Learning To Be A Mason - Testing Refractory Mortar Joints - August 2024

While I still need to set the floor, I decided to see if I could figure out how to make Refractory Mortar work by sticking a couple of bricks together.  I've never done ANY masonry work before this project, so I've quickly upgraded my masonry skills over the past few months.  Starting with pouring the concrete slab and then moving on to using (for the first time) Type S mortar to stick the first blocks into place in the stand, I've used different tools and techniques in elementary ways.   

For the dome, I'm going to use Akona Medium-Duty Refractory Mortar that comes in 50# bags - because it is available and affordable.  Some folks use a homebrew of fireclay, portland cement and mason sand, but the guy at the brick distributor talked me out of that - by saying that fireclay was out of code around here.  So, he suggested two products - Firestop 50 or this Akona Refractory Mortar.  

I mixed up a tiny batch and grabbed a few cut-offs to see if I could get the joints tight and clean.  I also wanted to practice using a few angles that simulate what we'll be facing with the dome.  Below are a couple of photos showing the results of my practice:  preeety, preeety, preeety good.  (If I do say so myself).