Finding a Ceramic FB in Vermont = seeing a unicorn

[Give_Me_Spices]

Hi all,
a newbie here. I've been reading quite a lot of the forum posts so at least I ask the proper questions.
The current halt in my project is apparently my complete inability to find the 2" ceramic fiber board in Vermont. At best I can find 1" online and it's prohibitively expensive, let alone to double up. CalSil boards are pretty much the same thing, a good example of that is Grainger where one can find CalSil Board 1" thick and at a considerable cost, especially if it were to be double layered for a 42" oven. The lowest cost I have been able to find for ceramic FB, to cover the floor of my 42 " design, including shipping is $360. If this is the deal of the century please let me know. Is there anyone else in the area that has found local sources? Are there any websites that offer it at a good price?

Other than that I'm really excited to be a part of the FB forum and I'm greatly appreciative of you time and willingness to help a newcomer like myself.

Regards,
GMS

[JRPizza]

Welcome to the forum! Most folks find that ceramic insulation can be the biggest cost drivers in building an oven, which is why many resort to using an insulated concrete mix with perlite or vermiculite for under their floor and or around the dome. I used FB board and found mine locally at a Harbison Walker distribution center. I had to make a road trip out of it but picked up both my blanket and board and saved a bunch on shipping. Not sure if that is an option for you or not. Also our host Forno Bravo sells insulating board and you can check price and shipping on their site. Something else to consider that helps with the cost is oven sizing. I built a 39" oven because at that size you end up with a 48" OD to sit on your board. The board I bought came in 12X36 so making a 48" base was easy without lots of waste.

[Chach]

Not sure where in Vermont you are but there is a Distribution International in New York state. I bought mine from here and others have as well. They are nationwide .

Thermogold 12 is what I went with. I also used foamglas on the bottom layer which is a non absorbent glass cellular insulation and the the thermogold 12 on top of that. If water penetrates your dome this takes the place of putting ceramic tile underneath your calsil board. Here is the info for the insulation supplier

Distribution International
703 CORPORATIONS PARK
SCOTIA, NY 12302-1020
Phone: 518-370-4231


Ricky

[UtahBeehiver]

A 5 to 1 perlite or vermiculite/portland mix a min of 4" thick is a budgetary option for the floor insulation. You can use it as well with a 8-10 to 1 for dome insulation. Both perlite and vermiculate are readily available at most masonry or concrete block store and sold in 4 cubic foot bags. Also the new Thermo Gold 1200 (formally 12) is water resistance. It the new version being produced.

[Give_Me_Spices]

All,
thank you very much for your suggestions.
JRPizza, I dwelled a bit on what you said and I did decide to spend the money on the Ceramic FB as opposed to the cheaper alternatives. I believe it's a good investment.
What is extremely frustrating as a beginner is the astounding discrepancy in pricing and general scarcity of the material. So today I called Harbison Walker and they quoted me $830 for a high density board and $650 for low density. I contacted McGills Warehouse out of California and they actually offer the board and a much lower price, including shipping the cost is $300, so I went ahead and ordered it.

Chach, as far as I can tell the address you've provided is in Schenectady, which is about 1.5 hrs away from where I am, totally worth the trip. From what I understand you offset the insulation from the floor with a non-absorbent material in case water from the sides begins to seep in, to prevent soaking up your CalSil boards. If foamglass could be purchased from Distribution International I'd take the trip. Would you mind giving me the product information?

What happens with the Ceramic Board if water gets into it? Does it crumble or expand?

UtahBeehiver, great info as well. I still haven't planned out my dome cover so I'll take your suggestion into consideration.


GMS

[JRPizza]

Yes, it pays to shop around. I can't remember what I paid at HW but it was I believe on some kind of sale or clearance. I ended up getting 2.5" thick and doubling it. I think if I was not able to do a local pickup and had to pay for shipping I would have gone with McGills too.

[Give_Me_Spices]

I'm moving outside of the topic here but I wanted to ask how much ceramic blanket should I get for a 42 in oven?

[UtahBeehiver]

All depends on thickness of the material and how many layers and thickness of the final insulation. You can estimate by calculating the area of a sphere then half it.

[Chach]

All,
thank you very much for your suggestions.
JRPizza, I dwelled a bit on what you said and I did decide to spend the money on the Ceramic FB as opposed to the cheaper alternatives. I believe it's a good investment.
What is extremely frustrating as a beginner is the astounding discrepancy in pricing and general scarcity of the material. So today I called Harbison Walker and they quoted me $830 for a high density board and $650 for low density. I contacted McGills Warehouse out of California and they actually offer the board and a much lower price, including shipping the cost is $300, so I went ahead and ordered it.

Chach, as far as I can tell the address you've provided is in Schenectady, which is about 1.5 hrs away from where I am, totally worth the trip. From what I understand you offset the insulation from the floor with a non-absorbent material in case water from the sides begins to seep in, to prevent soaking up your CalSil boards. If foamglass could be purchased from Distribution International I'd take the trip. Would you mind giving me the product information?

What happens with the Ceramic Board if water gets into it? Does it crumble or expand?

UtahBeehiver, great info as well. I still haven't planned out my dome cover so I'll take your suggestion into consideration.


GMS

Sorry I didn't notice this last week but I used the following for my 36" oven and I paid the following at DI last year.

Thermal Gold 12 – 2” – price $5.49 a SF.
Foamglas....1 1/2” thick - 2.98 per sq ft

1” Durablanket 8# - price 2.10 a SF.

27 sqft foamglas 1 1/2"
27 sqft Thermal Gold 12 - 2"
150sq ft 1" ceramblanket


Ricky

[Give_Me_Spices]

Thank you for the information. I'm just at my last stage of collecting materials, before I get to the actual building. I will present my design in a different thread to get the feedback of the community.

GMS