Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

[1812]

Okay, here's where we are and we are hoping for some advice. Stand is complete with 4" of structural concrete. Today we bought enough Insblok 19 to build a 3" insulation area. The girl asked what we needed it for. When we said it was for a pizza oven she asked what we were using for the floor. We said medium duty firebrick and she was not too happy. She advised not to have food come in direct contact with the firebrick due to the health risks from the Alumina in the bricks ( Alzheimers and Cancer apparently)
A bit more research on the internet shows that there is some debate about this, some saying it is low risk, and some saying why take ANY risk. SO the question is, if we decided not to cook directly on the brick, what is the alternative, and does it go directly onto the insblock, or do we have to put down firebrick first, then soapstone or whatever on top? and finally, any ideas where to get soapstone in Central Florida and what would the cost be?

One step forward... one step back

Thanks for your help.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

There is no debate about it all. Firebrick are vitrified, end of story. I bet she didn't immunize her kids either.

Soapstone is good if you plan on cooking at lower temps, but anything above 700 degrees and you will be scorching the bottoms of your pizzas before the cheese melts.

[Laurentius]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

I agree with Tscarborough! I don`t know about her immunization belief, but if she had said that too much water would kill you, I would had agreed.

[NCMan]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

I also wanted to add that you may want to reconsider using medium duty firebrick for your floor and look into low duty instead. Just my opinion.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

And a good one. Low duty make an excellent floor, and you can use the medium duty in the domes.

[vertigopilot]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

There is no debate about it all. Firebrick are vitrified, end of story. I bet she didn't immunize her kids either.

Poppycock! Fear of firebricks is a phobia sharing the same basic irrational belief in pseudo-science that compels otherwise reasonable people to inject themselves with poisons in the hope of obtaining "immunity" from one danger, while happily risking a host of new dangers.

My children aren't immunized, and eat pizza only from my firebrick oven. One needs to be sensible about what is truly worth worrying over.

[Toomulla]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

Her kids most likely have to suck their pizza as the teeth haven rotted due to avoidance of fluoride ( alum based) in theirwTer��

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

Measles:

Polio:




That is some mighty powerful psuedo-science right there, Bud. You only have the luxury of NOT vaccinating because of all those who did. So do the future a favorite and immunize.

Look! It even works in secondary sources:

[vertigopilot]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

That is some mighty powerful psuedo-science right there, Bud. You only have the luxury of NOT vaccinating because of all those who did. So do the future a favorite and immunize.

Wonderful. If immunizations are such foolproof insurance against disease for those who choose to take them, then why would any of you need to push them on MY kids too? You're already golden, aren't you?

Not wishing to suborn any further derailment of the OP's thread, I'll decline further comment on the subject here. Same goes for the fluoride trope.

[Les]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

1812,

If I had to do it over again, I would put soapstone in the entry. When you are cooking, it WILL stain the brick and firebrick is a bitch to clean. It's a fairly small piece of product and the $$$ spent would be well worth it.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

This is my last post on this, because it doesn't belong here, and no amount of facts is going to convince you, so it is a waste of time.

The way immunization works, it is only effective if the large majority of a given population are immunized. The flip side of that that is relevant here is that once a disease is eradicated, as those two have been, it only takes a small population of infective vectors, i.e. your kids, to allow the disease to regain a foothold.

Your ilk can alone undo the good that has been done in the last 50 or 60 years, and the reality is you do it based not on science but fear and ignorance.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

I would not recommend soapstone in the entryway for several reasons. Firstly, soapstone is soft and prone to scratching from dragging pots, pans and peels into and out of the oven. Second, soapstone is porous and soaks up oil/grease and looks hideous unless wiped up immediately or is inside the oven to conveniently burn off. Since airflow across the entryway floor draws into the oven, this results in a much lower entryway temperature not sufficient to 'self-clean'. Lastly, unless a heatbreak is built in, soapstone in the entryway turns into a giant heatsoak, and robs the oven of residual heat. SCChris tested and reported this (post #121) here:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/sc...d-7035-13.html

Like Les says, there's no health risk to firebrick inside the oven. If you're concerned about entryway stains, consider stainless steel.

John

[Les]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

If you're concerned about entryway stains, consider stainless steel.

John, I thought soapstone was closer to granite and easy to clean. I never used the product, just remember some threads flying around a few years back. The stainless is a great idea. I could incorporate it in my entry with no real mods required. Thanks!

[dakzaag]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

Soap stone is soft like butter, you can carve it with a knife like it is pine. It is not like Granite at all. It is popular in fireplaces and ovens because it retains heat very well and gives it back for a long time.

Thank you TS for your very complete explanation about vaccines. I am wishing I took time to meet you last month in Vegas, you are a smart man.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor, brick or soapstone?

Yeah, I was bummed that I could not get together with you guys, it was a hectic show and my time was not my own.