Fire bricks, also called refractory, kiln or furnace bricks, are made to sit on the hot face of a fire without cracking, spalling or melting. An ordinary clay or cement brick can crack and break up in a braai or oven, and a cement brick can burst. Fire bricks line pizza ovens, fireplaces, braais, pottery kilns, boilers and furnaces, and they are laid with refractory mortar or fireclay. Send one free, no-obligation request with what you are building and refractory suppliers near you quote you directly.
Types of fire bricks
- Dense fire bricks are heavy and hard. They take flame, wood and knocks, so they line oven floors, fireboxes, braais and furnace hearths.
- Insulating fire bricks are light and porous. They hold heat in and are used behind the hot face or in electric kilns, but they are softer and wear faster in direct flame.
- Fire brick splits are thin slabs, often 25 mm, for lining an existing fireplace or a braai back.
Grades are rated for different maximum temperatures, so tell the supplier how hot the job runs.
Choosing fire bricks for an oven, braai or furnace
Match the brick to the heat and the wear:
- Pizza ovens and braais: dense fire bricks on the floor and the dome or arch, with insulation outside.
- Fireplaces: splits or full bricks on the back and sides of the firebox.
- Pottery kilns: often insulating fire bricks, with a dense floor.
- Boilers and furnaces: refractory grades chosen with the supplier or engineer.
The outer shell can be ordinary clay bricks or face bricks.
Laying fire bricks and common mistakes
Fire bricks are laid with refractory mortar or fireclay in thin joints, not with ordinary cement mortar, which breaks down in high heat. Common mistakes:
- Using cement bricks or ordinary mortar on the hot face.
- Thick joints that crumble and fall out.
- No gap or insulation between the hot face and the outer wall, so the shell cracks.
- Lighting a big fire straight away. Cure a new oven with small fires over several days.
What affects the price, and what to ask
The price depends on the grade, the size, dense or insulating, and how many you need. Ask the supplier:
- What maximum temperature is this brick rated for?
- Is it dense or insulating, and what size?
- Which refractory mortar or fireclay should I use with it?
- Can you deliver with the other bricks?
What to include in your request
- What you are building
- How hot it runs
- Dense or insulating fire bricks
- How many, with a few extra for cuts
- Refractory mortar on the same quote
Fire Bricks for different clients
- Homeowners: fire bricks for a garden pizza oven, a built-in braai or a fireplace
- Builders and bricklaying contractors: fire brick linings for fireplaces and braai areas in new houses
- Housing developers and complexes: fireplaces and communal braai areas lined with fire bricks across an estate
- Brickyards and block yards: a yard stocking fire bricks and refractory mortar beside its building bricks
- New brick-making businesses: a small kiln or oven builder buying fire bricks and refractory mortar
- Farms and smallholdings: fire bricks for a farm kitchen oven, a boiler or a braai at the lapa
- Municipalities, schools and public works: fire brick repairs to school kitchen boilers, incinerators or bakery ovens
- Landscapers and paving teams: outdoor kitchens and pizza ovens built into a new patio
Frequently asked questions
How much do fire bricks cost in South Africa?
Listed prices run from about R27 to R60 per standard fire brick, with high temperature refractory grades at about R70 to R120 each. Thin splits sit at the lower end and thick dense bricks at the top. Refractory mortar or fireclay is extra, so ask for it on the same quote.
Can I use normal bricks for a braai or pizza oven?
For the outer walls, yes. For the hot face, the floor and the inside of the dome or firebox, use fire bricks. Ordinary clay bricks can crack and spall with repeated heating, and cement bricks can burst. A fire brick lining with a normal brick shell is the usual way to build it.
What mortar do you use with fire bricks?
Use a refractory mortar or a fireclay mix made for high heat, laid in thin joints. Ordinary cement and sand mortar loses strength in high heat and crumbles out of the joints. Ask the fire brick supplier which mortar suits the brick and the temperature of your job.
How many fire bricks do I need for a pizza oven?
It depends on the oven size, the floor and dome shape, and whether you use full bricks or splits. Sketch the floor size and dome height and send it with your request; a refractory supplier or oven builder can work out the count. Order a few extra, because fire bricks are often cut.
Fire Bricks by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg