Alright, so, the other day I was looking to get my hands on some firebricks. Needed them for a little project I’m working on. You know, the kind that can handle some serious heat. Not those regular bricks you’d use to build a wall or somethin’.
First, I did a quick search online, just to get an idea of what I was dealing with. Found out there’s a couple of types, like these Mizzou bricks and Kast-o-lite ones. Mizzou is apparently super tough, like even tougher than hard firebrick, and it’s flux-proof. Kast-o-lite, on the other hand, is more like soft firebrick, insulates well, and is also flux-proof and just as durable as Mizzou. I figured one of these was probably what I needed, something with a high melting point that can hold heat without letting it all out.
Then came the real question: where do I actually find these things? I wasn’t about to walk into any old store and expect to find firebricks just sitting there. Started asking around, and a few folks mentioned Lowe’s. I guess it’s a place that sells stuff for home improvement, might be what I need.
Checked their website
I went ahead and typed it in. They had a “Find a Store Near Me” option. So I clicked it, put in my location, and bam, a list of stores popped up. Pretty neat. They also had this price match guarantee, said they’d match a lower price on the same item, though there were some exceptions, of course.
I drove down to the nearest one, found the brick section, and sure enough, they had firebricks. Looked like the right stuff, but the price was a bit steep. Like, 8 bucks for a single brick? Yikes. I thought, “There’s gotta be a better deal somewhere.” The employee there told me that if used under average seasonal evening conditions, the firebrick should last for years. But he also warned me that if the bricks turned a noticeable pink shade, that is a sign that the stove has been over-fired.
So, I decided to do some more digging
- Called up a couple of local hardware stores.
- One of them had some, but they were even more expensive!
- Another place didn’t have any in stock but said they could order some for me.
Eventually, I stumbled upon this smaller store, kind of tucked away in a corner of the town. Walked in, and there they were, firebricks, and for a much better price! We’re talking half of what Lowe’s was charging. I was like, “Yes!” The guy there told me these were just as good as the ones at the bigger stores, just without the fancy branding.
Ended up buying a whole bunch from them. Saved a good chunk of change, and I’ve got enough firebricks for my project and then some. It pays to shop around, I guess. And sometimes, the smaller, local stores are where you find the real deals. Just gotta put in a little bit of effort to hunt them down.
