May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Ok just picked up 4 bags of heatstop50. Hope it's enough for the entire project.

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Remember it's recommended NOT to mortar in your floor. Use the fire clay and sand mix for that.

faith

[Aegis]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Hi, You are going great guns so far, keep up the good work! From personal experience I would HIGHLY recommend putting your solider course on top of you hearth bricks. I would not mortar them down to allow for expansion. I have an extremely nasty crack that I can only attribute to having the gap between my wall and hearth have some firebrick pieces or mortar. When curing the oven the floor expanded and pushed on the soldiers enough to separate them and have a large see through crack. I also blame my self for probably not having the mortar mixed properly when that first couple of bricks were set as I am (was) a total novice at mortar mixing. But the main culperit was the soldiers around the floor. I think someone here mentioned that you will probably never replace a hearth brick next to the wall so why cut all those hearth bricks into a circle. If you still want to do the inside heart set up make sure you stuff cardboard in between the hearth bricks and wall so you have a good chance of not repeating my mistake.
Good Luck
John

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Thanks for the tip, John. I already cut my floor bricks into a circle. I planed on just laying the wall bricks around on top of the vermiculite and mortaring only the back joints while leaving the small air gap between the floor bricks and wall bricks. Any thoughts on this guys?

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Also, any thoughs on adding a coloring agent to the heatstop to match the mortar joints to the brick color instead of gray?

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

You will want to make a mix of fireclay and sand and water. Using a notched trowel set this mix down like you were laying floor tile. This way you will be able to get your floor pretty level. Any raised edge of your floor brick will catch your peal.

Sorry I don't have the correct ratio at hand to the fireclay and sand mix I'm sure someone knows and will chime in.

I laid my floor brick tight and on the inside of my solders and I have had no cracking issues.

I would not recommend the color agent to the heat stop. I don't know for sure it would be bad but I would hate to build my oven and find out that I messed up the mortar for the sake of color.

Faith

[Aegis]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

I laid my floor brick tight and on the inside of my solders and I have had no cracking issues.

I would not recommend the color agent to the heat stop. I don't know for sure it would be bad but I would hate to build my oven and find out that I messed up the mortar for the sake of color.

Faith

Most people don't have a problem. The "problem" was two fold the hearth under coupled with gap being filled with firebrick bits/mortar droppings. If you have the bricks cut just remember the gap needs to stay clear. Pizza Bob used cardboard which he said just burned away with his first few fires. The hearth does expand a lot with heat.
I just want people to avoid my stupidity/slopiness

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Heatstop says on their website that you can mix color like you would any mortar with their product.

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Survived the NYC hurricane and today finally was able to get back to working on the oven. Laid the floor, first 2 courses of wall brick and started the interior arch. Using yellow firebrick and heatstop50 refractory mortar.

[brickie in oz]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Nice........

[chidding]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

If possible you should taper those bricks. I find it's structurally more sound and looks awesome. Amazing work so far. Really stumped as to why someone with such skill never went DIY in the first place!

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Thanks guys. It's my first time working with brick. Far from a skill.

You mean tapering the sides so I use less mortar in between? Won't that make me use alot more bricks per chain?

[vtsteve]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Just taper the arch bricks. If the mortar bond ever breaks, the bricks will remain in position. Without the taper, the brick can fall straight out of the 'slot' formed by the mortar on either side.

[chidding]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

Thanks guys. It's my first time working with brick. Far from a skill.

You mean tapering the sides so I use less mortar in between? Won't that make me use alot more bricks per chain?

Nah just for the arch! just love the look of barely any mortar.

[NYC]

Re: May be starting my 42" Pompeii in NYC this week...

My 10" saw doesn't want to cut the brick on it's side, only laying flat down. Any ideas to cut a vertical taper other than a dry angle grinder?