Okay, so today, I wanted to mess around with some fire brick mortar. I’ve been meaning to fix up this old fireplace in my backyard, and I figured, why not document the whole process? Might help someone out there looking to do the same thing.
First off, I gathered all my materials. You need fire bricks, obviously, and the star of the show, the refractory mortar. Now, this stuff is different from your regular cement. It’s made for super high heat, the kind you get in fireplaces and furnaces. I made sure to get a good brand ’cause I didn’t want any mishaps with this project. I heard some use Type N mortar with some lime added, and this is better than Type S mortar.
Mixing the mortar was pretty straightforward. I just added water to the dry mix until it got to a creamy, sort of like a thick paste consistency. Some blogs said it should be like a creamy consistency. The instructions on the package were clear, thankfully, so I didn’t have to guess too much. Once it was all mixed up, I grabbed my notched trowel. It’s got these little square notches, about 1/4 inch, that help you spread the mortar evenly.
Applying the mortar was a bit tricky. I put a layer on one of the fire bricks, then spread it out with the trowel. The goal was to get a nice, even layer so that when I placed another brick on top, it would create a solid bond. The trick is to press the bricks together firmly but not too hard, or else all the mortar squishes out. I learned this the hard way, of course, and had to redo a couple of bricks. Oh, the blog also mentioned that the notched trowel would make a 1/8-inch joint and will quickly dry as the fire brick absorb moisture from the mortar.
- Step 1: Mixed the refractory mortar with water until it was creamy.
- Step 2: Used a 1/4-inch notched trowel to apply the mortar to the fire bricks.
- Step 3: Carefully placed the bricks together, making sure to get a good bond.
Once I had all the bricks in place, it was time to let the mortar dry. This part took a while, had to wait for 24 hours. I kept checking on it every few hours, just to make sure everything was setting up properly. Patience is key here, folks. You don’t want to rush this part, or else the whole thing might fall apart later. I noticed that some fine cracks appeared, and I dampened them with water.
Heating the Cement
After the mortar was dry, the next step was to heat the cement. The blog I read said the cement should be initially heated to 100�C for 4 hours. I used my small blow torch for this project. After this, the cement should be gradually heated to maximum operating temperatures to develop full adhesion and strength.
So, there you have it. That’s how I spent my day playing around with fire brick mortar. It was a fun little project, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The fireplace looks a hundred times better, and I learned a lot in the process. Hope this little write-up helps someone out there! If you’ve got any questions, feel free to drop a comment. I’ll do my best to answer them. Until next time, happy building!