Weatherproof Stucco Oven

[gbcallaway]

I need some advice. I just finished putting the final coat of Stucco over my brick oven. Now I am wondering what is the best way of weather proofing it. So, is there a good paint or stain that someone could recommend. I live in Florida. So, with all the rain, heat and humidity, I really want to protect my oven. Hopefully there is something that i can pick up locally at a Home Depot that could do the job.

Thanks,
Greg

[Gulf]

I am a fan of Drylok. I've sealed the roof of my safe room and used it on my oven stand which is built inside a retainer wall. This stuff was designed for masonry basement walls. I have only used the premixed white. But, I understand that colors can be mixed into it. That being said, I did not use it on my oven. I mixed in an acrylic fortifier in my stucco for water proofing. And, I also have an open air roof over the dome. I've seen a lot of opinions against waterproofing. It is said that the shell needs to breath. My answer for that was a vent at the apex of the dome. It is working well so far .

[cobblerdave]

G'day
I have to agree with Gulf that to having a full overhead cover is the answer to waterproofing the igloo oven. I like the open sky and an uncovered oven though.
My dome has a shell of house brick which are water resistant. Whilst paint and sealers are alright as a dome sealer, I like the look of brick and the No maintenance aspect of not having to reapply sealers or paint. As Gulf says this is water resistant not full waterproof and tends to breath both ways, I too have a retrofitted dome vent.
If you entrance is built of firebrick, they are not water-resistant at all in fact with absorb water at an alarming rate so sealing them from the elements is an absolute must.
That leaves 2 other entry points the chimney and the entrance opening. The chimney needs a hood or a simple cap to solve that one. The oven entrance opening is a tricky one. If its left open to the elements wind and rain will deliver water to your entrance and oven hearth. I've built a door which just plugs into the entrance and stops the wind blown rain. It can be left in place unlike a tarp.
Hope something here might help
Regards Dave

[david s]

"If you entrance is built of firebrick, they are not water-resistant at all in fact with absorb water at an alarming rate"

There are firebricks and firebricks. Most are more porous than standard bricks. I was curious just how porous they are so did a test on my firebricks of their water absorption and was surprised to discover that they were exactly the same as my pressed red house bricks i.e. they soaked up exactly the same amount of water and at the same rate. I should add that my firebricks are high duty and have a fair degree of vitrification which reduces their ability to take up water. Lower duty firebricks will be lower fired and have less vitrification.
Regarding keeping the door in place to avoid rain entry, I agree that this is a good idea although I have found leaving the door in place after the rain has passed is not such a good idea. In the wet season (we live in the tropics) the oven begins to grow mould on the inside if the door is left in place. It works better to allow air to circulate to dry the oven from the inside. Just have to remember to stick the door back before the next downpour.

Regarding water entry via the chimney, while a cap will prevent water entering at the top another problem of water running down the outside of the pipe and entering where the outer shell meets the pipe is also a problem area if your oven has an exposed flue pipe. The expansion and contraction from heat requires a flexible seal at this point. I've found high temperature silicon a pretty good solution here. The best one is Permatex Ultra Copper which has the highest rating at 371 C quite a bit better than the Permatex red.