Day one problems

[btflorida]

Started my design work and I already have problems.

I went to my local brick supplier today and they no longer carry the regular firebrick. They now only have the high duty bricks at $1.85 each. One year ago they had the regular duty ones for $1.17 each. They suggested I use a clay paver which is fired the same as a firebrick. With all the reasearch I have done here I will use that as a last resort only. It may mean that I will have to travel 2 hours to Tampa where I should find the correct brick. I must admit the pavers are attractive at $0.36 each.

On a bright note they can order the 50lb bag of Heatstop 50 for $75 plus shipping. They only have the 10 lb pail. I would love to order more from this site but the shipping from CA to FL is a killer.

Guess I will have to keep looking.

[Les]

Re: Day one problems

Have you considered the brick kit from FB? Shipping may be a show stopper, but it may be an option.

Pompeii110 Oven Kit :: Installation Accessories :: Forno Bravo Store

Les...

[btflorida]

Re: Day one problems

Initially I did. I was looking at the 90 due to size constraints. The web site lists crating and shipping at $1280. More than the cost of the oven. It's a lot cheaper to drive to Tampa.
I will be ordering the insulation from the site , as I haven't had any luck finding that cheaper locally.

[RTflorida]

Re: Day one problems

bt, if you come to Tampa you will have a few choices for firebrick, I have one that I highly recommend. Although I did not purchase any products for my oven initially, I have purchased stone and pavers from them in the past as well as about 3 wks ago.

Oldcastle Coastal/Coloroc - (locals simply call them Coloroc as that has been there name for many years)
Located on Anderson Rd. in Tampa, Phone = 813-886-7761 or 800-344-7761

Their firebrick price has not changed in 3 yrs - I think they just quoted me $1.24, same as 3 yrs ago. Very clean and smooth bricks. I went with a cheaper supplier 3 yrs ago (77 cents each) in Lakeland, my bricks were a lot rougher and irregular than those at Coloroc.
I'm pretty sure they stock Heatstop 50 so you would not have to pay for shipping.
If you have REALLY deep pockets, they also sell Mugnaini ovens, starting at around $5000 - no, that does not include installation.
Great people, I just spent $200 on stone and pavers for my oven 'remodel/waterproofing' and after I paid and they loaded me up I mentioned I also needed about a dozen flagstones, they told me to pick what I needed and 'don't worry about it' (general manager, not the yard help) - saving me about $50-$60.

If you don't mind the drive to Lakeland, I can look up the number and address of the place in Lakeland. The lesser quality bricks were 77 cents and Heatstop 50 was $55 a bag - 3 yrs ago.
I had zero luck on reasonable insulation locally as well. I bought my blanket, vermiculite, and perlite all on the internet.

RT

[btflorida]

Re: Day one problems

RT

Thanks for the info. Actually I have the phone number for Oldcastle right in front of me. I was planning on calling them today. If I can plan a trip properly, it may be worth getting the cheaper bricks for the dome and using the good ones from Oldcastle for the floor. Otherwise I will just get all of them from Tampa. I might think about that if I have a trip to Orlando in the near future. Would the place in Lakeland you mentioned be Cement Products and Supply Company, on Main Street?

Thanks
bt

[RTflorida]

Re: Day one problems

Thats it! the most simple name, but I can never remember it. Good luck, keep us posted.


RT

[james]

Re: Day one problems

btflorida,

Give us a call on 800 407 5119 and ask to get the actual shipping cost. It seems that the FB Store is calculating from a wrong weight or dimension. We will check into that.

James

[grega]

Re: Day one problems

BTflorida, I just bought fire brick from old castle on Metro pkwy. for 1.75 a pc. they did quote me 1.85 and I said COME ON!! She did knock off 10cents, WOW! Anyway it helped . Buy the way I am in Ft. Myers, and am in the construction of my oven, drop me a line.

[grega]

Re: Day one problems

BT Florida, where in Ft. Myers are you?

[btflorida]

Re: Day one problems

Grega

Thanks for the info. Was it Bell and Cook on Metro? I have been dealing with Ruck Brothers who no longer stock the regular duty FB. I will call them tomorrow. How far along are you with your project?

Actually I am in Lehigh, but most know where Ft. Myers is and they have never heard of Lehigh.

bt

[grega]

Re: Day one problems

Btflorida,
I bought them from old castle on metro pkwy. just north of winkler, they are average duty for fireplaces and will be fine for this application, The price was a bit high but would cost way more in time and gas( not to mention the weight of hauling them back to FM) to go to Tampa which is where Old Castle's main office is located. I want the oven to not only cook pizza but store enough heat for baking bread long after the belly is full. ha! I am in N. Ft. myers near Orange Grove and Hancock Brdg.

[btflorida]

Re: Day one problems

grega

After calling oldcastle in Tampa I confirmed that their distributor in Fort Myers is Ruck Brothers, which is on Metro just north of Winkler. When I went to Ruck Bros. a couple of days ago they only had the High Duty FB for 1.85 each. I have no idea and maybe someone who knows can comment, but according to the instructions on the Pompeii oven I downloaded from this website, the High Duty bricks will get too hot. (Appendex 2, Brick primer, pg70).

Again I have no idea what I am talking about, only what I have read from this site. I just didn't want you to go through all the work to have problems afterward. When I purchased the HD bricks a year ago, the item number on the reciept was FIRBHD. You may want to check.

Hopefully someone with more experience will enlighten me.

bt

[grega]

Re: Day one problems

They call these premium duty meaning very smooth,The alumina content in these bricks are 28.7 percent which is about were you want to be. And by the way Ruck Bros. was bought out by Old Castle.

[btflorida]

Re: Day one problems

That's great news. I was obviously misinformed. When I went in there she told me that they were High Duty bricks. Those would be perfect, guess I will get mine there. I wonder why OC/RB in FM is 1.85 vs 1.45 in Tampa?

Thanks for the info!!!

bt

[grega]

Re: Day one problems

Well BTflorida,I guess the cost of trucking them down here has gone up, of course they didn't have 230 of them when I ordered them they had to ship them from Tampa, she still knocked off ten cents appice which as I said before did help and I was grateful as I told her. I concidered going up there , but for the time and not to mention the weight of them i just thru it down and had them deliver to my home. They will be fine for this oven, save yourself some time and go get em!! Ask for a discount I'm sure she will give it to you. Are you under construction? Can you smell the pizza yet?ha! Do you have e-mail available? G