Help with reclaimed fire bricks!

[Bantar1000]

I know this has sorta been covered. But I just wanna be safe. I'm trying to build an oven and I volunteer at a thrift store that someone just donated a couple houses to salvage before they are torn down tomorrow. So I went straight to the fireplaces and pulled out all of the fire brick I could get. I didn't think about them being asbestos until after I tore them out. They are heavy, and were all in a fireplace. How do I know are they safe to use from asbestos, and is there anything else I should think about? Thanks so much, here's some pics. -John

[R. Barton]

Look like fire brick to me. I'd probably use them. John. Good luck!

[Gulf]

They look like residential fireplace firebrick to me. However, I'm not sure that you reclaimed enough out of just 2 fireboxes to complete an oven. How about some diminsions? You may have to reclaim more or mix them with new to finish. Estimate for your dome only. You will want to buy new for the floor and inner arch imo. Price new firebrick in you area. Some, here in the states, have found that they are not as expensive as they previously thought.

[Bantar1000]

Thanks so much for the replies! Now that I'm a little less rushed to make sure I'm not gonna die of asbestos poisoning I was wrong. I have 4 houses each with 2 fire boxes. These bricks when complete measure 9" x 4 1/2" x 2 1/2". They're nasty on one side, but the other looks great. I'm happy you said use them for the dome. Good idea. I will probably buy the base, and the first level (soldiers?) new. Then mix these in the dome, cause I'm not that concerned about looks as much as cost and taste!

The rate I found for fire bricks is $1.65 a piece. Is that about right or think I could find them cheaper? I'm not cheap as much as determined! lol I play and teach banjo for a living (It's not a good living but it's fun) and am not afraid of doing stupid work! HAHA

Also any advice on cleaning them? Thanks again!

John

John

[Gulf]

The only concern would be the soot on the face side. Just wire brush. If you have time, water and a scrub brush will work wonders. If you are cutting with a wet saw use, use the cut side to the inside. Any mortar that doesn't come off with a wire brush will be just fine to leave in place. It will probably be just a very thin application anyway.

[dakzaag]

Good job on reclaiming the used brick, probably worth saving anything half or bigger.

900 º F fire is about the best cleaning operation you can hope for. Cleans, disinfects, sterilize and drives out moisture in one easy step. Mortar can usually be cut off with a saw or even tapped off with hammer and chisel.

1.65 is pretty cheap for firebrick, they are probably low/medium duty and dimensions are 2.25" or even 2.12" thick, which is no problem as long as you realize they are thinner than the reclaimed brick. I bet the reclaimed brick are a lot more robust then new ones. They don't make things like they used to.

[AndrewT]

These look much nicer that the ones I drove for an hour to look at a couple of days ago (See pics).

I think maybe all the ones that were even close to their original shape have already been taken.

Not sure if I can do anything with these although I thought maybe I could crush some into dust and use them to make homebrew. Anyone know how I would crush some of these?

Or maybe I could buy a saw and just cut off all the edges and make them into small even tiles to make my floor out of?