Archive for the ‘building’ tag
Outdoor Fireplace Building
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Fire Places: A Practical Design Guide to Fireplaces and Stoves Indoors and Out $5.69 What more appealing scene can you conjure up on a wintry day than a pair of comfortable armchairs pulled up to a crackling fire while wisps of smoke curl from the chimney top? All your senses are in use–the sight of the flickering flames, the sound of the crackling logs, the warmth on your face, and the fragrance and taste of wood smoke. The hearth truly is the essential core of every home, wheth… |
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Sunset Building Barbecues & Outdoor Kitchens $11.00 Advice and techniques to create the perfect outdoor cooking center for your home and lifestyle-from a simple grill to an elaborate outdoor kitchen. The meat of the book is fifteen complete barbecue building plans, including simple surrounds for portable grills, smokers, and even fire pits. Whether planning to build-your-own or hire a professional, Building Barbecues has the recipe for a successful… |
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Fire Outdoors: Fireplaces, Fire Pits, Wood Fired Ovens & Cook Centers (Schiffer Book) $12.89 From warm weather climates to properties built on permafrost, homeowners everywhere are discovering anew the allure of fire outdoors. With zoning laws, resources, and proximity often limiting the open bonfire enjoyed by our ancestors, fire is being tamed in a variety of attractive ways by creative landscape architects, designers, builders, and manufacturers. Today’s outdoor fires radiate warmth fo… |
Do I want to use a masonry glue with building an outdoor brick fireplace? Or mortar?
Clarification. I’m looking at the tumbled landscaping bricks that one doesn’t normally use mortar with. But they do sell a “brick glue” to keep them in place.
Mortar.
Mortar is sand, lime, and cement — if mixed correctly, it has structural strength comparable to the bricks and will also hold up to fire.
The glue probably would not do either (won’t hold up structurally or against the fire). Masonry glue is mainly used to reattach a piece of brick or stone where structural integrity is not important. I don’t think I’d ever want to try it around a fire, even when dry.
Post edit, after your clarification:
OK, so I still wouldn’t use the glue due to the fire issue.
The structural strength >>> you would have to take into consideration the size of your fireplace, and how much storms could affect the top. With the glue, the stones would be pretty much supporting each other, so you wouldn’t have to worry about compressive strength, just bond strength (slipping against each other), so things like size and foundation play a part. Also keep in mind that no glue will hold up to water forever, and the heat from the fireplace will accelerate the glue’s deterioration.
Mortar has been in use for thousands of years — it WILL work fine. If you want to avoid the wide mortar joints, then use what is called ‘Lime Putty’ mortar — it’s 25% lime and 75% sand (NO cement). I’d use a fine sand and natural hydraulic lime (aka NHL), but regular lime is OK too. NHL is just better. But lime putty mortar will give you narrower joints, so the appearance will be better for that type of brick — bricks will be closer together.
Additional note: I had a thought — you might want to check to see if the bricks you want to use will work alright for a fireplace. Typical fireplace bricks are normally made in a much hotter oven than other bricks — this gives them more durability. If your brick is made in a low temp oven, it might not last as long as you would want. I would look into this and possibly consider getting a better brick for the inside of the fireplace.
Planning an Outdoor Kitchen-DIY