[Clayart] mortar options for softbrick kiln

[Donn Buchfinck via Clayart]

Hi,
I am looking to build a cone 10 kiln and I am going to mortar the bricks
and I was wondering what you all recommend.

Thanks,
Donn Buchfinck
#donn_buchfinck
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[Paul Randall via Clayart]

Hi Donn,
Personally, I would use as little mortar as possible. If you use mortar on IFB’s and ever need to rebuild your kiln, the mortar will cause loss of brick. However, you can mix fire clay with silica sand and crushed old IFB. That makes a stable mortar that will allow bricks to separate more easily if needed.

The last time I rebuilt my kiln I dry stacked a hard brick interior with an IFB outer layer. I used ceramic fiber and ceramic fiber paper as shims when needed to get a tight fit. The other thing I did it intersperse large 9x9 brick to lock the layers together, especially at the corners and door openings. I alternated those bricks every other layer.
Paul





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________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Donn Buchfinck via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2025 10:38:41 PM
To: cla...@lists.clayartforum.com <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Donn Buchfinck <donn.bu...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Clayart] mortar options for softbrick kiln

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