My 42" Pompeii Oven Build in West Michigan

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Photos of my 42" wood fired oven build.

I've been learning about building a WFO on this site since Feb 2015, and finally broke ground on April 15. I'm nearly finished now, so I wanted to document my steps and things I learned during the last seven months. It turned out to be a lot of work, but I can honestly say that it has been a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

As you can see, I'm not quite done but pretty close. I need to install a soffit and trim along the top of the brick, but that's about all that's left. It has been functional (although unfinished) since July 2015, and has seen use several days per week since that time.

It's not just for pizza. We've used it to make the best tasting pizza we've had, ribs, roast chicken, risotto, bacon, roast peppers, steak, burgers, bread, vegetables, frittatas, apple crisp and probably a few other things. Everything tastes better in the wood fired oven! We're looking forward to making our whole Thanksgiving dinner in it as well.

[admin]

Very nice! Be sure to post a link to your gallery so we can see the steps you took to build this fine oven!

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My boys (Jake and Luke) and I were eager to start building the oven. After we removed the soil, we filled the hole with gravel. Rebar was added and then many bags of cement mixed to pour the foundation. We used the dimensions given in the free Forno Bravo Pompeii plans for the foundation. This is a good time for me to say thanks to Forno Bravo for providing me the information and community to learn how to build a WFO. Before this project, I had never laid a brick. It would have been impossible for me to complete this without the resources and tips from fellow builder's on this site.

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The foundation was poured and block structure built. A stick of rebar was placed into every other core and filled with cement. I built a temporary plywood support for the cement top. Remember to use shims under the 2x4's when making a plywood support. The support would have been very difficult to remove once poured if shims had not been used. The foundation and cement top are both 5 1/2" thick and reinforced with rebar. We rented a portable cement mixer and used bagged cement for the foundation. For the cement top, we hired a cement truck.

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Two 2" thick insulating ceramic fiber boards were purchased from a local refractory supplier to provide coverage for the oven floor. I spent quite a lot of time researching the correct type of firebricks to use and sourcing local suppliers. I wanted to make sure the alumina content in the bricks was within the proper range as shown in the Forno Bravo plans.

I was really impressed with Boylanta's Oven Build - especially the flared entry he designed, so I copied the plans for that part. I used a piece of thin plywood and made a template for the 42" oven floor and entry. After the template was drawn out on the firebricks, the perimeter was cut using a 10" wet saw. I ended up making plans for several components of my oven using Google Sketchup.

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Luke was able to cleanup the wet mortar from the inside while Dad worked on the outside of the dome.

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Here are some more photos of the dome construction. I really enjoyed the time spent with my boys making the oven.

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Here is the first test fire and beginning of the curing process. I used 3' of double wall stainless 8" duravent pipe for the chimney. Here, a 2' section is shown. I later attached an additional 1' to provide adequate clearance for the roof.

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I didn't take a lot of photos of the steps between the curing and this stage. Three inches of ceramic fiber blanket and metal lath were added around the dome. I made a structure out of 16 gauge steel studs for the enclosure. The void inside the enclosure was completely filled with perlite! I found 4 cubic foot bags at a local agriculture store. I don't recall exactly but I think there's about 45 cubic feet of perlite inside. That stuff is nasty! A respirator is essential.

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I ended up building a chimney structure out of cement board and metal angle which was fastened to the roof with galvanized steel plates and screws. I covered the chimney with 3/4" thick "thin brick" for aesthetics. If I had to do this part again, I would probably build a conventional masonry chimney. At the time I was concerned about all the extra mass required to support a chimney that type, and wanted to use the insulated stainless pipe instead.

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I used full size modular bricks for the exterior of the enclosure (about ~950 of them!). I added some LED lighting and had a remnant piece of granite finished to fit my dimensions for the countertop. I made an insulated door out of stainless steel, maple, and cedar. Next, I would like to build a glass draft door like this one. JCG31 did an amazing job on his and set the bar for beautiful glass doors!

I welded a stainless chimney cap (pictured). It turned out ok but I wanted to improve it. I ended up making a 2nd cap which turned out nice but I don't have pictures yet.

[moderator]

Amazing work! The oven looks incredible!

[moderator]

Amazing work! The oven looks incredible!

[Skinnerba]

Beautiful build!

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Thanks! Thanksgiving dinner turned out great in the oven. We used the high heat technique found on the website. It ended up roasting at 460 degrees until the meat reached 160 degrees. It was cooked with the coals removed and the insulating door installed. It was very moist and delicious.

Also, my brother in law saw this cast iron skillet pancake recipe on Diners Drive in and Dives: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/pa...s-0206518.html.

It came out amazing in the wood fired oven! You have to try it!!