42" build in Virginia

[brickie in oz]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

I hope you havent progressed too far since that last pic.
Steel lintels and wood ovens dont work too good together, even worse its galvanized.
The zinc may poison your family, or is that the plan.

[david s]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

The steel being more conductive attracts the heat and gets much hotter than the refractory surrounding it leading to expansion that the refractory can't handle. You may be able to drill and chip the refractory at each end to provide some expansion space that might work. Regarding the galvanized, if it is, you should remove it. Research zinc poisoning.

[fabby]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

Bummer. I never gave a thought to the type of metal, but it sure looks galvanized. The pieces I used on the stand were left over from a builders stock. I was originally going with an arch form but then it just became to complicated

What should I use instead, and what is the best way to remove this as the bricks an refractory are atached?

Hell, I take zinc for my prostate.......galvanized can't be all that bad on your pizza

[david s]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

ingesting zinc is different from inhaling the fumes it produces.

[fabby]

Re: 42" build in Virginia


My daddy always taught me, he said "mikey, never force anything, just get a bigger hammer"

Well, I have never ordered pizza with zinc fumes on it at the pizzeria, so I figured I wouldn't offer it on my menu either.

Harbor freight has a pneumatic hammer with the attachments. My brother, who is the "toolman", just happened to have one in stock. Go figure. He has everything. AND, it has never been used!!! Perfect for removing that big ass piece of galvanized angle iron without destroying my baby.

I hooked it up to my air compressor and within minutes, I have a new hole that is unsupported.


What do I do now, I need some serious help.......please?


I'm out there, and I'm loving it! (that's a Seinfeld tv show reference to going camando for those that don't know )

[brickie in oz]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

You probably need to build an arch to support the opening, also, your little reveal pieces will just fall off over time like they have now.

[fabby]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

I took a pic of a cut out for the arch, with a height of 12.5". Can I build an arch that is that thin at the top, or do I need to make the opening smaller? What is the thinnist keystone I can have at the center of the arch?

[brickie in oz]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

You could always cast the arch.

[stonecutter]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

Casting would be a good idea, but you should be o.k. if you go with firebrick. Don't forget to cut your form a little less than the total height of your finished arch, then use wedges to raise up the form. When you are done with the arch,pull the wedges out, the form drops, and you have an arch.

[deejayoh]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

You could try something like what I did with my firewood storage area. I built an axed arch as a decorative finish that had to fit into a square opening, and was surprised by how sturdy it was, even using voissoirs (love these brickie terms!)

You could do the same with the bricks on their long side. Cut to fit the square shape from the back ~2-3 inches of each brick to fit into your oven opening, but have the strong part of the arch built with the rest.

kind of convoluted, I hope it makes sense.

[cobblerdave]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

Gudday Fabby
I feel you pain buddy, you are definitly betwwen a rock and a hard place.
You have the best advice here from a brick layer who can build an oven, multiple caste oven builder, a stone mason, and dejayoh( firewood entrance arch is awsome).
If anyone can talk you through this and build an arch its is those bunch.
I'm only a mug builder have a entrance with a lintle due to my poor brick laying skills. I'll be the first to say its not best practice,its prone to rust cracks from uneven expansion, all of everything that has been said, my oven continues to work however.
Be happy with any decision you make

Regards Dave

[fabby]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

Thanks for all the tips.

Deejoohah, your fireplace storage looks better than my whole oven

I am going to remove the rest of the supports, build a better side reveal, and then try to build some sort of arch. If that gets too complicated, I do have a piece of regular steel that my brother has, (not galvanized) that I can always go back to. I am not sure I can cut my bricks with my grinder and diamond wheel to fit this space. My cuts have been crude at best

Any other tips on how to make the steel work better?

[fabby]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

If I were to make an cast arch, is this poured out of refractory cement, or is there a refractory "mix" for strength? Would I have to pour the form in place?

[stonecutter]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

If I were to make an cast arch, is this poured out of refractory cement, or is there a refractory "mix" for strength? Would I have to pour the form in place?

I don't have experience with castable refractory (yet) but, the way I would make that arch would be to make a form on a table, then cast it as I would a concrete piece. I feel that you can control the quality better than casting in place, and less chance of damaging the piece when you remove the form.

[stonecutter]

Re: 42" build in Virginia

Also, if you choose to build it from brick, why not make a template of the arch out of paper so you can make adjustments to your cuts without having to slide brick in and out of your form? Then just lay the template down and dry lay your brick to fit...once that is done you can mortar it all together.