42" corner build, Devon

[Toiletman]

Second and final batch with Wifey and granddaughter no1 in one of the pics. Finished article from all angles.

The next phase was to cover the top of the BBQ wall with granite. Will update pics soon.

Gary

Nice kitchen, looking forward to seeing the oven finished!

Two questions:
- Did you waterproof the granite already? I understand you need to impregnate it to ensure you don't get water stains in it.
- What's the material underneath your oven floor, in between the calsil and the bricks?

[Baldywills]

Second and final batch with Wifey and granddaughter no1 in one of the pics. Finished article from all angles.

The next phase was to cover the top of the BBQ wall with granite. Will update pics soon.

Gary

[Baldywills]

First batch of worktop pictures, sorry for the overload but I think this looks fab.

[Baldywills]

Pictures of the making of the template for the granite worktop. It was interesting watching the guys work to prepare the plastic template.

[Baldywills]

Some pictures of the "not arches" between the brick piers. I decided not not do arches as it would cut down on the size of the openings, this reduction in size was mainly due to the height of the patio slabs being higher than expected.

The span was covered using angle iron and an iron bar that has supported the half bricks, the wood support was kept in to keep the strength in the short term. The brickwork will not have any pressure from above as it will be covered by a granite slab.

Pictures of the granite worktop to follow which will explain all.

[Baldywills]

Some pictures of the BBQ area, dry layout first then going firm on the size and construction method.

[Baldywills]

These next photos show the brick facing work and the fact that my casual board got wet so I have to number and remove my oven floor - what a pain in the rear that job was!

[Baldywills]

some pictures from July showing the patio and the completion of the canopy - the canopy is a car port by design but covers the kitchen area nicely

[Baldywills]

Soooo, my build stalled for a number of months (OMG 8!!) due to work commitments. I think I have now got my time management sorted and can get cracking on finishing the dome. Since my last post in June 2024 I did complete some works on the kitchen, namely putting up a canopy over the whole kitchen, I have also completed the reclaimed brick facing, completed the BBQ, plumbed in the sink and had a granite worktop installed. Also the patio has been laid all around the kitchen - not by me.

I binned the idea of polishing the concrete worktop. I didn't make the concrete hard enough on the pour and as I was polishing I was just getting grit coming up. I could have done another pour with specialised concrete but it would have increased the height so I opted for some granite worktop. The extra expense was unwelcome but the result is stunning. Once the dome is complete and painted white it will have a beautiful contrast with the worktop.

I did change the design and composition of the BBQ area and lined it with spare calsil board, I may have to put a hood over the bbq area to protect the wood canopy.

I shall upload a batch of photos showing the updates to now.

Looking forward to finishing the dome which I shall be starting this morning, I do have a deadline for completion for the end of May as I have been nominated by the village to host a big party.


Ready for photo overload?

Gary

[Baldywills]

So I finished cutting the insulation board and marked out and cut the oven floor bricks. It turns out my brand new brick pile has two different height of bricks, they differ in height by around 2mm. In the pictures where I have laid out the bricks dry you will see the difference in height which I have now rectified and replaced bricks to get a more level cooking floor.

Top tip - take photos of the oven floor and take the opportunity to expand and enlarge the photos as you will see more anomalies than with the naked eye.

I have moved the oven floor into position, completed the soldier course before the rain came (again) and it looks like I have a decent week of weather ahead of me so I hope to move forward with the build.

Gary

[david s]

The strength of both cal sil board and a 5:1 vermicrete are both quite adequate to support the dome, at the same time preventing heat loss by conduction. With the insulation encapsulated, damage is prevented, when either cal sil or a 5:1 vermicrete is used. There have been no reports (that I’m aware of) of failure at the under dome insulation. Because of the relatively large area the load/sq in is not particularly large. If the dome is built on top of the brick floor rather than outside itt, the load is spread even further.
Laying the dome bricks directly on the supporting slab encourages conductive heat to travel easily from one dense conductive material to another. Such a large thermal mass as the concrete supporting slab acts as a very efficient heat sink resulting in increased fuel consumption and poorer heat retention.

[Baldywills]

Hi Guys,

In response to you both in do agree with some of what you say. There will be heat loss through the soldier course fire brick, obviously the outside of the brick dome will be covered in the normal fire blanket, about 10cm of vermicrete then a render.

I will use ceramic tiles under the CaSil insulation boards as it makes sense to lift the boards off the concrete base but in my mind the soldier course, which is the very first course of bricks should be on a solid foundation base and not on top of the CaSil board as it isn't a solid base and if it failed it could cause the soldier course to collapse. For this reason I am going to set the soldier course on top of my solid concrete base

With the soldier course being on the outside of the oven floor most of the height of the brick will be covered with first of all the insulation board followed by the brick of the oven floor so not too much of the brick will be exposed to the heat and subsequent heat loss.

Hopefully I have explained my reasoning well enough but basically I want strong foundations for my dome.

[david s]

You are going through all the effort to place two layers floor CaSi for effective insulation yet having the first row soldiers will negate some of the oven thermal effectiveness. Seriously consider insulating the soldiers from the hearth. Since you are enclosing the oven this lessons the chance of water migration from the hearth. I believe David S is suggesting a possible pcrete base under the soldiers. A 5 to 1 ratio is needed for support, any higher, not strong enough, any lower, substantially higher thermal transmission (K value).

Actually I was suggesting hard aggregate under the floor insulation instead of tiles and as a better solution than sand. I agree that a 5:1 vermicrete under the soldiers would be a good solution. Or perhaps you can use your cal sil offcuts, some of which already cut to shape will fit.

[UtahBeehiver]

You are going through all the effort to place two layers floor CaSi for effective insulation yet having the first row soldiers will negate some of the oven thermal effectiveness. Seriously consider insulating the soldiers from the hearth. Since you are enclosing the oven this lessons the chance of water migration from the hearth. I believe David S is suggesting a possible pcrete base under the soldiers. A 5 to 1 ratio is needed for support, any higher, not strong enough, any lower, substantially higher thermal transmission (K value).

[david s]

Unfortunately a considerable amount of heat is lost by conduction if the first course of dome bricks are in direct contact with the supporting slab. Heat rises by convection, but travels equally well in any direction by conduction.
If you don’t want to use tiles to raise the insulation off the supporting slab then perhaps aggregate would be a better solution as it would provide more spaces for moisture travel than sand.