How to Mortar Fire Brick

Fireplaces can reach temperatures of up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. When this happens, the gas inside the fireplace looks to escape. In well-mortared fireplaces, gas only escape out the chimney. Fire brick that was not mortared properly can have gaps. If enough gas seeps out through the gaps, you could have a house fire on your hands. You can use regular sandy mortar for fire brick, as long as you choose mortar with a high lime content, however, mortar that's just for fire bricks makes a better choice.

Fireclay
Bucket
Trowel
Brick mallet

Instructions

- 1
  Combine fireclay with water to create a thin paste, about the consistence of pancake batter, recommends building expert Tim Carter.
- 2
  Dip the bottom edge of your fire brick into the fireclay paste so it becomes wet.
- 3
  Place the fire brick. The alignment of your brick varies by project, but most get laid in a "brick-lay" pattern, where a brick in one layer straddles the bricks below it, overlapping the midsection of each brick.
- 4
  Gently tap the brick into place using a mallet.
- 5
  Lay all fire bricks like this. If you run out of fireclay, mix a new batch.
- 6
  Allow the project to dry thoroughly.

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