How to Line a Wood Stove With Firebrick
Airtight and efficient wood stoves include a lining of firebrick inside the hearth area of the wood stove. The fire sits atop the firebrick and the firebrick absorbs the heat of the fire through the day and evening, releasing it slowly through the night. Many new wood stoves come with the firebricks in a separate container to make the wood stove easier to install without the added weight of the bricks. Remove the firebricks from the package and sort them by size.
Step 1
Place a dropcloth around the wood stove to avoid having an extra mess to clean up.
Step 2
Sit in front of the wood stove with the door open and out of the way. Put on the work gloves to protect your hands from the firebrick's abrasive surfaces.
Step 3
Lay the first firebrick lengthwise in front of you abutted to the left wall flat on the bottom of the fire box. Firebricks come in varying dimensions and fit together like a puzzle inside the hearth.
Step 4
Set the next piece, a smaller one adjacent to the one you just laid. If the bricks are all the same size, it doesn’t matter which brick goes next.
Step 5
Place the brick that fits next to the one previously laid. If there are smaller bricks, you want them in the middle between the two longer bricks on the floor of the firebox.
Step 6
Follow the pattern to finish out the floor of the fire box, working from the front to back.
Step 7
Stand the remaining firebricks on end lengthwise to fit under the angled ridge to hold them in place along the interior wall. You will need to install the farthest brick first to slide it under the metal ridge and then move forward on the left interior wall.
Step 8
Repeat this for the back wall, sliding in the bricks from the right side all the way to the far left back corner underneath the metal flange that holds the bricks in place. These bricks will stand perpendicular to the ones laid for the floor of the firebox and line the interior wall of the hearth. Complete this row working from right to left.
Step 9
Finish up the right interior wall by continuing to install the bricks in a clockwise direction with the last brick installed on your right in the front.
References
Tips
- If the hearth area was designed to have the wall bricks installed first, then follow the steps listed for installing the firebricks for the wall and then install the floor. Each wood stove will have a slightly different configuration for the firebricks. Work it out in advance by installing one row of bricks on the floor of the firebox and one brick on each end for the walls.
Warnings
- If you are installing bricks to fit inside a wood stove not meant for firebricks, the best you can do is install the floor area, as you will have no means without welding experience and tools for installing the firebricks on the side wall.
Writer Bio
As a native Californian, artist, journalist and published author, Laurie Brenner began writing professionally in 1975. She has written for newspapers, magazines, online publications and sites. Brenner graduated from San Diego's Coleman College.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
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