Brick or Pre-Cast Refractory Wood Fired Ovens — Which is Better?

It’s the question we get asked more than any other: “Which is better — a brick oven or a pre-cast refractory oven?”

The Alfresco Factory manufactures some of the highest quality pre-cast refractory wood fired ovens available in Australia. We also supply refractory bricks, mortars and insulation materials for enthusiasts who’d prefer to build their own brick oven from scratch — so we genuinely have skin in both games.

Our honest answer: neither one is better than the other. The more useful question to ask is “which option is going to be better for me?” — and that comes down to six things.

“A brick oven isn’t better than a pre-cast oven, and a pre-cast oven isn’t better than brick. What matters is which one suits your space, your skill level, your time, and how you want to cook.”

At-a-glance comparison

1. How much space do you have?

If you don’t have a lot of room in your back yard, a pre-cast wood fired oven is almost certainly your best option. Our pre-cast domes are manufactured using high-density, very efficient refractory materials, which means the dome walls can be made thinner than brick while still safely absorbing high heat and holding it for a long period.

Our smallest pre-cast option — the Wildfire Courtyard — takes up just 950 × 1050 mm of your alfresco area, with an internal floor area of 720 × 910 mm. That’s the smallest internal cooking area we’d recommend in a wood fired oven.

A brick oven of that same external footprint would have a noticeably smaller cooking area, because bricks are thicker than the pre-cast dome components. That smaller cooking space reduces flexibility — what you can fit inside — and isn’t an efficient use of the extra time and fuel needed to bring it up to temperature. Brick ovens are generally bigger and better suited to larger outdoor entertaining areas.

2. How good are your DIY skills?

An Alfresco Factory DIY kit is a very approachable project for an inexperienced DIY-er. All components are included in the kit, and the instructions are comprehensive and easy to follow. There are no special tools required — just a wheelbarrow to mix the renders.

That said, there is some heavy lifting involved with the pre-cast pieces, so factor that in when you’re deciding.

A brick oven, by contrast, requires a great deal of planning before the build even starts. We’d usually only recommend it if the person building it has some bricklaying experience and access to the right tools.

3. How much time do you have?

An Alfresco Factory pre-cast wood fired oven kit can be built by an inexperienced DIY-er over a weekend — actual hands-on building time is typically 6–10 hours depending on the model.

A brick oven will take significant time in planning before you even start, plus 50+ hours of hands-on build time. That’s not a knock on brick — for many people, that long build is part of the appeal — but it’s a real consideration if you’d rather be cooking by Sunday afternoon.

4. How do you actually want to use it? (The big one.)

This is the most important question to ask yourself, because it’s where the two oven types behave most differently.

Pre-cast refractory ovens have a quick heat-up time and a faster cool-down compared with brick. Our Wildfire Midi — the most popular model for residential use — takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach pizza-cooking temperature (400°C) and will hold useful heat across the weekend.

That suits the way most Australian families actually cook: pizzas Friday night, slow-cooked meats and stews Saturday on retained heat, then a quick second firing for high-heat cooking again on Sunday.

“45 minutes to 400°C, pizzas on Friday, slow-cooked lamb on Saturday from retained heat, fire it up again Sunday — that’s why pre-cast wins for residential use.”

Brick ovens, on the other hand, take up to 3 hours to reach 400°C and need more fuel to get there — but they hold heat for much longer. If you’re a wood-fired cooking enthusiast who wants to bake bread mid-week off a single firing, brick is the better tool.

5. How much do you want to spend?

Generally speaking, our pre-cast DIY kits cost about the same as you’d spend on bricks, insulation and mortars to build a brick oven of similar internal cooking area.

The difference is in what’s included. Our DIY kits ship with renders, a door, 1m flue and cowl, and a pizza peel. Building a brick oven from scratch means budgeting separately for all of those, plus consumables like brick-cutting blades — costs that add up quickly.

6. How do you want it to look?

Our pre-cast ovens regularly receive high praise for their good looks and clean, modern aesthetic. For some people, though, bricks feel more traditional — and a well-built brick oven can be a genuine work of art, with much of the appeal coming from the visible skill and effort that’s gone into it.

Neither look is “better.” It’s a matter of what fits the space you’re building into and the feeling you want when you walk out the back door on a Friday night. Have a flick through our customer gallery for inspiration either way.

So which one is right for you?

A quick decision helper:

Keep reading

• → What is the best location for a wood fired oven?
• → Choosing the best wood for pizza ovens
• → Building the fire
• → Choosing my oven — the full guide
• → Frequently asked questions