Paper bricks as a firewood substitute
I’ve been playing around with making paper bricks as a substitute for firewood. One small issue is that I don’t actually have a fireplace at my current house, but I’m not going to let a trivial thing like that hold me back! 
So what’s the concept? Its pretty simple. You soak some newspaper in water, put it in brick mold, squish out the water and leave it to dry. The brick maker I’m using and a sample brick are pictured. You end up with a compressed brick of newspaper that you can throw in your slow-combustion fireplace.
Getting the brick maker can be a little tricky – there was a time when you could pick them up from any hardware store. The reason why they’re a little hard to find nowadays (in my humble opinion) is that the paper bricks are not as good as real firewood.
There. I said it. I admitted the green, DIY alternative isn’t as good. Wow – what a release!
But all is not lost. The truth is that, in my experience in other houses where I’ve had wood-fire heating, paper bricks do not burn as long as a good hardwood log, or as hot. But that doesn’t mean they’re not worth looking into. If you go into it with your eyes open, you could feasibly, with a bit of work, replace your firewood entirely with bricks. But a more attainable goal might be to make use of paper bricks as part of your firewood supply. Maybe you put on paper bricks while you’re still up and about (and can more frequently reload the fire), and use real wood when you go to sleep. Or maybe you put in a mix of real wood and paper bricks whenever you load the fire.
However you choose to do it, paper bricks can offset at least some of your wood use. If you replace 20% of your wood use with paper bricks, then that’s 20% less wood that needs to be harvested. If your wood is harvested from natural forests, you’re reducing the rate of deforestation. But even if your firewood is harvested from sustainable plantations, reducing your usage means less wood needs to be carted in on diesel-burning, carbon dioxide-emitting trucks.
If you decide to give it a go, you can still find the brick makers around. I’ve seen them on eBay for around $30-$40. My brick maker came from my parents’ garage so garage sales are worth a look, and I’ve seen them through Freecycle as well. If you’re handy, making one yourself shouldn’t be too hard – they’re basically a brick mold with a press! Having got your brick-maker, here are a few hints and tips on how to make good paper bricks.
- If you can spare the time, rip up the newspaper before soaking it. I rip it into strips – bear in mind that newspaper has a “grain” and will rip easier in one direction than the other. Ripping it both increases the surface area as well as exposing the little paper fibres that assist the brick to “bond”.
- Make sure you soak the newspaper for a reasonable while to let the water really soak in and the fibres loosen up. I tend to soak mine overnight.
- When compressing the brick, really stuff the brick maker full before squeezing it. You’d be surprised how well it compresses, and if you only fill it loosely, the brick maker will “bottom out” before squeezing the brick as much as it could. The result is a loose brick that will burn quickly. The more compressed and solid the brick, the longer it will burn.
- Give it time to dry. Really. This is the big thing, and I’m not talking 24 hours here. I’m talking weeks or months. The exact time will vary, depending on your circumstances, but it can take a surprisingly long time. Summer is a perfect time to follow that old adage and make hay while the sun shines, although in this case you’re making paper bricks! Your bricks can dry out in the hot summer sun, and be ready for winter. (Now you see why I’m making bricks without having a fireplace – I might not have one now, but I want to be ready for when I do! )
- I’ve heard that you can experiment with other materials as part of your “brick mix”. For instance, making a mix of paper and sawdust. However I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t vouch for it as a technique.
If you have any other tips or tricks, we’d love to hear them in the comments.
This technique isn’t for everyone. But if you’ve got a slow-combustion stove as your heating, paper bricks can be a good way to reduce your firewood bill, lower your impact on the environment, and do some recycling in your own home.
Categories: DIY, environment, green, recycle
Tags: DIY, firewood, heating, paper brick, recycle
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May 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I have been playing around with paper bricks for some time and found that paper “balls” about the size of tennis balls are a good compromise between drying time and burn rate.
The problem with large paper bricks appears to be the drying time. So I get the kids involved in making little tennis like paper balls. They burn a bit quick but you can make lots of them easily and quickly.
I store them in a rubbish bin or large basket that keeps the circulating during the winter months.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Unfortunately, burning paper in your fireplace still releases a lot of CO2 into the environment, just like burning wood does.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:04 am
Hi Scott.
Burning paper does release CO2, but its not that bad.
Firstly, even electric heating usually results in CO2 being released, assuming your power comes from a non-green source. For many households, the electricity comes from a coal power station which burns coal (releasing CO2), converts some of that heat to electricity, sends it to your house where it gets converted back to heat!
Secondly, and more importantly, the CO2 released from burning wood or paper is “recent CO2″. That is, the carbon released was absorbed from the atmosphere over the last 5-100 years (depending on the age of the tree), and is now re-released. So it doesn’t increase the net amount of CO2. Burning coal, gas or oil by contrast does increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. These heat/power sources have locked away the carbon deep under the ground for millions of years and we are now adding it to the atmosphere.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I started making Paper Bricks this year (2008) ~ after about 20 years of “going to do it”.
Like you ~ I do not have a fireplace to try out my product ~ but have given some samples for a few people to try.
I actually live in an ‘all electric Unit’ ~ but that has not dampened the enthusiasm too much.
Response so far has been OK.
A lot of encouragement ~ and only a couple of ‘negative doubters’ ~ but they are people that sit and do nothing with their lives.
I get newspapers from my local Newsagent ~ then cut and shred them during the week.
I have 3 tubs to soak the paper in ~ and leave it to soak for a week ~ therefore making Saturdays my “Brick Day”.
I now average 50 Bricks per week ~ and agree that the drying is the real challenge.
Sundays I spend wrapping the dry bricks (for presentation) and attach a label with a contact phone number.
Yes ~ I know they only get burnt ~ but the wrapping is as much a presentation thing as it is an Occupational Therapy. Not to mention the ‘Perfectionist’ streak I have ~ so they have to look neat.
I am building my stock up over Summer and will worry about an outlet closer to next winter.
It is a lot of work really ~ almost full-time ~ but at the end of each week I have the satisfaction of knowing I have achieved a goal and am doing my bit for recycling.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Oh ~ I forgot to add that I always use HOT water in the tubs to soak the newspaper ~ I think it helps with the process much better (I think I almost empty my Hot Water system every Saturday).
And the week of soaking with some stirring once or twice during the week is the other positive.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:58 am
I have started making bricks, soaked the paper for 6 to 8 hours with a little soap. The trouble I am having is getting the bricks to stay together, I load the brickmaker until it is almost too full to place the compression grate into place, but still they are not solid. Any ideas?
February 4th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Hi Mark.
The paper can really compress down – as you’ve found out! And if you “bottom out” before fully compressing the paper it will form a loose brick that burns too quickly at best, or simply doesn’t hold together.
It’s going to depend on your brick maker to some extent, but for me, all thats required is to manually squash the paper in with my fingers when I’m loading it. As an aside, the act of squashing the paper in seems to make the material all pulpy which produces a better brick. Another option is to secure a block of wood or similar to the bottom of the mold (or the top grate). This will compress things further at the cost of making a smaller brick.
April 19th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Hi Mark,
I would try leaving out the soap cobber and letting soak for at least 2-3 days with a few stirs. Bearing in mind you need to tear or shread into strips no wider than an inch or so.
Hope this helps cob.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I’ve been making eco-bricks for a couple of years now and seem to have refined the process quite well. Couple of tips ….
Put a cupfull of Bleach in the water when you soak the paper, this will help to break down the paper and make it bond together better .. Hot water is the key and getting your hands in as soon as you start to soak the strips to give it a good mashing really helps.
Load the machine to the top then using the removable plate press it down just with your hands (not using handles) then reload to the top again and this time use the crossed handles to really get the water out.
Don’t be afraid to add some more and give it another squeeze. Brick wants to be about 3 – 3.5 inch thick when you’ve finished.
Drying in a greenhouse really helps too and the bleach you added helps to stop any mould forming (had this problem when i first started, entire damp batch started going green)
I’ll stop rambling now
Hope this helps
February 11th, 2010 at 2:40 am
I just started making paper bricks a couple of months ago. I tore the paper into strips but it really didn’t work for me. I purchased a paper shredder at a local thrift store and use that to cut the paper. So far seems to work really well makes a really solid brick that holds its shape while drying.
February 22nd, 2010 at 2:06 am
Any opinion if burning recycled bricks is “better” for our world than recycling the paper? We have acres of wooded property and never purchase wood. Glad to read about the CO2; our indoor fireplace currently does not have glass doors.
March 25th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I have been using a brick maker for a month and already have success. I burn a stove & supplement wood with the paper bricks. More regular loading is required, as the logs I burn are about 3 X bigger than the bricks.
Air drying on a windy day seems to be the key to getting a burnable log. Newspaper ripped & ripped again into 5 – 10 cm squares then separated & soaked for 2 days (Not tried bleach yet, but frost helps separate fibre even if makes handling interesting). I tried using an electric plaster mixer but it made the mash too fine, so much slipped through the holes in the press. 4 days till a burnable log ! (It was windy – I was surprised! As the ones in the greenhouse are still drying 4 weeks later!!!!) The log must feel hard & Light (Much like a wood log – heavy ones are not seasoned)
Also tried sawdust mix, and the key is not to overdo it, otherwise the brick falls to bits No more that about 1/3rd by volume (My sawdust is from a factory electric plane so quite long)
All in all – Not quick but my time and the materials are free.
May 24th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Try putting some food colour in the water tub, soak the 1 inch strips over night and then press your brick. The food colour just makes them look funky I had 53 red ones last weekend and this weekend going yellow. I think its great.
May 27th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
I just started this year but soon learned that tearing thin strips is a pain. I am blessed with a big backyard so I use a plastic 40 litre tub and just separate the newspaper pages, crumple loosely and cover with water.As they soften I add more. Agitation is the key, I have used a pick handle to thump up and down but found a paint stirer in the electric drill to be magic.
I fill my container in the P.M. add a very small amount of detergent ( washing up detergent is fine) pound the mix a bit then next morning take to it with the drill. The resulting mix is very fine, in appearance it looks like old flannel or underfelt.There are no recocognisable pieces of newspaper.I tip the mix into a sieve( not necessary but easier to make reasonably sized bricks) then make up the bricks.
Drying is the trick. I have an old bed spring under a roof and I just set them out and leave them.
None of this is very prety but as I said I am on a large block next to a patch of bush and can keep everything out of sight.
Our summer temperatures help a lot too. ( I live in Queensland Aus.)
July 29th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
hi im thinking of making paper bricks to fire my outside pizza oven does any one no if it works ok
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
@dogger I have a brick pizza/bread oven and that is what got me started on the paper bricks.
Since writing the above I have utalised my lazyB syndrome and have found that if I just dump the newspapers into the plastic tub,put about 4 buckets of water on them and leave for 48 hours, they break up into a creamy(slimy?) mass very easily with the paint stirrer in the drill.
I have eliminated the detergent and let the mix stand for overnight before putting in the strainers.
I am currently experimenting with making logs out of a piece of 75mm plastic pipe.
They are great for slow heating the oven but cannot be used while the pizzas are being cooked because of the residual ink. Good luck, come back on the blog if you think I can help further.