Alright, so you wanna know where to get them fire bricks, huh? Well, lemme tell ya, it ain’t as easy as pickin’ apples off a tree. But don’t you worry none, I’ll tell ya what I know.
First off, you gotta understand what these fire bricks are for. They ain’t just any old bricks, you see. They gotta be tough, gotta stand up to the heat. I heard tell they’re often white or kinda golden, sometimes a bit red from the fire. The old ones, they leave a mark like chalk if you rub ‘em on the sidewalk. The new ones, they don’t do that. Some got holes, some don’t. But they all gotta keep the fire in and the heat from messin’ up your stove.
Now, where to find ‘em? Well, the easiest place to start is them big stores, you know, the ones with everything.
- Home Depot: Yep, Home Depot, they usually got ‘em. All sorts of fire bricks for all sorts of things. Building a new fireplace? Fixin’ up the old one? They got you covered. But sometimes, them big stores, they run out, or they don’t have just what you need.
- Lowe’s: Same goes for Lowe’s. They got bricks too. Clay bricks, fire bricks, all kinds of bricks. You can even get them for buildin’ a wall in your yard, if you’re so inclined. They say “Shop at Lowe’s for the bricks you’ll need to complete your home improvement project — whether it’s building a retention wall”, whatever that means. But for fire bricks, they got ‘em. Just gotta look around a bit.
But what if them big stores don’t have what you need? Or maybe you want somethin’ a bit better, somethin’ that’ll really last? Well, then you gotta look a little harder.
You see, the best fire bricks, they’re made of special clay, stuff that can really take the heat. And that kind of stuff ain’t always cheap. The better the brick, the more it’s gonna cost ya. They say “Fire bricks of superior quality are often fashioned from refractory clay, boasting exceptional thermal resistance. As the quality and purity of the materials employed escalate, the production costs rise in tandem.” Sounds fancy, huh? Means the good stuff costs more.
So, where else can you look?
Well, you can try them specialty stores, the ones that sell fireplace stuff. They might have better bricks, but they’ll probably cost ya a bit more too. And there are places like McMaster Carr, I heard they sell real tough bricks, the kind that can handle super high heat, like 2600 degrees! But they ain’t cheap neither, and you gotta pay for shippin’, which can be a lot ‘cause them bricks are heavy. They say “McMaster Carr sells 2600F bricks for about $10 a brick before shipping (they’re heavy so it may be quite a bit depending on how far you are from them).” Ten dollars a brick! That’s a lot of money.
And don’t forget about lookin’ around your own town. Sometimes, the little hardware stores, they got stuff the big stores don’t. Or maybe there’s a brickyard nearby, a place where they make bricks. You might be able to get a good deal there. Just gotta ask around, see what you can find. And remember, them RUTLAND Fire Bricks are supposed to be good too, for fireplaces and stoves, wood or coal. Someone said, “RUTLAND Fire Bricks are perfect for intermediate duty for building new fireplaces or to replace old or broken bricks in existing fixtures (wood or coal stoves, furnaces.” I don’t know what “intermediate duty” means, but they sound alright.
Now, about them prices. They can be all over the place. Them big stores, they might have cheaper bricks, but they might not be the best. The specialty stores, they’ll have better bricks, but they’ll cost more. And then you gotta think about shippin’, if you’re buyin’ online. It all adds up, you know. So, you gotta figure out what you need and how much you’re willin’ to spend. And remember, “Local store prices may vary from those displayed. Products shown as available are normally stocked but inventory levels cannot be guaranteed.” So just because they say they got ‘em, don’t mean they really do.
Oh, and one more thing. Some folks use somethin’ called soapstone instead of fire bricks. It’s a kind of rock that can take the heat. I don’t know much about it, but I heard it works. They say: “Soapstone: Soapstone is a solid, heat-resistant substance that can be used in place of firebricks.” See? So that’s somethin’ to think about too.
So, there you have it. That’s all I know about findin’ fire bricks. It ain’t always easy, but if you look around and ask around, you’ll find what you need. Just remember to get the good stuff, the kind that’ll last. And don’t be afraid to haggle a bit, especially at them smaller stores. You might just get yourself a good deal.
