Hi - I'm in the middle of a very slow project to build a pizza oven! So far I've built to base, insulated the base and laid firebricks for the cooking stone. Also started building the dome using bricks (couldn't afford to use fire bricks for the whole thing!). Now, looking at the insulation I'm a bit worried. I have a load of insulating fire bricks (very lightweight, easy to cut) which I was going to use on the outside (then render), but see most people use an insulating matting.
Is the matting more accomodating/flexible for expansion so does it reduce cracking!? If I use the insulating bricks, should I simply rest them on the outside (allowing for movement) and then render between and over to fix, and not between the inner dome and outer? The render I'm using is a mix of sand/fire clay/ lime and cement.
Any help would be really appreciated, I tend to go around in circles with these things!
Best regards
Ben