Old school firebox brickwork vs modern castable refractory - what's your take?

I learned bricking from an old timer who swore by silica firebrick and careful mortar work, but last month I ripped out a section and patched it with castable refractory in under two hours. Does the time save outweigh the loss of being able to knock out and replace a single damaged brick, or am I overthinking this?

4 comments

4 Comments

harper_foster24d ago

Heard a pro say castable is basically cheating but it works.

casey68224d ago

Yeah, I've heard that too @harper_foster. It feels kinda cheap sometimes but at the end of the day it gets the job done. If it works it works.

janarivera24d ago

Oh totally, right? I did that once with a cheap castable and honestly couldn't even tell the difference from the expensive stuff. Saved me a ton of hassle and nobody noticed the difference at the end.

kellyjones24d ago

Snagged my shirt on the mold first use, still worth it.