42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

[V-wiz]

Good Day all, im happy to say that im slowly starting my pizza oven. I am absolutely in love with playing with fire and cooking over fire. My plan is to build a 42" oven, the dome will be exposed with smooth plaster/stucco coated over the dome. The stand will be covered with vintage bricks. The chimney will be either with firebricks then bricks over the firebrick or just red bricks stacked. I also plan on building a grill with firebricks inlayed. The grill will have a custom lid so i can cover the grill for smoking purposes. I also plan on having a small sink on one side. So far these are my plans, im sure things will change down the line but for now this is it. I am so excited to get things moving. Below are some pictures of the area i plan on having the oven at, the oven will be at the corner.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

Over the weekend im going to de-root a large tree root and prepare the foundation form. The following im hoping to go and pick up the fire bricks. Will update with photos

[landras]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

nice, keep posting your progress!

[Laurentius]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

How far from the house is that? Will you have a prep area? Nice yard, nice view if the fence wasn't so tall, but I see the neighbor's house below. Have fun and a Merry Christmas.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

How far from the house is that? Will you have a prep area? Nice yard, nice view if the fence wasn't so tall, but I see the neighbor's house below. Have fun and a Merry Christmas.

That area is about 40-50 feet from my house, and about 30-40 feet from the attached patio. I will have extra counter space, so that can be my prep area. Its intended to be a outdoor kitchen area, with the floor being covered with more bricks. Ill probably put up some chairs and my wood fired clay chiminea. My yard is a mess, but im working on it, beginning with that Oven . The street slopes down so the my next door neighbors house is lower than mine, so the view of those beautiful mountains don't get affected. Thank you Merry Christmas to you as well.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

FYI i plan on getting about 325 of these firebricks over the weekend. http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mat/3366706176.html

[Les]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

FYI i plan on getting about 325 of these firebricks over the weekend. http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mat/3366706176.html

It say's the posting has expired

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

It say's the posting has expired

Really, i can see it on my screen. Ive already spoke to him. Here are the bricks

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

Well today was a waste of a day. We rented a stump grinder and the darn thing didn't work. We had to take it back. Here is what came out of that tree. Its Mulberry.

[Les]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

V-wiz,

If you just grind the stump, it will compromise anything on top over time. It's a pain it the butt but I dig them out. If you pour your slab over the area, make sure you have steel to span the area. Just my opinion but I respect it.

[Gulf]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

I haven't tried it but mulberry should be an excelent smoking/flavor wood .
I'm with Les on stumps. They will eventually rot out leaving a void. It should be dug out and replaced with some well tamped spent concrete or other suitable fill. If not, make sure that your oven's slab spans well over the area of the tap root. And, like Les said, "make sure you have steel to span the area". You might want to think about a couple of more inches of slab thickness also.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

V-wiz,

If you just grind the stump, it will compromise anything on top over time. It's a pain it the butt but I dig them out. If you pour your slab over the area, make sure you have steel to span the area. Just my opinion but I respect it.

Oh the oven wont be in that area or in top of the tree stump for that matter, its at the center of the yard so i have to get rid of it. The oven will be at the corner of the yard. Thanks for the heads up.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

I haven't tried it but mulberry should be an excelent smoking/flavor wood .
I'm with Les on stumps. They will eventually rot out leaving a void. It should be dug out and replaced with some well tamped spent concrete or other suitable fill. If not, make sure that your oven's slab spans well over the area of the tap root. And, like Les said, "make sure you have steel to span the area". You might want to think about a couple of more inches of slab thickness also.

Your right, mulberry is awesome, it has a sweet aroma. Ive used it a few times. If you look at the photo of the wood you will notice chunks which ive cut just for smoking in my smoker.

[V-wiz]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

I finally got my firebricks. They are high in Alumina. I have about 240-250. They are all tapered. The larger bricks will go on the floor, since the floor bricks are tapered also i will have to spend some time with fireclay to level them out for a even floor. The larger bricks are measured at 8 1/2" x 7 3/4", the tapered edges are 3" to 23/4". The smaller bricks which will be used for the dome are 9" x 6", the tapered edges are 2 1/4" to 2". Will i have issues with gathering heat since they will be thick and have lots of thermal mass? The walls will be 6" thick instead of 4 1/4" thick like most of you guys build yours. Does that mean i don't have to use as much insulation and cement for the exterior wall over the insulation? some education would be great. Anyways here are the photos. Thank you.

[Gulf]

Re: 42" Brick Oven & Grill in Los Angeles.

The extra thermal mass will take much longer to heat up, but should retain the heat longer. That is, if you insulate at least to if not more, to the standard. The 80% alumina brick will be a chore to cut with a wet saw. It can be done but don't force the cuts and keep plenty of water on the blade. It will probably take several blades to finish the oven though.
UtahBeehiver will probably be your "go to guy" if you build with 80% alumina brick.