Fire Bricks & Cement

Fire bricks line a stove firebox or the back and sides of an open fire grate, protecting the appliance and holding heat in the fire. Fire cement seals joints and fills small cracks. This category covers replacement bricks, coal saver bricks, mouldable firebrick and fire cement.

Choosing bricks

• Replacement bricks: measure the old brick in several places, as edges wear, and note its height, width, thickness and any notches or rebates. Side bricks are often handed, left or right, so check which one you need.
• Fireclay or vermiculite: fireclay bricks are heavy and resist knocks; vermiculite bricks are light and insulating but softer. They move heat differently, so replace like with like.
• Coal saver bricks: back bricks and side pairs that sit on an open fire grate to make the fire bed smaller, so it burns less coal. Back bricks come in several widths to suit the grate.
• Mouldable firebrick: a heat resistant clay you shape by hand to repair or replace a damaged brick.

Fire cement

Fire cement is a ready mixed putty for sealing joints on stoves, flue pipes, grates and boilers and for patching small cracks in fire bricks. It comes in black or buff, in tubs or gun cartridges. It dries at room temperature and is then cured by heat, so bring the fire up to temperature gradually. Check the temperature rating on the pack. It suits small repairs: lay a whole brick lining with heatproof mortar instead. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and safety data.

Installation

In England and Wales, most solid fuel installation work must be notified to building control. A HETAS registered installer can self-certify the work.

For grates and ash pans, see fire grates and ash pans; for stove care, see fires, stoves and accessories.