Fire bricks

[grondon81]

I just got my arch and my bricks, what do you guys use for between the arch and the brick. I'm pretty cheap so I don't want to spend allot on the insulation. Thanks for looking and your comments are most appreciated.

[eustis22]

I used archboard but may switch to ceramic blanket for next season....I don't have any complaints with the archboard, though.

[grondon81]

Do you glue the archboard and or the blanket on the arch and them glue the bricks to the board or blanket.

[marktripp]

7188

I used arch board with 1-1/4" fire bricks in front held in place by the angle iron at a 90. It actually stand up without the angle iron but I'm not confident it would stay double stacked.

[marktripp]

7188

I used arch board with 1-1/4" fire bricks in front held in place by the angle iron at a 90. It actually stand up without the angle iron but I'm not confident it would stay double stacked.

As you can see on my back wall I didn't have to use the angle iron. They are held together tight enough the way I abutted the walls into it.

[eustis22]

right now my bricks are held with angle iron but in the off season I'm mortaring them in with refractory cement

[chicken123]

Is arch board the same as cement board?

[marktripp]

Is arch board the same as cement board?

I believe 2 different products. The arch board I used was 1" thick and has a heat rating. The stuff I call "cement board" is what you would use under tile and is either 1/2 or 1/4" thick.

[eustis22]

I'd not use cement board....you can find arch board at Bascom's

[Schiefe4]

718971907191

grondon81,

Instead of using a full brick (4 1⁄2" x 9" x 2 1⁄4", $1.80 ea.), I used block insulation board (1 x 12" x 36" @ 1900°F, $3.15 sq. ft.) between the arch and the split brick (4 1/2" x 9" x 1 1/4", $1.75 ea.). The insulation board can be cut to fit snug and will hold its place between the arch and the brick. Insulation board will not compress as easy as blanket insulation (1" x 24" @ 2300°F, $3.90 sq. ft.). After you brick/mortar the arch you won't have any problems. If you have a chop saw, a masonry blade ($9.23) is an inexpensive modification to the saw to cut your bricks. It will make a lot of dust so make sure to use a respirator and cut outside. Also make sure you do a loose fit of the bricks in the arch before you decide to mortar the bricks in place.

[jputney]

Schiefe, I am building an arch real similar to the pics you have. How do you stack the brick straight up and down and hold them in place? Just mortar them like regular brick?

[Schiefe4]

jputney,

That's exactly what I did. I used one bucket of Heat Stop Dry mortar (Gallon=10lbs, $24.50) for my 2'x4' setup. I cannot emphasize enough the need to cut the bricks and place in the arch for a loose fit before mortaring. Remove the bricks and lay them out on the ground to mimic how they would look in the arch so you have all the pieces in place for your brick/mortaring operation. It makes things super easy lol. Also, you do not need to insulate/brick below the grates. I extended a piece of angle from the ramp base to the arch front. The link below is to photos of our arch build. Hope they help.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101507110974344.3393686.2363160&type=1&l=970a9aee91

[Daves Maple Farm]

BE SURE your pans fit into the arch befor you cement your brick. We had to chisel the corners of both side of the arch as the flues in the flu pan hit the bricks!

[Middleton Maples]

If your cementing those bricks now make sure they're not frozen and soak them in a bucket of water before applying.