Building a decorative brick archway

[chicaguapa]

Hi all. We have a Primo 60, uninsulated for 5 years but we’re now finally getting around to insulating and rendering it, more to make it more weatherproof than anything.

I want to make a brick archway to finish off the entrance, it’ll just be decorative really. There will be a row of half bricks along the bottom to bring the front to the height of the oven floor, and then a row of half bricks around the archway. 

I’m planning on using 200x100x50 red block paving bricks for this as they look like they have a tidier outer edge than house bricks. I’ve discounted firebricks as a) they’re more expensive and b) I’m not keen on the yellow colour and prefer a red brick.

My main question is about what mortar to use to fix the bricks in. Outdoor oven cement seems overkill as the archway isn’t really part of the oven, though the heat will radiate out to it. When the oven is lit, the front is hot but you can touch it. It’s also £30 for 5kg and I don’t think we need that much for a few bricks.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated please. Thanks. 

[webbm00]

I used standard mortar mix on mine 6 builders sand 1 cement

[chicaguapa]

That’s great thanks. I’ve also had a look at your build, in particular the arch and how you’ve tied it into the oven. So all very useful. Cheers. 

[oblertone]

Paving bricks are concrete and will crack in the heat as they are not a 'fired' product, unlike building bricks; use them by all means but expect them to degrade.