angled flight deck

[Neil2]

I have used the "angled" landing as shown in the photo below. Advantages:

- Can get closer to the fire and cooking floor (11 inches) than any other entry landing design.

- Pizza prep area is continuous with oven opening.

- Hot pots and pans can be slid in and out with no lifting.

The photo shows the first landing I did. It worked so well I cast an new one 12 inches longer. The landing is 1 1/2 inch thick polished concrete.

[Gary Mots]

Re: angled flight deck

Neil, that really looks good and very practical. I thought it was marble or granite when I first looked at the finish.

[DTHERR]

Re: angled flight deck

nice polished work ... what was used too seal it and can you describe the support beam ?

[Neil2]

Re: angled flight deck

No support beam. One end sits on the 8 inch sono pier column and the other rests on the suspended slab. Wen I cast it I put in a couple of anchors to bolt it to the slab and to the pier to prevent tipping if a huge weight is ever put on the cantilever end, although it is generally designed as a gravity structure.

It is ground/polished using diamond wet pads and an 5 inch angle grinder down to 3000 grit.

There is no coating but I did use a product called "enrich-n-seal" to give it a "wet" look and bring out the colour of the exposed stones. This seal is food safe and heat proof.

[mrchipster]

Re: angled flight deck

Neil,

I just noticed the pipes you have planted in the ground next to your oven.

That is one great idea. Do they have drain holes at the bottom to prevent water from just sitting in them and what are they made out of and how are they mounted to the ground?

Chip

[Neil2]

Re: angled flight deck

They are just some 2 inch pvc pipes I had around. They are just driven into the ground about 6 inches. I then cut slots with a hack saw about 1 inch above ground and filled the pipes with pea gravel to about 2 inches above ground.

[texman]

Re: angled flight deck

very nice. great ideas.

[Amac]

Re: angled flight deck

The landing is 1 1/2 inch thick polished concrete.

Neil - I love the look of your oven - the polished concrete counter, and surrounds - and nothing imo beats the dome finish. - very good work. I would love to attempt a similar polished concrete counter finish, but maybe it is a step too far for a novice. Do you have details of the concrete mix and any other additives and aggregates you used?

It is ground/polished using diamond wet pads and an 5 inch angle grinder down to 3000 grit.

Also did you use a "dry" angle grinder fixed rpm or do you need a variable speed grinder with water supply?

[Neil2]

Re: angled flight deck

Ordinary concrete.

I usually mix my own concrete, but when doing my first counter tops the navy-jack (aggregate) available locally was mostly blast rock. Blast rock does not make the best concrete.

Since the quantities involved are small, instead I bought bags of pre mix. Pre mix is well graded and usually has a good percentage of natural crush mix. This gives a good variety of exposed stone in the the finish. Look for rounded stone in the mix with only one or two fracture faces. Once you find a bag of premix you like, buy a bunch of it. Premix aggregate can vary from batch to batch. You can add powder or liquid concrete color to the mix. I don't use any other additives.

I used 3/8 rebar reinforcing and cast it face up. After three days, while the concrete is still "green", I used a 5 inch fixed speed grinder with a diamond grinding disk to take off the top 1/8 inch or so to show the exposed aggregate.

Fill in any pin holes or dents from the grinding with a concrete filler then cover up and let sit for three weeks (keeping well supplied with water) so it hardens enough to take the pollishing.

Next the polishing. I used a set of diamond pads (4 inch - which also fit on a 5 inch grinder), from 50 grit to 3000 grit.

Flood the surface with water and polish in even overlapping passes. Keep surface wet or you will burn out your pads in no time, heat is what kills the pads. One pass then flood it again. The pads will last a long time, I'm on my tenth counter top with the same set (except for a new 50 grit). This is all a very messy process and is best done outside well away from anything and with a poly screen. Invest in a set of rain gear.

That is the general process and is not too difficult but is labor intensive. I strongly suggest you do some trial pieces (stepping stones or such) to get the technique and color you want.

[Amac]

Re: angled flight deck

Thanks Neil - informative answer and much appreciated i - I also found another thread yesterday with a lot of discussion on the same subject which was very good and a lot of other info and a few links to buddy rhodes and fu tung cheng vids

The aggregate I used for the slab was pre-mix and I think all the gravelly parts seem to be like smooth pebble - I still have some left over but I thought the pebbles might be too big for that job. I'll try and find a suitable premix here.
I was planning on doing the slab surround in situ but from what you say I should cover the dome first in some protective sheeting.

Would it be too hard on the disks to test it out on already "cured" concrete. I have two grinders - one a cheap 4" I bought from Lidl (hardly used) and the other one I borrowed and used to cut all my brick is a 9" makita. Will the 9" fit those pads or vice versa?

Also the "concrete filler" - is that just cement or do you have a particular mix?

[Neil2]

Re: angled flight deck

"I think all the gravelly parts seem to be like smooth pebble"

That is what you want to use. The grinding cuts into the top of the pebbles giving a nice "granite" type look. The 9 inch pad set will probably be more expensive but will work faster than a 4 inch grinder. You would be giving a typical four inch angle grinder a good workout. A five inch angle grinder is usually built more robustly and would be better. With a five inch grinder I would still use the 4 inch pad set. A set of pads will run you about $100 but will last along time if used wet.

"Would it be too hard on the disks to test it out on already "cured" concrete."

They will be ok if the surface is kept wet. You want to do the polishing on well cured concrete. I just like to do the initial cutting away of the surface on green concrete because it is easier.

"Also the "concrete filler""

Also called "concrete patching compound". Mix with water to a fine slurry and "force" it into the pinholes and imperfections with a putty knife after the initial grinding off of the surface. The grinding will pick out small bits of aggregate and leave a hole. The pinholes are formed when the grinding cuts down into small air bubbles in the concrete.

[Abouna]

Re: angled flight deck

Neil,

Could you detail how you finished your dome? We're ready to insulate (we have blanket) and need to get this done so we can stop throwing a tarp over the oven every time there's a prediction of rain!

We were planning on just stucco over the blanket but I'd like to know what you did as your dome looks nice.

[Neil2]

Re: angled flight deck

I used 4 inches of vermacrete as the insulation layer. This left a nice "pebbly" surface for the stucco. I used an acrylic paint on stucco and applied three layers.

If you are using a blanket you may want a different approach. Some of the builders on this site used some kind of mesh to hold the blanket in place and provide the sub base for a portland based stucco (or "render" as the Aussies say). Perhaps one of these builders can chime in and answer your question better than I.

[Amac]

Re: angled flight deck

I used 4 inches of vermacrete as the insulation layer. This left a nice "pebbly" surface for the stucco. I used an acrylic paint on stucco and applied three layers.

If you are using a blanket you may want a different approach. Some of the builders on this site used some kind of mesh to hold the blanket in place and provide the sub base for a portland based stucco (or "render" as the Aussies say). Perhaps one of these builders can chime in and answer your question better than I.

I used a combination of ceramic blanket topped with vermicrete. I had bought metal lath (that is probably the mesh Neil refers to) for the stucco but wasn't happy with any way I could get to attach it without feeling it was a bit unstable so I ripped it out and applied more vermicrete to get it as rounded as possible (just "eyeballing") and like Neil I think the vermicrete gave a good surface to apply the stucco finish.

[texman]

Re: angled flight deck

Neil
Great discussion on the concrete counters. I have a few questions still. Is your premix you refer to just plain ole sack crete or a special premix for countertops?
What kind of spacing do you use for the 3/8" rebar? overlaped or just every so many inches?
Thanks
Tracy