Hello,
I am new to the forum and looking into building one of the ovens. The question I have is that I have seen them built like the instructions using the fiber blanket and I have seen them without the blanket and double bricked. I like the looks of the double brick better but don’t know the pros and cons of that type of construction. Any help/advise would be appreciated.
Hi Randy, and welcome to the BrickWood forum!
We firmly recommend building the Barile ovens with the mineral fiber blanket. It is one of the best-performing insulators available, and you will save both wood and time in the long run. The pros and cons are:
- Double-brick is less expensive and does not require a matrix or stucco shell. It takes longer to heat up and it will not retain heat as long.
- Mineral fiber blanket is more expensive and requires a wire matrix (chicken wire) and stucco shell to protect it and maintain the insulative space. It will allow the oven to heat up more quickly and it can retain enough heat to bake bread into the next day after a fire.
If you like the look of the outer brick, you can accomplish it with a brick veneer layer over the stucco. Much less expensive, and you will end up with a better-performing oven.
Hope this helps, Randy, and keep us posted as you make your decisions and start your build.
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