I'd like to layout and cut new fire brick for a fire box...

[TroyR]

Can anyone give me a link to laying out a fire box and how to angle cut the fire brick? I am a bricklayer so masonry is not the problem. I am just not sure how to cut my fire box for my fireplace...

sincerely, Troy

 

[Homefire]

Try this design

http://www.rumford.com/pictures.html

 

[TroyR]

Thanks homefire but I don't see any indication of how the fireboxes are cut or built...They are nice tho.

 

[Homefire]

What do you mean cut? How to cut bricks or do you mean the curve of the fire box?
There is a link there tha says plans and instructions. http://www.rumford.com/plans.html

 

[TroyR]

The firebrick would have to be trimmed to fit where the back of the firebox meets the sides...And also to fit beneath the draft properly. Rather that just snap a brick with my brick hammer to fit, I'd rather make clean cuts and identical on both sides for aesthetics. The first two courses on at the back are plumb. then the brick start to lean 17 degrees to the front to catch the iron draft.
This is not the Rumford. Anyway, there is a way to lay it all out on the the floor first and mark the cuts for the saw. I just cannot find it on the net.
Anybody?

 

[elkimmeg]

Lots of masons use a chop saw with a masonary blade. As for the layout? Remember working with refactory cement dries a lot quicker that common motar. That's right Reffactory cement is required by code in cementing the fire brick. You can also use thiner joint with it. The fire box shall be 20" or more dept at the bottom and backed by 8" solid masonry units cement or motar. That is if you plan to make it code compliant? Most masons dry layout the first two rows then cement them in. One then can dry run on top before motaring them in each consetive rows. What you want to do is measure the height of the base floor to the damper flange, then divide the difference,to figure how much the rear bricks need to be angled in each row. It usually works out round 1/2" tilt in per row of bricks

 

[begreen]

Well, I know this isn't what you are looking for but here is a cool photo doumentation of the building of a masonry heater. It's a really nice record of the construction. Shows them casting refractory slabs and dig the outdoor oven in the lunchtime scene.

http://mha-net.org/docs/v8n2/docs/wkshop04b.htm