Bellingham Bread Oven

[janprimus]

Hello, I am Chad and I am building an oven here in Bellingham Washington. This is the very beginning of my oven. Actually, it is the physical beginning as I have been working on this in my head for quite a while now.
Anyway here is the foundation.

[james]

Chad,

Welcome!

I already like your oven, as I can see you are building a round foundation and stand. I've always liked that design. Simone built her oven on a round stand in Nor-Cal that looks great.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

James

[janprimus]

I found another oven in Point Roberts Washington

I was pretty surprised, but I found this one just wandering this small community in the very northwest corner of Washington. A funny place because you have to leave the US drive 30 miles through Canada and drive south again to get here.

PS. James, where are the photos of Simones oven? Are they here? I'd like to see them.

Chad

[janprimus]

Poured mud

I poured my foundation yesterday. 2.5 yards with less than a wheelbarrow leftover. It was just perfect. The circle dimension is 5 feet and there is about 45 feet of wall foundation as well. It will be a mixture of brick and stone somewhat similar to the other picture in the post.
Chad

[Marcel]

#66 Is that a Pre-Fab I see in the Photo. ?

#66

(M) Chad, that looks like a great begining. At first I interpreted the curved concrete to and from the oven slab as paths, but then I saw the re-bar.

(M) In the background of your first single Photo I see what appears to be a circular slab cooking floor as well as a quasi dome like shell. Will they form the basis of your actual oven?

Ciao,

Marcel

[janprimus]

Good eye Marcel. I got a 4 foot dome and slab from a local manufacturer. They are both precast 4 inch thick refractory cement. I almost feel like a traitor for not building the firebox out of brick, but the rest of the process is so similar... You guys have been a great inspiration for me.
I will build the wall with 6X8X16 inch masonry blocks and face it on both sides with stone and brick. The base for the oven will have the stone and brick and then kind of a wavy ribbon of smaller stones sort of sweeping around the perimeter of it. Here is the inspiration for the flowing band of smaller rocks. It is a bit blurry, but it is from a section of floor in the Castle Gruyere in Switzerland. The stones just seemed to flow like water in this section and I just loved it. My sons and I went there a year ago last summer. I have a brother that lives in Fribourg.

[janprimus]

I have laid some cinder blocks

Well I have a goodly portion of the block base laid up. Unfortunately I was not paying enough attention to plumb, but it will all work out. This will all be covered on both sides with the brick and stone treatment. I decided I didnt have enough rebar in the circle and added two more lieces after the fact, by drilling into the slab 3.5 inches with my hammer drill and epoxying rebar in there. I have also intertwined the block wall and the circle at course 2 and 5 so that will give me added stability. This is really satisfying to come home and mix up a half batch of mud and lay some blocks till it gets dark, which is pretty early around here... Oh well, tomorrow, I will finish up the base for this section and begin work on forming my slab to support the hearth.

I do have one question for the folks here, how high, generally, do you put the deck of your hearth? I have seen a lot of pics and they seem to be going pretty low. I was thinking about 4 to 4.5 feet to hearth level. Any ideas, caveats, kudos, kicks in the wazoo?

Chad

[aikitarik]

I do have one question for the folks here, how high, generally, do you put the deck of your hearth? I have seen a lot of pics and they seem to be going pretty low. I was thinking about 4 to 4.5 feet to hearth level. Any ideas, caveats, kudos, kicks in the wazoo?

I went up 4 blocks before pouring the deck.

When cooking, I something think I should have gone up one more block so I wouldn't have to bend over to look into the oven, but then, I'm quite tall.

When loading the oven with wood, I'm grateful that I didn't go any higher, since reaching deep into the oven is enough of a challenge (I do have a 12+ inch counter in front).

My wife thinks it's fine the way it is.

[james]

Oven floor height

In general, I think most people like between 38" and 45". I'm about 5' 10" and like the oven floor on the higher side -- you don't have to bend as much. My first oven was lower (38"), and I think that is too low. You can always put a 4" high course of blocks in the stand to get the height you want.

Don't forget to account for the hearth and the cooking floor itself when calculating the height of the cooking surface.

[janprimus]

wall and oven base treatment.

Here are a couple more pics of how I am going to finish the exterior of the wall and the base of the oven. My sweetie is a mason. She does nice work eh?
Chad

[paulages]

beautiful work!

[janprimus]

topping it off

I have figured out how I want to top my wall. I have about 45 feet of wall in addition to the oven. I dont want to run the wall much higher than 3.5 feet, but I still want a bit more screen on top to lighten it up a bit. I considered wood, as I am an able carpenter, but didnt want to go with lattice or anything like that. I was thinking perhaps wrought iron, but I am not much of a welder and that gets pricey real fast. The I hit it, soft copper tubing! I can bend it with a tubing bender attach it to the top of the wall with nipples of hard copper tubing brazed on to it. I know I will be able to make some fairly fanciful curlycues to top off the wall. It is not so soft that it cannot handle a clematis or perhaps some hop vines growing on it. I went to my local metal salvage yard yesterday after work and procured about 90 feet of 1? inch thick walled soft copper, and a full 60 foot roll of ?" soft copper for the more elaborate curls. It wound up costing 300 bucks for the materials, but I know I will be able to do something fun with it. I love this!

[paulages]

that could look really nice. i've actually done landscaping where a client insisted on sealing the copper features with urethane, preserving that bright gaudy look. copper is at its best, IMO, when it oxidizes and blends in well with the landscape as a greenish color. there's a reason why lots of old buildings use copper roofs and gutter/downspouts. they last for a really long time!

[Marcel]

Copper tubing curlycues

#80


(M) Chad wrote, in part:

(C) "Then I hit it, soft copper tubing! I can bend it with a tubing bender attach it to the top of the wall with nipples of hard copper tubing brazed on to it.

(M) I have an easier and cheaper way.

Go to:

http://photobucket.com/albums/a318/marceld/Ecolodge/

(M) which is a sub folder called, "Ecolodge". There you'll see more images which compare soldering nipples to bending tubing. Here should follow just one image. I didn't copy more here as this does not directly relate to oven building but if you'd like to ask me more about these images, write me to marceld@efn.org



(M) I will also post images of a form I built to aid in bending. That image also shows progress on the perlcrete so I can easily justify posting it. I think I'll put it in the Photo section, or perhaps the other closely related one.

(C) I know I will be able to make some fairly fanciful curlycues to top off the wall. It is not so soft that it cannot handle a clematis or perhaps some hop vines growing on it. I went to my local metal salvage yard yesterday after work and procured about 90 feet of 1? inch thick walled soft copper, and a full 60 foot roll of ?" soft copper for the more elaborate curls. It wound up costing 300 bucks for the materials, but I know I will be able to do something fun with it. I love this![/QUOTE]

Ciao,

Marcel

[Marcel]

Foil and "curlycues"

#81

(M) I decided to Reply to my own post since Chad could see the jig and the rest of you my progress with the perlcrete on Paul's chicken wire over my foil:

(M) Here next is a picture of my a corner of my oven foundation slab to show a possible tile we're considering for the entire slab.

(M) Chad, it also shows a piece of treated 2x6 with 2 different diameter pipe nipples attached; a 1/2", and a 3/4". If you use a hammer over those pipes, you can get the proper configuration for soldering and avoid the cost of the fittings, some of which, e.g. the + shape run a few dollars for just 1.



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(M) The next shot shows a face view of the oven. Now the lip below the firebricks has been filled. We hope to adhere decorative "Listello" tiles, about 3 or 4 inches on a side on that smooth vertical plane which is now about 8"

(M) Notice that wood is already stacked in the storage area, the bricks adjacent the chimney flue are blackened from the first 3 test firings, and firebricks are temporarily placed on each side of the hearth opening:



================================================== ==

(M) The last image:



shows Paul's suggested chicken wire helping to support the perlcrete. The bricks are temporarily placed where they will help to hold the chicken wire against the foil. Because of the compound curve, I had to snip and/or remove extra chicken wire. I think I may be able to finish this thin layer tomorrow. Then I will be able to later apply much more perlcrete since it will have the rough surface for adhesion. Then, I can start on the housing cover and finally pour dry perlite over the dome.

P.S. I also hope to actually use the oven for baking pizza!

Ciao,

Marcel