My build in the UK

[Mongo]

Beautiful. Well done. Go slow with your curing fires.

[stonejumper]

Second perlite coat finished, tiles laid and render beads fitted. First curing fires towards the end of next week. Very excited!

[UtahBeehiver]

That should work.

[stonejumper]

Anyone in the UK i think this will do the trick for breather valve.
https://www.toolstation.com/110mm-mu...nt-cowl/p70565

Coming to terms with the fact it's never going to be waterproof so you need to get rid of the damp by some means. Being in the UK i may roof it at some point too.

[david s]

The drying fires are best done after the vermicrete layer(s) but before the render/stucco layer IMO. A standard cement based render which already has some waterproofing contained in it will make the layer partially waterproof, but still partially breathable. Alternatively you can make your own brew if you still have the materials available. A good recipe is 4:1:1 sand, cement, lime. This mix has no waterproofing qualities and will be totally breathable.

[stonejumper]

I think ill finish my second coat of perlite render and then do a scratch coat with some silicone weather proofing in and then tile onto that. Got my tile samples today famiy likes the gold! Over the tiles i plan on using the attached photo to seal it all off.

Advice on whether this is ok would be much appreciated!

[artistadimattoni]

I am currently at the same point in figuring out the top coat render of the dome. I finished the fiber blanket and perlite/concrete insulation about a week ago, and I left a place for a vent. I have done tile and glass mosaics in the past, so I am considering something like that on the dome, but I want to finish my chimney and start curing the oven before that final decision.

What is the best time to do the rendering coat? Should this wait until the curing fires and all of the moisture is vented off of the pcrete insulation layers?
What is the best concrete mixture for the rendering? How thick?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jdqojBBCZxazcJ3A9

[stonejumper]

I have ordered some sample mosiac tile. Im 50/50 on whether to just top coat render or tile the dome. If i did what finish would be best for tiling onto, scratch coat render? I also plan on using some weather proofing solution onto the render or tiles when finished, anyone have any experience on doing this?

[UtahBeehiver]

The vent on my oven I leave in since my dome is exposed and not under cover. This ensure any water that gets in and coverts to steam gets out.

[stonejumper]

Before you place the final nonpcrete render be sure let it dry well and begin the cure process. Also suggest leaving a blockout that extends down to the ceramic blanket at the apex of the dome. You can use what you folks call a breather valve. This allows any water that gets in or is in the dome area vent out. When liquid water converts to steam, the volume increases by a factor of 1500. A vent allow the pressure to release without building up under the dome and cracking the pcrete or final render. Attached is a pic of what we use in the States but you have similar versions in the UK available at any auto parts store Eday UK for relatively cheap. Some builders in the UK doing cast builds found some on I think Ebay UK.

I did most of my research via Youtube and reading other bits on the internet and only starting using this place until just before the start of my post. What a wealth of knowledge, wish i would of found Forno Bravo earlier.
Can you supply a pic of the valve in place if possible, would this stop in until fully cured and then take out and fill in?
Anyone reading this trowel your render from the bottom and push upwards, i learnt the hard way. It wont stay on pushing it in or dabbing it on!

[UtahBeehiver]

Before you place the final nonpcrete render be sure let it dry well and begin the cure process. Also suggest leaving a blockout that extends down to the ceramic blanket at the apex of the dome. You can use what you folks call a breather valve. This allows any water that gets in or is in the dome area vent out. When liquid water converts to steam, the volume increases by a factor of 1500. A vent allow the pressure to release without building up under the dome and cracking the pcrete or final render. Attached is a pic of what we use in the States but you have similar versions in the UK available at any auto parts store Eday UK for relatively cheap. Some builders in the UK doing cast builds found some on I think Ebay UK.

[stonejumper]

Pretty good again today insulated with 50mm of cermic fibre and first coat of perlite render. Ran out of sand now.

[stonejumper]

Coming on quite nicely now, really chuffed so far.
I've started my hearth, its just a sandstone slab cut to fit. By the looks of it I'm going to have a 30mm mortar gap, any ideas as i think its a bit thick myself. Not sure whether to tile or paint underneath the hearth so it may well not be seen really.

[Chach]

Part correcting the insulation issue went really well only taking about an hour. Cutting 60mm in and 50mm deep. Really glad i spent a bit of time doing it now.
I'm casting a base for my chimney tomorrow, can anyone please reccomend a good mix? I'll be building on top of it with clay bricks.
Thanks

Good job...you will now not have the what if I did this factor when your done with your project.

Ricky

[stonejumper]

Part correcting the insulation issue went really well only taking about an hour. Cutting 60mm in and 50mm deep. Really glad i spent a bit of time doing it now.
I'm casting a base for my chimney tomorrow, can anyone please reccomend a good mix? I'll be building on top of it with clay bricks.
Thanks