Unglazed quarry tiles

[canadianbacon]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for piping in with that idea about the tiles from the hardware store.
Do you happen to have a picture of your stones in place in the oven ?

I'm wondering what you do about the cracks, - where the bricks butt up against each other
... I'm assuming that all 4 corners of your tiles ( assuming you have 4 tiles in the oven) all meet at the center of the oven, so when you put a pizza in there, doesn't that create a problem ? or are they so close together the pizza has no clue there are 4 tiles ? ... I just thought it might get stuck, or whatnot in the cracks.

anyway thanks for the tip ..... yeah those pro-stones are expensive that's for sure  

[canadianbacon]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the heads up .  How many tiles are you using in the stove ?
If you are using 4, that means you have all the corners coming together right in the
middle of the oven, - do you have any problems with the pizza sticking there ? or getting
stuck in the cracks ? ... anyway interesting stuff, I'm going to look into this solution this week before jumping on those expensive professional stones.

thanks for the TIP.

Mark

[Steve]

I have a total of nine tiles in my oven. The cracks between the tiles pose no problem for me. Here is a picture of my oven... don't laugh!! The oven came with our house and will be replaced as soon as money permits!  

While not pretty, the tiles get the job done... You'll note that a few of mine are cracked from years of use... the cracks pose no problems for me either. If a tiles cracks badly, I'll toss it and put in a new tile.

If you decide to use quarry tiles, make sure you buy unglazed quarry tiles (the shiny glazing is not applied to this type of tile which allows the tiles to draw moisture out of the pizza crust, making it crispy)

[Steve]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that you'll want somewhat thick tiles... 3/8" to 1/2" should do the trick. You'll need to preheat the oven for 30 to 60 minutes prior to cooking pizza on the tiles... the tiles need to get nice and hot!

I purchased Daltile "Red Blaze Q40" unglazed quarry tiles for my oven. I spoke to a company rep who assured me that this tile is made from 100% natural red clay and is safe to cook on.

Here's a link to their site: http://www.daltile.com

Here's a link to the Red Blaze tile: http://67.89.93.202/series.cfm?s=1&series=48&cat=3

A friend bought some unglazed quarry tiles from Lowe's which have worked out great.

[canadianbacon]

Hi Steve,

Sorry for the double post there, - yesterday when I clicked on "Post" my browser crashed and I didn't realized it had posted so typed the whole message again, amazing how the messages are so different though, shows how we are not computers hehe, you just can't write the same thing exactly twice, eventhough you know you want to talk about  

Anyway your oven looks totally fine ! , hey as long as it works, why replace it ! - if the thing is heating propery that's the thing that counts.

Living in Canada, I can't get tiles from your source, but will check at HomeDepot.... those tiles almost look like kitchen tiles ? or bathroom tiles ? .... seems you just turned them upside down..... not sure..... is the other side of your tiles glazed ? and do they have some sort or pattern on them perhaps ?

anyway interesting stuff, I'm going to check around for sure.  

Thanks for the tip Steve

Mark

[Steve]

No, they are regular unglazed quarry tiles... 4" x 4" ... the "pattern" that you see is just grooves cut in the bottom of the tile so it'll adhere to the mortar (that is, if you were using the tile for its intended purpose!)  

I'm sure that Home Depot would carry something very similar to the Daltile tiles that I'm using. Like I said, I bought a whole case... enough to tile 4 or 5 ovens!  

Oh yeah, you might have to cut some of the tiles to make them fit. If I remember correctly, Home Depot will cut tiles for free so you might want to have a few extras cut as spares. You can't use a regular tile cutter on quarry tile, you must use a wet saw to cut them. Make sure you leave a 2" gap on both sides so the heat can circulate properly in your oven.

[jjesso]

Hi CanadianBacon:

I live in Barrie, ON.

I'm on my second pizza stone that I bought from a kitchen store.  They are garbage!  They are 1/4" thick and if some cold sauce drips on it, it cracks and are forced to replace the whole thing.  Quite expensive.

I checked Home Depot and it seems they don't carry the Quarry Tiles.  Last night I found a tile shop that knew exactly what I was talking about and they have 8" x 8" x 1/2" unglazed quarry tiles.

I am picking up a box tonight.  Not sure of the price yet.