must be kept dry once set. Does it absorb moisture during oven construction if it is not covered?


Regards

Dave

[dmun]

I will be laying the vermiculite hearth tomorrow and was wondering if it must be kept dry once set. Does it absorb moisture during oven construction if it is not covered?

It will absorb water (that's what vermiculite does as a soil conditioner) It won't break down or swell, but that's all moisture that will have to be driven off during your curing process. It doesn't hurt to throw a tarp over your project when you're not working on it.

[spt]

Thanks for the reply.

I keep it covered when I'm not working on it.


Cheers

Dave

[david s]

Once it has gone hard you will have to put effort into drying it out. Pull the tarp off if there's sun and breeze so it will dry as much as possible before firing.