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Materials for DIY Outdoor Clay and Refractory for Pizza and Bread Ovens

DIY Backyard Clay Oven Materials: Clay, Fire Bricks, Kiln Shelves

Important note: We know ceramics, not clay pizza oven building: it is important that you do your research on what you want to build. We know what oven builders tell us works for them and we can share that info with you, but it is not what our products are intended for so we can make no guess if they will work for you. So TEST, TEST, TEST !

Here is a great page with a lot on info on building your oven too :https://pinkbird.org/w/How_to_build_a_pizza_oven

People use many different types of clay and materials for building a clay pizza oven. Probably any fire clay would be fine. We recommend Hawthorn Fire Clay because of it's workability and affordability.
This dry clay is much less expensive than a "potter's clay" which is usually a moist clay with fluxes and glass formers which are not needed for a clay oven.
Order this clay below with easy delivered pricing !

Tandoori ovens are a bit different. We have heard of people using either raku clay or castable mortar for those.

Coarse fire clay (either 20 or 35 mesh) is "toothy" so it is a good clay for any kind of adobe construction.
For this type of oven building, people will mix the clay in various proportions with chopped straw and sand.
Masonry sand is always recommended over "play sand" : Play sand is usually a river-run sand so the particles are smooth and round making it suitable for a sand box, where a mason's sand is a more block-like shaped particle which microscopically stacks like tiny bricks making it suitable as an aggregate in cement, mortar and clay or adobe blends.

Clay Oven

Clay adobe ovens do not get hot enough to actually turn the clay to hardened ceramic like it would in a kiln firing. The clay will be quite hard to the touch but will turn soft again in rain so backyard ovens should have a shed roof or some other way to protect it from the elements. Some folks add some Portland cement, especially in a finish coat to help give a bit more water resistance.

We offer these materials use in pottery making. Since oven building is beyond the scope of the manufacturers' recommendations to use this for oven building projects, we cannot guarantee it's performance. All we can say is that, people have told us these materials work well for building a clay pizza oven.
So TEST TEST TEST !!! It is up to you to make sure it is going to work with your methods.

Other items people order from us for their oven building projects are fire brick and kiln shelves . Our high temperature hard bricks are used as the floor and or walls of the oven. Soft brick /Insulating Fire Brick (IFB) or High Temp Insulating blanket can be employed to insulate an oven . Derby Mortar is sometimes used to mortar bricks together; other times bricks are dry-stacked without mortar. Kiln shelves are commonly used as a nice smooth floor or like a pizza stone. Again, these applications are beyond the normal usage for these materials. Kiln shelves are not FDA rated for food. We make no claim as to their suitability, all we know is that pizza and bread makers order these things all the time !

UPS Zone Map

Clay SHIPPING:
These bags are 50 pounds: they ship UPS ground.
Approximate shipping : (NOTE: Select "call and hold" at checkout to be quoted exact shipping before charging your card.)
Zone 2 $20/bag
Zone 3 $30
Zone 4 $40
Zone 5 $50
Zone 6 $60
Alaska / Hawaii CALL for Rate

IN STORE PICKUP
You must call 24 hours in advance of your visit to pickup clay, shelves, bricks and other raw materials

Quantity discounts and Bulk available. Please call to order large quantities. 888.774-2529