Cooking Floor Bricks

[fremen325]

I am getting ready to lay my cooking floor. My plan is lay a herringbone pattern for my bricks then scribe the circle so I know where to cut the outer bricks. The plan is to enclose the floor bricks inside of the dome (vs. setting the dome on the floor bricks).

My question is do I use the fireclay/sand/water leveling material from the beginning knowing that I will have to pull the scribed bricks for cutting? Or do I do a test pattern, cut my bricks to fit, and then lay down the fireclay/sand/water leveling material and lay out the bricks in the final pattern?

[david s]

Re: Cooking Floor Bricks

Test pattern. You can do the levelling mix wet or dry too.

[mrchipster]

Re: Cooking Floor Bricks

Also number your bricks so you get them back in the same places. The test layout does not need to be perfectly level.

Also remember to have a spacer on the outside of your floor, between it and the dome bricks.

[fremen325]

Re: Cooking Floor Bricks

What is the spacer for? Brick expansion? Is it a spacer I can pull out later if I want to replace a brick?

[fremen325]

Re: Cooking Floor Bricks

I started laying out the test pattern for my cooking floor today. I used the recommended herringbone pattern but discovered an issue with this. My bricks are not exactly 2*width = length (they are close but not exactly) and the herringbone pattern will leave gaps. My thought is to do a staggered brick row pattern set at 45 deg. off the centerline. Is this a huge no-no that I am going to regret later? The staggered brick row pattern has no gaps and seems to have fewer corners than the herringbone layout so am wondering why herringbone is recommended.

[mrchipster]

Re: Cooking Floor Bricks

What is the spacer for? Brick expansion? Is it a spacer I can pull out later if I want to replace a brick?

The spacer is 1 - 2 layers of corregated cardboard to allow for expansion. It does not need to be removed, it will burn out at some point and the space will fill with ash from your fires.

A simple running bond at 45 degrees will serve the same purpose. Herringbone is just a different look to get the same 45 degree angle.