Rain Saturated Oven

[RTflorida]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Stephen, thanks for the compliment.
To answer your questions:
Initially, I planned to only make a cover for the arch/entry that would wrap around the Duravent pipe. Not being 100% certain water was not getting in somewhere else, I decided to cove the whole thing...to just below the hearth slab level.
I measured and found that a 10' x 12' heavy duty tarp that is silver on on side , brown on the other would fit perfectly.....a little more eye appealing than the construction site "my roof is gone" blue tarps. I then measured how far up from the bottom of the hearth slab the Duravent is, cut a slit in the tarp as well a hole about 1" larger than the Duravent pipe. I then used self stick velcro strips on the two flaps created by slitting the tarp and placed self stick 1/2" rubber weather stripping around the underside edge of the hole that I cut out. Slide the tarp up from behind, around the pipe, and overlap the flaps.
Rather than bungee cords or tarp straps, I laced rope through the tarp eyelets allowing me to cinch it around my oven's "waist" to keep it from blowing off in high winds. only takes a minute to open in up and slide it off the back side. I'm pretty sure I will completely remove it for fall/winter/spring, the REALLY heavy rains are few and far between then.

It really is effective, but my oven "is what it is" for aesthetic reasons...I really don't want it covered with a tarp for 4-5 months a yr. Some how, some way, I am going to come up with a permanent roof system or cover that will still show off the mosaic and keep the torrential rains out. Thats the plan, and any construction/altering will have to wait until it cools down and is dryer during the winter.

RT

[RTflorida]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Bringing this thread back to life, since I have finally made a decision as to how I can avoid a complete saturation again.
I have thought, rethought, thought some more, looked at hundreds of pictures (AGAIN), and finally decided I just can't build an enclosure...its just not me, or the vision I have always had for my oven. I'm sticking with my igloo, just resurfacing/refacing from the support slab up.

Here is the plan, feel free to say it won't work or is a waste of time/money, but I am moving forward having bought the materials and procrastinated long enough (not to mention my tarp is getting ratty looking after nearly 6 months).

1) Covering the entire dome and entry with an additional 1" of blanket and applying rigidizer - not messing with chicken wire or wire mesh for this added layer. (since I know an all day fire can heat the top exterior of the dome to about 140 degrees I think an additional 1" is necessary to protect step 2)

2) I will apply a water tight moisture barrier to the entire dome, existing entry arch and extend down covering the top side of the cantilever hearth. This will consist of a single piece of 20 mil PVC pond liner which I hope will act in the same way as a shower pan liner (thats where I thought of the idea). I will stop short of using the PVC liner on the front facia of the oven, I think this area will still be too hot.

3) I will pour a concrete counter top on the top of the cantilever around the entire dome, over the pvc membrane. Ground and polished (my first attempt at this). This will bring the entire surface up to the level of my hearth firebricks.

4) New front/entry facia. Sorry to say, the mosaic flames and exposed firebrick will be covered by a new fired clay paver arch and facia that will include a stone ledge/shroud that will overhang the entry (hopefully giving a little more protection from rain getting in the entry)

5) A new "tiger stripe" stone finish over the PVC liner and added insulation - recovering the entire dome, no more blue tile mosaic. These are really cool looking tumbled (polished) stones (2-3" in diameter), I will set in Type S or Type N mortar (whichever I have in my garage).

I'm pretty certain no one has attempted any kind of waterproof membrane over an igloo, uncharted waters (pun intended). I have taken every precaution over the past 5-6 months, my oven is completely dry - been fired at least once a week for the past two months, so I know there is not any water that still needs driven out. If the plan fails, I'm only out $200 for the new materials and I will probably blow up the whole oven and buy one of James' modulars and build a stone enclosure.
This is an experiment, and since I am currently out of projects (my wife won't let me alter anything else), I going to wing it and see what happens.

Pictures to follow (hopefully I get started next weekend)

RT

[Les]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

RT - I covered my igloo w/ an acrylic stucco. It's only on it's second winter of fire and Ice but I see no problems. I do put a piece of tile over the vent entry to keep the rain/snow from entering the flu. Not so much from an avoid damage point - it just makes a mess when the carbon runs down onto the entry way. I think your idea will work - just seems like a lot of work to avoid a simple thing like rain.

[nissanneill]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

RT,
I sympathise with you as I have a similar situation to you. My Pompeii is under the edge of the new outdoor kitchen patio and with no gutter on the roof (as I want the water to run into the garden and then overflow through the underground drain out into the street). However, since the oven is built into the garden on top of a retaining wall, and I haven't yet finished the drainage behind and around the oven, it sometimes gets wet and I find out when lighting the fire for an important event, like Christmas dinner!
Like you, it up to me to get off my a*** and just get it done. I need to extend the rood by a metre and put in the drain to take any water that falls anywhere near it away.
Only got myself to blame!

Cheers.

Neill

[RTflorida]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Les, I'm pretty certain my problem is the result of my exposed firebricks around the entry arch and the hearth. It only rains horizontally here in the summer (or appears to), so I really need to do something with the entry facia.
The initial saturation was so bad that I thought the oven would collapse due to my vermicrete hearth insulation being so saturated. It took 2 days just to keep a fire lit, 2 weeks before the support slab stopped weeping.....pretty serious amount of water.
Since I have to address the facia issue, it makes sense to seal up the dome - not to mention trying to blend the "old dome" with the new facia, which would be just as much trouble.
As I said, it is an experiment and something that will keep me busy for a couple of weekends.
My problem is my "vision". The first functional WFOs I saw were in Naples several years ago - mosaic tile igloos; ever since, that has been my idea of an authentic WFO. With unlimited resources I could build an enclosure that I would like; sorry to say, that was not the case before and is not the case today...but the $200 I just spent I can handle.

My advice to anyone building in a high moisture climate (rain or snow) - build an enclosure and protect your entry (or invest in a tarp manufacturer).

RT

[Frances]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

I had you in mind just the other day and wondered how you'd dealt with your water problem, nice to have an update. And I can fully sympathise with you wanting to sick with the igloo syle - in many ways an enclosed oven would have been more practical to build for me, too... but I just had this vision of how it should look...

Since last posting on this thread I decided that I was just immagining water seepage into my dome (I HOPE I'm right!), but since you started this thread I do check very carefully for damp spots before each firing.

You've certainly got one heck of a plan now! It sounds as if your oven will be overprotected if anything by the time you're finished with it. So go for it and good luck!

[RTflorida]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Frances, funny you have chimed in.
As I was picking up the bricks and stone with my wife on Thurs I commented on there being one item that I still needed - A "twirly bit" for the top of the dome.
My wife says no - stick with the natural/organic look of stone, so now I am searching the internet for a stone or cast finial (twirly bit) in a size that says "just right". So far, nothing but pineapples, artichokes, and pinecones - nothing that screams twirly bit.

The oven has been entirely fun, I guess I just want something a little whimsical to finish it off.

Overprotected? I sure hope so. I will never forget the day I found everything soaked, that was the most dejected I have ever been from dozens of projects over the years. The only time I've felt I really screwed up;to a large extent I did - I knew better than to leave that entry exposed. I figured a door and facing the entry away from the prevailing winds were enough. I also didn't think it could ever wick water so badly, even if it did get rained on a bit. Live and learn.

RT

[RTflorida]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Thought I would report a slight setback to my recovering-waterproofing plan amd ask for everyones recomendations.

The ceramic blanket and rigidizer arrived this week from High Temp Refractory (ebay seller). Turns out the rigidizer FROZE SOLID (and was ready to explode) from the cross country trip via UPS last week during the worst of the cold. The stuff won't remix and has been deemed "bad" by Jeff at High Temp Ref. Jeff refunded my money rather than risk sending another jug during this time of year - Really a stand up guy, I didn't ask for a refund.
With no local suppliers of rigidizer I am looking for the most lightweight and solid product that I can apply directly over this extra layer of blanket. I just want a thin hardened shell before my pond liner goes on.
My questions - will SBC (surfacing bonding cement) work? I like the idea of having the fibers in the mix for strength. Should I just use stucco? Type S or N mortar? Keep in mind I want to apply it thin and will probably add a bit more water than recommended to get a consistancy that spread thin yet stays in place. I would rather not apply more than about a 1/8" or 3/16" coating.
I'm not too concerned about it cracking, I just don't want it to crumble under the weight of the liner and river rock that will cover it. That could lead to cracking of the mortar around the river rock.

RT

[Frances]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

so now I am searching the internet for a stone or cast finial (twirly bit) in a size that says "just right". So far, nothing but pineapples, artichokes, and pinecones - nothing that screams twirly bit.

Good for you, that sounds great! I do hope you find your just right something... and if I happen to stumble accross anything that might work (electronically that is) I'll be sure to let you know.

No useful advice on the mortar question though, sorry.

[reuvas]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

Chilling time... cheers.

[Neil2]

Re: Rain Saturated Oven

"So far, nothing but pineapples, artichokes, and pinecones - nothing that screams twirly bit."

I wandered thru my local second hand stores and ended up with an 8 inch diameter shallow copper bowl that looks just right on top of my igloo. It also covers my 1 inch diameter vent that communicates with he insulation layer.