Refractory bricks for a vaulted oven

[dallabush]

Hello all,
I am in the planning stage for a DIY barrel vault WFO and have some questions that I can't find a decent answer too.

1.  For the bricks for the floor what is the best thickness to use?  Vitcas do a 76mm thick brick and Kiln linings do a standard house brick sized brick.  Is thicker better for floor as it would hold more heat??
2.  For the vaulted arch, various suppliers provide thinner bricks, 25mm or 32mm,  is there any benefit to using these bricks rather that the same size as used for the floor?
3. Finally, I have seen conflicting opinions regarding using refractory bricks for the chimney rather than clay bricks.  Are there any reasons why you shouldn't use clay bricks alone for the chimney?  Would you need an insulating layer between the oven and the chimney if you did use clay bricks?

[oblertone]

The common standard for a floor brick is about 2” or 50mm in French. Much more than that and you’ll be spending energy to heat the floor when it should be more useful heating the dome; which should be about 4” before you ask.

The base of the chimney is where it gets hottest, having said that common clay bricks will handle this heat just fine. I used old roofing tiles (cut in half lengthways) to form the arch and flue support; they’ve been fine for five years.

[dallabush]

Mar 17, 2021 19:14:15 GMT oblertone said:

The common standard for a floor brick is about 2” or 50mm in French. Much more than that and you’ll be spending energy to heat the floor when it should be more useful heating the dome; which should be about 4” before you ask.

The base of the chimney is where it gets hottest, having said that common clay bricks will handle this heat just fine. I used old roofing tiles (cut in half lengthways) to form the arch and flue support; they’ve been fine for five years.

Thanks for that. I was wondering whether or not a thinner floor would be beneficial.