Huge Thanks!

[Xene]

I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you who helped me through this build. I finished the oven a month ago but have been racing against the Iowa weather to finish one last project before winter set in so I haven't had a chance to post pictures until now.

Your advice and tips made it all possible, your dedication to answering newbie posts is so very appreciated; I couldn't have done it without you!

Here are the first two (plus one of the tiles), highlighting the finish on the dome. My daughter and I made these tile at the local ceramics center at the end of the summer. My intent was to push them into the wet stucco, but that proved to be impossible so we used a stucco slip and applied each one (nuts!) What do you know?! They stuck!

[Xene]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Here are a few extra shots of the oven and surround. We had cleared the patio of furniture for winter storage so we could get a nice shot of the oven. The herb garden was my last rush project, it sits east of the oven and was previously made of dry-stack limestone. Next to the oven it looked pretty shabby, now it all goes together and the top is wide and sturdy for extra seating if needed.

Again, thank you all for your wonderful help! Your generosity helped me build a thing of beauty we will cherish always. Cheers and good health to you all!

[Laurentius]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Hey, what happened to no wood under the oven? You have wood everywhere. Darn, the art work is beautiful, I wish that your chimney wasn't so big, so that more could show. Great Job.

[Xene]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Laurentius, you are right! I forgot we plan to put a door under the oven! My brother-in-law is the woodworker in charge of that...and we already have had to ask him for a second oven door (the first one burnt up overnight!) so that will wait until spring. It is nice to have all that wood covered, that is a plus with all those nooks!

Thanks on the tile finish, it is actually a lot more visually attractive in real life since you can get up close around the chimney.

[Laurentius]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Concerning door, tried wooden door, it became charcoal. Steel plate in front and back, ceramic fiber board in between. Have B-I-L, make a wooden facade. Great work again, well done. Wait to spring for the door, but cook all winter.

[V-wiz]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Beautiful oven. Wish i had those bricks.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Nice work and like the applique...........know what you mean about trying to beat the winter. I had 20" plus of snow last weekend on my wfo.

[Gulf]

Re: Huge Thanks!

WOW!
That oven is a true work of art. I really do love to see the results of what some one can do when they combine hard work and artistic creativity. Great! job Xene. I predict that your oven will inspire a whole new breed of pompeii finishes .

[Bookemdanno]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Its an absolute beauty! Very well done!

[ATK406]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Breathtaking! I originally did not care for the igloo style when I was researching for my build. However, after building my own oven, I have fallen in love with the dome/igloo shape. The igloo style also helps to keep the size of the oven in scale with the rest of the architecture and offers so many opportunities for creative finish designs. Yours is one of the best I have ever seen. The only thing keeping me from finishing my oven with an igloo/stucco style finish is the harsh Michigan winter....apparently that has not stopped you in Utah. BRAVO!

[Xene]

Re: Huge Thanks!

I'm actually in Iowa, right between Zones 3 and 4, which means our freeze and thaw cycle is some of the most extreme in the nation and our roads show it! My husband and I did some research on stucco products and settled with using a waterproof first coat mixed with fiber for strength, we also added Acryl60 to every layer for flexibility. There are two thin coats over that first, my understanding being that cracks are most likely to form between layers, which is desirable vs. all the way through. The last layer is N type mortar with color added and the Acryl60. Of course we haven't yet made it through a winter, but I'm confident we have done all we could. Check back with me in May! I did also apply 3-inches of ceramic blanket under all that, completely cool to touch even when the dome hits 1200 degrees! WooHoo!

Thanks for all the kudos, means a lot from you all who really understand what it takes to get that far!

Oh- one more cool thing: it only cost $45 to create all those tile, bargain - and we made memories in the process!

[deejayoh]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Nice work! You have really come up with an original way of finishing the dome. The dome and surrounding area look fantastic.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Really nice, I am glad it worked out for you.

[Xene]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Really nice, I am glad it worked out for you.

I owe you a personal thank you Tscarborough, you may or may not have put together Abouna was my husband, but your advice and time to help us work out our product needs was very much appreciated. I would never have attempted such a monumental project on my own, probably would have psyched myself out. Instead I bumbled through it knowing if I really hit a snag I had experts like you to talk me through it...so I just pushed onward and look where it got me! I built an oven!! WooHoo!!

Thanks isn't enough and sounds so contrived, but I sincerely mean it.

[Les]

Re: Huge Thanks!

Xene,

Are you concerned that the leaves may "pop" off due to your weather. I pray that it won't because it is extremely clever and very artsy. In the top 3 of all the domes I have seen.