Laying bricks lengthwise

[jay29]

Other than not having a smooth inside dome, would it be a huge deal to lay firebricks lengthwise while building the dome? Of course, the exterior won't matter with the insulation added.

Would oven performance suffer?

[cobblerdave]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Gudday
Interesting..... You couldn't do it for long as you progress up the dome you need to go down to 1/4 brick and smaller!
Regards dave

[brickie in oz]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Cant see why not all you are doing is making thermal mass, Im sure the fire or pizza dont give a hoot which ever way you lay em.

[david s]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

It means half as many vertical joins and also makes it easier to ensure joins are staggered. Only downside is that the inside surface is more uneven.

[boerwarrior]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

another issue with full bricks is that the inverted "V's" on either side of the bricks will be very large (the size of the V's is related to the width of the brick facing in.) You will also have much larger gaps above and below the bricks. So this means either:
- more mortar
- more cutting
Doesn't sound to me like you save anything
Neil

[david s]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

The gaps above and below the the bricks would surely be the same as if you used half bricks. Assuming half bricks are cut on both sides, the cutting of both sides of full bricks, although the angle is bigger, means less cutting and with half as many vertical joins means less mortar.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Gudday
Why even bother with big fat bricks now that I think about it . Why not go pavers! Just like the flat bricks used in the old school Pompeii ovens. You could get an interesting dome with them laying them horizontally or vertically
Regards dave

[Greenman]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Might be time to consider the continuous coil method of laying these fat bricks/pavers. If you wanted to get sophisticated then reducing the length of the bricks/pavers as you go up would make the thing as neat as a pin!

Cheers ............ Steve

Sorry about that. Comes with being a surviving brain donor.

[david s]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Now that I'd love to see. You'd have to taper at least the first few bricks.

[mamaspizza]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Other than esthetics, there is nothing wrong with laying the bricks lengthwise? Are there any pictures of finished ovens like that?

[Tscarborough]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

I doubt there are pictures of an oven built like that. There is no advantage to that method after the second or third course, and many disadvantages.

[mamaspizza]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

What is done is done. They were laid lengthwise the first two rows and then cut a little bit and a little bit more to fit as it went up to the opening. The inside of the oven floor is 119 cm. or 46.85 inches. It is 7 rows high including the circle closure, I'm not familiar with oven terminology. A guide was used and everything looks really great...the builder is doing everything according to spec. I was only shocked when it came to actually building the dome and became worried it wouldn't hold the temps like it's intended to. The builder said they are only building mass and it will work just fine. I wish that their HA-55 refractory bricks weren't so difficult to cut. Other than the dome not being aesthetically beautiful on the inside as I had hoped for, it looks really good. The shape and ratios, everything is correct.

Are the disadvantages just that the builder makes more work for themselves filling in gaps? What are the disadvantages? After taking the guide out they will smooth the inside with the food grade/heat resistant mortar.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

The disadvantage is larger mortar exposure. In the overall scheme of things, I wouldn't worry about it, like the builder said, it is for mass only. The brick should not be hard to cut though, is he using high duty firebrick? If those are used on the floor you might have some issues with getting an even bake, they have a high conductivity and the bottom will cook faster than the top. Again, not a tear-down reason, but you will spend more time doming the pizza than normally.

[mamaspizza]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

[mamaspizza]

Re: Laying bricks lengthwise

Ok...what does mortar exposure do???