Brick, bricks and more bricks, but which ones to use?

[smagsmith]

Hi
is there an idiots guide to selecting the right bricks to use? I am building a brick dome oven and am confident that I can build the stand using blocks. But once I get the stand done, I am a little confused about what brick to use for the base of the oven and the dome itself.
I have found a little reclamation yard near by that has loads of rubble and brick lying around. The owner said that I could help myself to any of the red brick in the corner. There are hundreds of them, but I am not sure if they are suitable for the dome or not. how can I test if they are ok or not?
The research I have done is making me think that I need proper fire bricks for the oven floor and then "red" brick for the dome. The guy at the yard said he had a mixture of normal and hand made red bricks. He thought the hand made ones would be too soft and not withstand the heat. He also said that red brick with holes through them would not hold the heat very well. 

I never knew that there were so many different types of bricks. I am on a budget so don't want to use new Fire brick for the entire dome unless you guys tell me that I would be a fool not to.

any advice would be great and links to pictures of the correct type of "red" bricks to use would be great

cheers
Smag

[oblertone]

I think you're very lucky to have found such an accommodating yard owner ! The focus should be on finding enough of the same type to complete a dome; say around 70 full bricks for something around 30" internal diameter. As to type, the ones with the holes should defo be avoided, and the least damaged the better. You'll be cutting your bricks in half, so damage at one end is not so bad, you just need more to make up the numbers. I got mine from a skip following demolition of a 200 yr old chimney on the house opposite, work perfectly well given the frequency of use; if you're building for a commercial oven to be used everyday then buy firebricks, if not then get scavenging.

[smagsmith]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I am pretty lucky. I will go and pick them up on Saturday. Can't wait