36" rhode Island build

[Northup]

Wanted to start my build for a 36" oven this summer, but summer turned into fall and fall was ending quickly. Was able to get the base done and blocks stacked/filled in November. Then in December we had a nice "warm" week and I decided to pour my hearth Slab. Temps were in the 40*s during the day but nights dipped lower so I decided to tent the slab with moving blankets and add some light heat. This worked great! Ran it for an hour and got the temp under and around the slab to stay warm but not hot. Came out late that night and the slab was still above freezing with the blankets holding the heat in nicely. More to come when my photos upload off my phone

[Northup]

Since it is February in Rhode Island, its way to cold to mortar and bricks, so I decided to dry stack and precut as much as possible in my basement then number and reassemble outdoors as soon as the weather breaks for spring. I ended up making a false brick from some scrap wood and keyed off of that. My IT tool is similar design used by many with an old door hinge and stud welded to the bottom half, I used a turnbuckle in it to make any length adjustments. Cut my floor bricks simple enough and then cut my soldiers, ended up cutting and angle on them to slight tip them inward and reduce any shim needed. Second course I made a jig and tried to make 2 bricks with 3 cuts. I thought I was doing it correctly, but i was making 1 good brick and 1 parallelogram. thankfully these bricks were trash and the side angle really isnt terrible. A few small gaps you can see but they will be hidden on the side. Now I know where i was making the mistake and have corrected my jig since the photo and when I start the third course it is cutting two prefect bricks in three cuts.

Couple bullet points for future references...
- My firebricks were not all the same size, some bricks were up to 1/8" bigger then others
- Don't buy a Tile saw blade, I bought a rigid premium blade that said it cuts granite... ya tiles, not bricks, It was dead after my first course
( https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1...J10P/205863854 )
Ended up getting a brick saw blade and its great, little more aggressive not super smooth but good. (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1...4720/301721027 I found a 10" version)
- Don't over think the cuts, simple solutions are there if you just step back and look at it.
- Make the end of your IT tool small, I had mine 4x4 or so and it was way to big so i cut it down to a few inches wide may have to modify it even smalled when I get the the upper dome

Still need to figure out my arch cuts, currently just stacked up to see where it fits and to help me plan ahead, should start them this weekend.
Also trying to decide how long my landing should be, waiting on the 6" chimney flange I ordered to see how large the base of it is.
All the insulation products have been sourced but wont be cut until i move outside
Still trying to decide between home brew or the heatstop 50. Have 1, 50 lb bag of fire clay already. My local supplier who specializes in these supplies "surprisingly" recommends the HS50 for 65$ a bag

[UtahBeehiver]

Nice winter work. You must have an old home with a stone foundation.

I had a couple different IT heads, one wider, one really narrow. Are you doing a tapered inner arch (highly recommended). Attached is a pic showing how the IT is used to define the angles.

[Northup]

ya I have seen a few post and that is the way I am planning on doing it. recently was reading Jim's "36" Pompeii build in the desert" and taking pointers from his discussions with others on figuring the arch tapper out.
yes I have a Colonial home so the field stone foundation walls are great. Still tossing around Ideas on how I will finish the outside of the oven. Would like to be able to see the Dome shape but trying to find a suitable render that will be weather resistant enough for around here. I do plan on building a stone wall under the oven edges to hide the blocks

[Gulf]

...........Still tossing around Ideas on how I will finish the outside of the oven. Would like to be able to see the Dome shape but trying to find a suitable render that will be weather resistant enough for around here........

I had the same wants and concerns for my oven. A roof with a substantial overhang will protect the oven as well as yourself from the elements. I settled on an open sided scissor truss design to protect the oven and still showcase the dome shape.

[Northup]

Thanks for the idea Gulf I had looked at your build a few years ago but was good to remind myself of that covering.
Made some progress today but about as high as i can dry stack without supports right now, other courses will have to be cut but not pre assembled
Got some taper work on the arch still need to get the top angle right but that may wait till i start mortaring courses so I can get it more accurate per brick. Each last brick will also be custom cut at the arch meeting to fit because I know the mortar gaps will shift bricks slightly. Also haven't been too concerned with running joints, most are fine but i think there is one or two that will be altered before final mortar

[JRPizza]

Looks great! Maybe you should start selling kits

[Northup]

Weather finally got better enough to give me a shot at bringing the oven outside. Built a little shanty/plastic hut covering to keep any rain off the base.
Transferred all the floor bricks onto the 4" of CalSil board the other day, Was really happy with the CalSil boards I got local from SmartCermaics. They were dead flat, I didnt have any trouble keeping the floor perfectly level. Took 6 boards total. Thought it would be more so now I have 2 extra calsil sheets
Today we started stacking and mortaring bricks, got 4 courses up today. Rain/Cold for the next 3 days so will have to wait out the weather. I decided to spend the money and buy the Heatstop50 instead of mixing up my own mortar. Really happy with how the mortar mixes and didn't have any troubles with it, even though it dries pretty quick. A ratio of 3(dry) to 1(wet) gave me a great result.

Have 3 inches of #8 ceramic fiber blanket to wrap the outside then I will do an inch or 2 of P-crete on top of that before the final scratch coat. Hoping with 4 inches under and around 4 outside the heat will hold nicely

[UtahBeehiver]

I looked at the dry fit tapered arch again and it seems off or a least different than typical tapered arches. I post #3 I attached an example of a tapered inner arch. the blue line being the ID of the dome and the red line the OD of the dome. This slope distance should be 1/2 a full brick length, 9" brick = 4.5" slope in order for the dome to mate into the tapered arch. Revisit you calcs, now is the time to adjust.

[Northup]

yes Utah you are correct, in the dry stack photo it hasn't been cut for the outter arch radius yet so that has been adjusted. Thanks for all the input from everyone on the forums so far. Been super helpful to read over other peoples builds

[Scofield]

I'm impressed with your build so far, Northup. I want to make something like that this year but I'm such a newbie. Would you recommend attempting this to someone like me?

[UtahBeehiver]

Hello Scofield,

Welcome to the Forum. I would dare say most of use were or are novices in some or all aspects of building a WFO. I myself never did any significant masonry work (but I am a pretty good DIYer). I would suggest you start my downloading the cheap Pompeii plans from our host for $3 bucks. It is a great baseline for information and general construction, a little dated as far as new or improved processes or materials but a good start none the less. Deejayho is from the Seattle area and built a very nice oven and always willing to share his knowledge (look at his thread or PM him). The key is to thoroughly research out your project then ask the Forum with any questions you may have.

[Northup]

I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to build one. I think it is always great to learn new skills and push yourself into new ideas. There is a ton of great info on here from other builds that helped immensely when I was planning my build and had questions. The forno bravo Pompeii plans were a great cheap way (just a couple buck for the pdf files) to get some more info into what is needed. I had no previous brick or mason skills, although I am pretty comfortable doing hands on work.

[Northup]

Made it past the arch yesterday, and got a few bricks started on the next coarse 7-8 and bricks are still holding. I Might be able to get one more coarse up before I have to go to a sand form, but hoping to go as high as I can before I have to go that route. Had a little bit of drop around my arch intersection bricks that I didnt notice and had to correct at the top of the arch. I also had some creative cutting on a few bricks in that area but I am happy with it so far 4 1/2 grinder with a diamond wheel makes quick adjustments. The string with knots trick helped me set the arch intersect angle pretty well (Think Utah posted it somewhere else and reminded me here about it) I will grab some more photos later. Couple seams lined up but nothing that will be seen when its finished.. Excited that a few more days of work and it will have finished dome structure

[Northup]

Finished closing up the dome last weekend. Super exciting to get those last bricks cut and in place. Few seams line up but I am ok with it. I was able to do all the bricks without having to do a sand dome form or any forms for the last few coarse Also gout the outer arch done and started the smoke chamber where the chimney flange will mount. Hoping to cover with 3" of blanket then some P-crete. I read that people were mixing their perlite 10:1 or 8:1 with portland. What is the working time with that stuff? Does it set up quickly or can I mix a decent amount up ahead? Any other tips for the perlite concrete ?