42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

[man7sell]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

dvm,
I built my oven with the soldier course and used the plywood method. It worked well for me but I did not fix the board to the floor, all I did is mark the floor center and had the center mark on the edge of the board and went around setting the brick. That way I was able to take it in and out easier initially. For the last chains I made a form were I set the chains on top of.

Attached you can see the board inside the oven (the only photo I have of the board). Also the form I made for the last chains.

Brian

Now that's a great way. I was trying to decide which way to go.

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

I suspected as much. It is hard to picture but important to remember these these structures do not sit still - they with expand (move) and contract (move) as they heat and cool; with different elements moving different degrees based of different heat content. Makes sense to let it "float" and allow it to move where it wants. a cardboard gap sounds like a simple interface solution. cool. I mean hot.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

DVM,

I had a similar question and I received an overwhelming "no" to mortaring to the insulating board (I used CaSi). I also cut the floor to sit inside my "sailers vs soldiers" putting a ring of cardboard between the floor brick and in your case the soldiers for expansion of the floor purposes and to keep mortar from dropping down in the gap and possibly cracking the soldier ring. Others have used this technique and supposedly the cardboard burns out and eventually fills with ash from the fire. Hope this helps.

Russell

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

As the hearth slab cures (and I am waiting for a 2'x3" FB ceramic fiber insulation board in the mail - 3 were initially packed 4 are required) I continue to cut and dry stack bricks for the oven archway and the lower courses of the tapered vent. I am working from a full scale pencil drawing on brown paper.

Here is a question for the community: I plan to use a tall soldier course with the floor set inside the soldiers (the floor is inside the dome, the dome does NOT sit on the floor). I will level the floor tiles with a mixture of refractory brick dust (from the saw tray) and sand spread with a notched trowel.
Question: Should I mortar the soldiers to the ceramic board, or simply stand them up and mortar them together?

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

Hey DVM,

I like the carbide tip brick tool. Tried clay and wax lumber crayons, wash off. Went to a sharpie, 1/8" wide so kind of fat. Going to head to the orange box store and score one of these so I have when finer cuts are needed. Thanks, love this forum. Good luck with the arch, I am working on mine right now and the taper angles are time consuming since my bricks are 5.25" wide that the trusty of HF saw on has depth capacity of 3" max. so four cuts per arch brick plus a grinding with a diamond cup.

Russell

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

As I wait for this morning's cement pour to cure - I turned may attention to the oven archway.
I started with OSB template of the oven floor raise up on a few bricks. This allowed me to "dry set" the bricks for marking in prep for a day of cutting tomorrow. The carbide tipped brick marking tool from HD worked like a champ and won't wash off in the saw as would pencil - and the lines are sharper than a "Sharpie"
BTY the stick of wood on a hinge (when drilled at 21 inch radius first served as the compass to create the template) happens to be 2.5 inches wide which served me well when marking in the intersection of the soldier course with the arch bricks

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

It was a great morning - I have to say standing up and finishing concrete in the shade with a nice breeze was a treat.

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

You arch looks great. I will make an arch over the adjacent fireplace; so I have another chance at this. The 8" metal flashing was very easy to use..... I think I will place the supporting boards side by side and cover with moist sand before rolling out the metal flashing. We will see how that works next time.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

A grinder will fix most of the scallops, your discovery will help others in the future for arched lintels. I used 1/2" OSB (sides) with 2X3 blocking and 5/15" ply (arch) in my arch form and had no issues with deforming.

Good luck with the rest of your build.

Russell

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

I will admit, sommething about symmetry helps me relax.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

dvm,

Nice symmetry with your floor layout.

Russell

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

I finished cutting the FB floor tiles to fit the floor. In this photo, the wooden template is raised up on blocks (allowing me to mark the underside of the tiles for cutting). I set the entry tiles square, and the oven floor tiles on the diagonal. These will rest on regular fire bricks which I split to 1 1/4 inch thick which will rest on 2 inch ceramic fiber board ... at least that is the plan.
dvm

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

Ahh simple as that! Thanks!

[deejayoh]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

The sludge will shed any water content pretty quickly when you muck it out of the tray. Scoop it into a bucket, pausing for just a moment to let water drain away from what you mucked out - and you will probably find that you have fairly firm chunks of fire clay. Then just toss an equal volume of sand into the bucket with the fire clay, mix them up with a trowel (or gloved hand) and wa-la, you will have your tile bed - with probably just about the right amount of moisture.

[dvm]

Re: 42" FB Pompeii Oven with 19" dome, and adjacent fireplace, in the O.C.

Ok, the forms are in place and ready for us to pour the top of the stand this weekend. Jumping ahead a bit, I cut a wooden template for the oven floor (which will rest inside the walls). Since I am using a FB Pompei kit I have 18 inch square by 2 inch tiles for the cooking floor. I wanted a bit more mass So I first cut 2.5 inch bricks in half to make splits, and now I am cutting the large tiles to fit inside the dome. I decided to place the large tiles on the diagonal to avoid catching my peel on a seam. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "Rigid" brand 10" tile saw I bought at HD several years ago can just cut these tiles on the diagonal!
So my question is..how do I get from sludge in the tray of the saw to a usable material to be placed under the floor tiles with a notched trowel?

Suggestions welcome

dvm