quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

[oatcake]

hi,
im in the process of building my first brick pizza oven, (still not decided which design yet, ie barrel or dome), but i was wondering if anyone could help me with a question about the oven baking hearth.
Im using reclaimed firebricks and the edges are not the best for a snug fit so i considering laying the firbricks ontop of an insulating layer and ontop of the bricks a thin leveling layer of fireclay/cement and then red quarry tiles as the baking surface giving me a nice even surface to cook on.
has anyone done this before, will the quarry tiles crack under the direct heat of the fire ? and will the firebrick underneath heat up ok and be able to radiate there heat back up ?
appologies if this has been answered before but im looking every day at the minute about brick ovens and i am being overwhelmed by all the info to take in.

regards

Andy

[patc]

Re: quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

Built a cob stove last year and i used quarry tile for the base. layed in a thin layer of sand over regular clay brick. 1 of the tiles cracked after 6 firings, but it is still in tack.

[scott123]

Re: quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

Quarry tiles are not engineered for direct flame settings. They will crack, and, when they do, they will be structurally weakened, and be far more likely to give off shards. If you're not paying attention and a shard ends up in the pizza, it will wreak havoc on teeth if either you or your guests bite into it.

[stonecutter]

Re: quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

hi,
im in the process of building my first brick pizza oven, (still not decided which design yet, ie barrel or dome), but i was wondering if anyone could help me with a question about the oven baking hearth.
Im using reclaimed firebricks and the edges are not the best for a snug fit so i considering laying the firbricks ontop of an insulating layer and ontop of the bricks a thin leveling layer of fireclay/cement and then red quarry tiles as the baking surface giving me a nice even surface to cook on.
has anyone done this before, will the quarry tiles crack under the direct heat of the fire ? and will the firebrick underneath heat up ok and be able to radiate there heat back up ?
appologies if this has been answered before but im looking every day at the minute about brick ovens and i am being overwhelmed by all the info to take in.

regards

Andy

There isn't any stone tile ( 1/2"-3/4")that will withstand the thermal cycling and not crack...even soapstone. You would be better off grinding the lippage of the floor brick to achieve the desired flatness.

[deejayoh]

Re: quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

Lots of threads in here on this topic, as SC says, the consensus is it won't work. My experience is that they crack even in a home oven when used as a pizza stone.

[oatcake]

Re: quarry tiles onto firebrick as oven floor ?

Thanks for the replies . I think I will get some 1" firebrick for the floor or I might even cut the face of the ones I have smooth if I have the time.
Regards
Andy.