Hansen Horno

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

And the completed outer arch with the first layer of bricks to support the chimney base.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Here are some pictures of the outer arch construction.

[aureole]

Re: Hansen Horno

I think five weeks should be fine - to be honest, you could bake pizzas in a cured but uncovered oven. The heatstop wouldn't take long to cure - less than a week probably.

I've read that curing can be done as a continual process - rather than cycling the oven, put the door on to hold the heat and gradually raise it each day.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Question: Let's say I get my chimney done by next weekend (really pushing it). Would it be reasonable to answer "yes" to my son's request to have a birthday pizza party about 5 weeks later? I have no idea how long the curing process will take. Can I reasonably expect to be baking 6 weeks from now?

For the dome insulation, I plan to use a blanket insulation and loose vermiculite, so no curing there. I am thinking of coating the dome with my remaining bag of HeatStop, though, to add some thermal mass (maybe 1/2"). That would add some curing time.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks for the feedback guys! Much appreciated. As I told my wife, I'm basically satisfied with the way it turned out, but I'm saving perfection for my NEXT oven (when I'm retired and have more time on my hands).

I just realized that I have a flower on my dome, thanks to the unfortunate aligning of two mortar joints forming the stem. They don't align on the inside, though, so maybe it won't be an issue.

[Ken524]

Re: Hansen Horno

Daren,

NICE WORK! It's a beauty.

[aureole]

Re: Hansen Horno

I was lucky that my failure to cut a proper final course gave me a great selection of brick odds and ends to use!

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Daren,

I agree! The dome looks incredible! Perfect symmetry. Looks like you've been doing this for years!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

That's an absolute beauty - it's going to be a crime to cover it up with insulation! Have you got any pictures of the keystone going in because it looks so damn perfect!

Thanks! It is a shame these things have to be covered. Alas, no pictures of the keystone, but it reminded me of this:

I just started with a small square of brick and slowly cut more and more off until it fit!

[aureole]

Re: Hansen Horno

That's an absolute beauty - it's going to be a crime to cover it up with insulation! Have you got any pictures of the keystone going in because it looks so damn perfect!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks Todd! Here's an interior view I forgot to post earlier....

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

And here is my start on the outer arch. Not sure how I'll be completing it yet. I definitely think I'll need some kind of buttressing on the outside of the arch walls. I'm thinking of doubling-up the wall thickness by adding a stack of bricks, or perhaps a perpendicular stack of bricks. Or maybe just a steel "L" bracket of some sort. I'm open to suggestions!

The walls look really thin from this angle, but they're actually a full brick width where they butt up to the inner arch and they taper down a bit at the outside edge.

[toddj]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thats amazing! Awsome job!!!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Dome is complete! The first 2 pics are outside, the third is from the inside. A little choppy, but I'm satisfied with it. In hindsight, I should have crafted a better form to help guide the final courses into place, because it was too easy to misplace the bricks. Final inside height is 20.5 inches; 1/2 inch shy of my plan.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Another good weekend of progress. Here are some pics as I completed the dome. The rod/wire sticking out on the first 2 pics is a thermocouple probe.

Still limping on that foot, but it's getting better! I only needed the crutches for one day.