42" Pompeii in Kentucky

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Thanks for the complement Eric. How is progress on your oven, from your pictures it looks like a very ambitious project to say the least.

I layed the keystone Tues, and plan on a first curing fire next Friday. The chimney is in, and now it's time to see how this thing behaves, cracks, etc., before I wrap it in insulation and do all the other stuff to bring it up to indoor code, and then I'll work on the artsy finish work inside.

I am impressed how fast you built a high quality dome!

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Thanks Eric, I am happy to be ready to move on. I don't think my hands could handle much more mortar.

[eprante]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

CK,
Your dome looks great. Those top few courses can get tricky. For me I was so close that I was just happy to close the thing. You are right, nobody will stick their head in there. Congratulations.
Eric

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Thanks Dave, the dome is far from perfect but I appreciate the complement. And hey, it's done and I can move on to the next faze.

[DaveW]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Your dome looks perfect to me. Congratulations. I was not smart enough to drop the sand form the same day and had a mess when I finally did. Nice work,
dave

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

I completed the dome today. I was going to try to complete the last run without any support from underneath but gave up on the ninth run when gravity desided it liked the bricks better than the mortar. I went with the plywood circle and sand technique which worked quite well I must say. I got a little sloppy on last run with the cuts on the head joints. When you get that close to the top you really need to cut each brick individually to get a perfect fit but I was so close to being finished that I found an angle that was close and cut all the run before laying it. I regret this but at least you can't see it without sticking your head in the oven.

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

More pics.

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Thanks for the complement Eric. How is progress on your oven, from your pictures it looks like a very ambitious project to say the least.

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Beautiful work!

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

I finished my vent and made some progress on the dome in the last two days.

[Les]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Thats looking pretty sweet. Kick out the forms (after a day), no worries.

Les...

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

I built the first half of the upper vent today. I took alot of cutting. There is a one inch lip for the door cut on each brick behind the form. I hope the arch holds when the form is removed.

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

I started on the vent today. Does this look like it will work? I cut angles on the side of the vent walls to accept the soldier run and plan to cut the bricks on each dome run to that angle where they join the vent wall. Will this be a strong joint?

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

I started laying the dome today. I didn't cut angles on any brick yet. Everything including the head joints looks good except one place. I guess my perlcrete had a dip in it which transfered into the soldier run and then on into the dome and of course it's in the back in plain view when you look through the door. I should have been more careful leveling things up before I started. I think angles will need to be cut on the head joints of the next run of brick to get even joints on the brick. I've noticed that some people cut all their brick to get even joints from the inside out, is there any benefit to this other than less mortar usage. Does it effect the structural integrity of the dome?

[ckdickerson]

Re: 42" Pompeii in Kentucky

Didn't work on the oven much today but I did manage to get the floor laid. I used a 1:1 fire clay and fine sand mixture which was very difficult to work with. The mixture seemed to dry faster than I could lay the brick. My floor ended up a little uneven but I can live with it. I am attaching pictures of the floor and the thermocouple installed into the brick before laying. The thermocouple is recessed into the brick 1/2" from the cooking surface.