Hello- I wanted to be clear about the standard brick size. I am having a hard time locating the 8 inch long bricks. I located one standard brick that size and I didn’t like the color of the brick. The bricks that I found are 7 5/8 X 2 1/4 X 3 5/8. I think this is a “modular” brick size. So- if I understand- this should not be a major issue correct? So the size of the firebrick will essentially be larger by 3/8 of an inch in all directions. Will that cause the firebrick to be sticking out from the edge of the oven or affect how the oven “sits” on the bricks? I am building the mattone barile, thanks!!
Hello Steve, and welcome to the BrickWood forum!
You are correct that your hearth (the area with the herringbone firebrick) will be slightly larger in all directions. The math for this, though, has to be doubled (because you have frame on two sides and two ends).
So if each framing standard brick is ⅜-inch shorter than the standard 8 inches, you will actually be 6/8-inch, or ¾-inch, short in each dimension (length and width). It will still come out to ⅜-inch per edge.
Practically, this will not affect your build. You will be cutting the herringbone firebrick to size, then laying the form on top of the hearth. You will lay it flush to the front lip of the hearth. When you do this, you’ll see that the form is fully inside of the hearth, with the idea that the firebrick arch will overlap the edges of the hearth brick. The oven will sit slightly closer to the front edge than it would if you had standard instead of modular brick, but it will still be well within the allowance you need to make for the door, even if you elect to close off the front of your oven.
So, short answer: the oven will not stick out from the edges with this slight variance.
Good luck with your build, and I’d love to see a photo of the bricks you chose!
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