Okay, so, I gotta tell you about this little project I did the other day. It’s about my wood stove, the thing that keeps my place warm and cozy in the winter. You see, it’s got these special bricks inside, called fire bricks, that help keep the heat in. But over time, they can crack or break. And that’s exactly what happened to mine.
So, first things first, I gathered my tools. I grabbed my screwdriver and a pair of gloves to protect my hands. Oh, and I also had my vacuum cleaner ready to clean up any mess.
Next, I took a good look at the inside of the stove. There they were, some of the bricks were cracked, and a couple were even broken into pieces. Using my hands I removed the broken fire brick.
I used my screwdriver to carefully pry out the cracked bricks. It was a bit tricky, but I managed to get them out without damaging the others. Once they were out, I used my trusty vacuum to suck up all the dust and debris that had collected in the empty spaces.
Now, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on new fire bricks, so I decided to try something different. I heard that ceramic tiles are a good, cheaper alternative. They’re made from clay and baked in a kiln, so they can handle the heat. So, I went to the hardware store and picked up a few ceramic tiles that were the right size.
Some Tips
- Clean: After remove the broken fire brick I clean the space.
- Size: Make sure you pick up right size of ceramic tiles.
- Flip: If need to cut the brick, I flipped the brick.
But here’s the thing, some of the bricks were just a little bit cracked. I did some digging online and found out that if a brick is still supported on three sides, it’s probably okay to leave it. A small hairline crack isn’t a big deal. So, I only replaced the ones that looked like they might fall apart or if I could see the wall of the stove behind them.
For the ceramic tiles, I needed to cut some of them to fit. I made a shallow cut on one side, flipped the tile over, and cut the other side. I kept doing this, increasing the depth of the cut each time, until I was about halfway through. Then, I just snapped off the piece I didn’t need. Easy peasy!
Finally, I carefully placed the new tiles (and the old, slightly cracked ones) back into the stove. I made sure they were snug and secure. And that was it! My wood stove was all fixed up and ready to go.
It wasn’t a super difficult job, but it did take a bit of time and effort. But hey, I saved some money, learned a few things, and now my wood stove is working great again. And that’s what I call a win!
