https://community.fornobravo.com/ vBulletin Forums en Fri, 08 May 2026 11:17:07 GMT vBulletin 60 images/misc/rss.png https://community.fornobravo.com/ https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/good-background-information/introductions/470789-good-morning-new-to-the-forum Wed, 06 May 2026 07:17:47 GMT Thank you for allowing me to join.
I have a cast 2 piece pizza dome that I am going to complete and I’m looking for help with the build.
i have seen a build post in the past with step by step instructions for my type of oven, but cannot find it now.

i have built a brick stand already, with rebar going through a solid cement base. This is where I’m stuck….

I’ve read that I need a heat proof base to stop the cement drawing down the heat of the oven, but unsure of the best way to do it.
I have fire bricks for inside the oven.

Any help would greatly be received. Thank you
Sarah]]> Introductions Scrambled head https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/good-background-information/introductions/470789-good-morning-new-to-the-forum https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/outdoor-kitchens-and-living-rooms/outdoor-kitchen-design/470577-countertop-underlayment-question Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:25:12 GMT Outdoor Kitchen Design Zimmy https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/outdoor-kitchens-and-living-rooms/outdoor-kitchen-design/470577-countertop-underlayment-question https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/good-background-information/newbie-forum/470552-thermal-expansion-crack-in-arch Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:30:40 GMT Newbie Forum jjenkins74 https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/good-background-information/newbie-forum/470552-thermal-expansion-crack-in-arch https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/pompeii-oven-construction/470517-maximum-mortar-thickness-joint-width Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:34:26 GMT Hi all, new ambitious oven owner here. I am going for a pretty standard hemisphere-on-a-row-of-soldiers design, but i have to admit I hit a bottleneck when it comes to brick sizing, in regards to the resulting joint gap. The overall goal is to avoid multiple and angled cuts on the bricks. So,...
I am going for a pretty standard hemisphere-on-a-row-of-soldiers design, but i have to admit I hit a bottleneck when it comes to brick sizing, in regards to the resulting joint gap.
The overall goal is to avoid multiple and angled cuts on the bricks. So, for the square-cornered bricks, on the interior of the dome i will just get them to touch at one corner and then the resulting joint gap won't be more than 3mm (1/8 in), that's the easy part.

But what grinds my gears is how big should I allow the joint gap to be on the exterior side, considering the overall joint bond strength and thermal-shift behaviour.

Naturally going upwards towards the top rings of the dome the width of the brick must shorten, as to reduce the joint gap (both on the inside and outside of the dome), but what is the absolute threshold I should aim for? Does a rule of thumb exist? I guess it is eventually mortar-brand dependant and on the very top rings beveled bricks are inevitable, but like i said the goal is to minimise brick cutting so to cut only when necessary, i.e. max joint gap reached.

Extending already on the matter, shortening the width of the brick also reduces the brick overlap - staggering margin. I know that the brick joint of the next row should ideally sit in the middle of the the brick in the row below, but we all know that this is impossible to maintain, hence the use of custom stagger-bricks here and there, but what is the minimum overlap of bricks from row to row we aim for? you get it, since making stagger-bricks means performing cuts.

I am surprised that a thread somewhere doesn't exist already, or if I didn't find it please refer me.

Thanks all.]]> Pompeii Oven Construction Al Neer https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/pompeii-oven-construction/470517-maximum-mortar-thickness-joint-width https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/other-oven-types/470470-homebrew-amounts Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:37:06 GMT
Greetings folks

My dome will have a 30" inner diameter with 2" thick walls.

I've calculated the shell volume to be 53 liters.

My proposed mix is the standard 3:1:1:1 homebrew.

Sand (3 parts) -- 33 L
Fireclay (1 part) -- 11 L
Hydrated lime (1 part) -- 11 L
Portland cement (1 part) -- 11 L

I've determined that 66L will be required to allow for compaction + the addition of water. After wet mixing this will probably bring the volume down to around 58l...a bit more than required but best to have a little spare just incase.

1% of wet mix polypropylene fiber = 0.6l

Does the 66 L dry --- 58 L wet--- 53 L placed shrinkage chain look reasonable in practice? Would there be a further in reduction in dry to wet?

Also regarding the alkali resistant fibers, does the 2% addition assume a wet mix also?





​]]> Other Oven Types frank1985 https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/other-oven-types/470470-homebrew-amounts https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/commercial-pizza-ovens/470417-two-storey-wfo Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:43:13 GMT Commercial Pizza Ovens The foxdale phantom https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/commercial-pizza-ovens/470417-two-storey-wfo https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/getting-started/470391-floor-thickness-insulation Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:13:25 GMT
First time posting here after spending a lot of time reading through the forum over the years.

I’m finally getting started on building a small oven and was hoping to get a bit of clarification on a couple of things.

My current plan is to use 50mm calcium silicate board with 75mm fire bricks on top. I’ve read a lot of mixed opinions on whether 50mm is enough. Some say it’s fine and others say 100mm is the better option, so I’m a bit unsure whether 50mm will do the job or whether I’d be cutting myself short just to save about $100.

I’ve also seen a local builder use 50mm calcium silicate board, then 25mm of castable mix on top, followed by the fire bricks. Just wondering what people think of that method as well.

We’re hoping to use the oven for more than just pizza. My wife is keen on doing roasts and bread too, and ideally we’d like to get a few days of cooking out of it, so heat retention is pretty important.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
​]]> Getting Started Wellsy https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/getting-started/470391-floor-thickness-insulation