Gap between bricks?

[dsm]

Hello everyone i just finally figured out how to upload pics, well i am currently on my sixth ring in my dome and just a little worried about the gaps that are coming in now. Is there a specific angle that i am suppose to be cutting the brick? so far i have not cut any angles at all just cut bricks in half so far but the triangles between the bricks seem to be getting bigger..


Thanks,
Dave

[Tscarborough]

Re: Gap between bricks?

So long as you are using good mortar, no worries. It is inevitable with the design.

[dsm]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Im using the homebrew - 3:1:1:1

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: Gap between bricks?

They will get bigger and bigger as you go also. You can use mortar or you can cut an angle. On the 6th run I angled just one side. As I went up I angled both sides. When I got close to the top I angled both sides and narrowed down the width of the brick. I don't have specific angles for you but with a few test cuts you can find the angle easy.

Hope that helps.

[dsm]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Ok thanks, will try some trial pieces tomorrow and see how it goes if it stops raining here in NJ this rain is killing me.

[tonybaker]

Re: Gap between bricks?

I took the top corner off the brick...my thoughts on mortaring the gap are that it's not necessary - it only increases the chance of mortar falling into your pizza and of being sued by your friends! The outer insulation layer should keep the heat in. Of course I aim for as tight a fit on the bricks as possible.
My method for placing the bricks was to scribe a line down the centre of the brick and aim this at the centre mark on the floor. After a while you get a feel for how much mortar to place under the brick, or you can use a 20mm piece of wood as a guide. As long as the face of the brick can reflect the heat back to the centre of the oven, all should be well?

[deejayoh]

Re: Gap between bricks?

If you want to get rid of the triangles, you have to tilt the brick up at the same angle that it will be in the course you are working on when you run it through the saw. Look at Hendo's twist and tilt thread, it gives pretty good step by step instructions on how to get a compound angle cut.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...tilt-2802.html

[nissanneill]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Hi Dave,
as you get higher, the gaps will increase proportionally both between the rows and between the bricks.
To reduce these, you might use a diamond saw to take a thin wedge off either the top or bottom of the brick and using that wedge pushed into your home brew, the same could be done on the sides of the bricks but yo would need to cut a small wedge off each side.
At least you home brew (in my opinion) is your best and most economic alternative.
Don't cut off too much as it will increase your row count and your brick count per row.

Cheers.

Neill

[Lburou]

Re: Gap between bricks?

FWIW, I tapered most of the bricks and tried for almost no mortar on the inside of the dome....If I had a do-over, I'd not cut any bricks and would make the mortar a quarter inch thick on the inside of the dome and let the mortar do its work to hold everything in place. I made it much more difficult than was necessary.

[dsm]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Thank you all for the helpful Comments, I will give it a shot tonight.

Again thanks.

Dave

[shuboyje]

Re: Gap between bricks?

The professional Italian oven builders mortar between chains but not between bricks. Once the dome is built this way they fill the triangles between the bricks with castable refractory. I used this method on the upper courses of my low dome oven and really like it.

[dsm]

Re: Gap between bricks?

So you are saying triangles are good ?

[shuboyje]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Not really, just giving you an easy but effective option to address them. Mortar is much weaker then brick. Over time if the mortar in those triangles was to break down it could weaken the dome. Castable refractory is not as strong as firebrick, but it is much much stronger then mortar. Your other options are to simply fill them with mortar and or to spend a lot of time cutting custom brick.

[dsm]

Re: Gap between bricks?

Oh ok i understand now, i was taking a look at hendos page and probably gonna go that route i am halfway there no im gonna have to make alot of cuts . thanks again for you input..