The Fire Brick D95, Instruction Booklet

Page: 33 / 47

33
3. Building the Dome
3S: CLEANING THE MORTAR JOINTS
Next you need to ‘point’ the mortar joints on the inside face of the oven, and remove any excess mortar that
has bled through onto the fiberglass formwork. To do this, you will need to slide into the oven on your back…
Not much fun, but a very important part of the process! Take a small tub of wet mortar mix, several scourers, a
sponge, a small bucket of clean water and a small metal paint scraper in with you. First scrape off as much of
the excess mortar/castable as you can, then scrub any remnants off using the scourer.
Now fill in any holes in your joints using the wet mortar mix, and wipe off the excess (before it sets) with a
damp sponge. Wash all of the brickwork with clean water and a sponge and dry with an old towel.
TIP: Don’t wait too long to get in and do this! If you wait for 12 hours after your keystone is poured, then remove
the fiberglass formwork and get in there you’ll find it relatively easy to clean the dome. If you wait much longer
than this, the mortar and castable will set very hard and will be quite difficult to clean off.