cheers napper, can be done, but can't get that stuff here. so going to try fire cement with sand. its a shyte job for a friend, been asking me for two years to do it. gonna tell him it might crack though. carlos not to sure about the eml though, think could also make it crack when getting hot and expanding. fixing the eml would be a nightmare as the fire bricks are brittle, and there is a lot of detail on this oven, plinths, etc