First milestone passed

[karl]

The oven platform ready for curing. Next will be the insulation layer of cement/perlite.
Starting to worry about the oven itself. It does not look to difficult, but the transition between the dome and the opening arch looks like a lot of special brick cutting! And at the same time each round of bricks needs to be locked not to fall in. Why is there not more ellaboration on this apparently difficult part in the descriptions I manage to find?

regards from karl

[nissanneill]

Re: First milestone passed

Hi Karl,
Don't panick! Once you get into it, it's a breeze, alot simpler than it looks and sounds.
I am not a brickie by any measns but once my foundations were down and insulated, my oven dome, transition and facia was done in one weekend. Sure I had a brick saw but you could do it with an angle grinder fitted with a diamond blade which will cost under $10 from the local hardware or cheaper off ebay.
Check out my 40" Pompeii build with pics, tips and explaination at:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/n...-1-a-2005.html

Follow the link thought all stages of the build, as I put this posyting in the wrong section initially, but it all there.

If you have any queries contact me direct or through the forum. I am only too willing to assista s I am on holidayss now.

Neil

[Les]

Re: First milestone passed

Karl,

I agree with Neil - once you dig in and get to that point - you will work through it. Here is a link to my build, this is where the problem begins. KEEP a good eye on the line to this point, it wants to go low. Don't know why but mine dropped about a half a centimeter. PhotoPlog - Vent and Chimney

The next issue you will find is the span across the opening. If you look at some of my more recent photo gallery posts, you will see how I got across. Remember - this is just my approach as others have done the same in a different manner. The one crazy looking brick you see may not have been needed - It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Good luck!

Les...

[SpringJim]

Re: First milestone passed

kinda like walking...one brick at a time....yoiu'll get there

[karl]

Re: First milestone passed

Nissanneil and Les,
Thank you for the moral backing and pictures!
I am still wondering how some of the bricks you show on your pictures seem to defy gravity, Les! Almost vertical, no side support. There must be some mortar behind them or what?

Do you have a good profile form for a 36" dome with inner vault height about 40 cm? I am planning to climb to brick heights (2x64 mm) before inclining in and reach almost 29 cm (upper inner edge) at a radius of 32,5 cm by the 5th round.

regards from karl

[Breven]

Re: First milestone passed

Karl-

Just finished my floor, inner arch and first two courses. I have never actually had a brick in my hands before. I removed all of my forms, laid out the floor and trimmed it, cut all of the 1/2 brick for the first two courses and got the floor in place in one day. It does go pretty fast. Here's a tip for you: When you start your arch, make sure the arch towers are dry before starting the arch. Also, might be a good idea to go ahead and mortar in the first course. The added support of the first course in place will help support the arch towers. I neglected to do it and one of my towers fell over as I was trying to add the arch bricks. Otherwise, its going pretty good. Difficult yes...hard to get 100% perfect, hell yes. But completley doable with all the advice here at FB.

[Les]

Re: First milestone passed

Nissanneil and Les,
Thank you for the moral backing and pictures!
I am still wondering how some of the bricks you show on your pictures seem to defy gravity, Les! Almost vertical, no side support. There must be some mortar behind them or what?

All the bricks are resting on one below. The exception is the keystone at the top of the arch. This is where the taper helped a lot. And yes - I did use mortar in that area.

Les...

[nissanneill]

Re: First milestone passed

Karl,
instead of laying the first 2 courses before you start the incline, why not cut around 15˚ off the end of a standard brick or fire brick and stand it on the square end as called a 'soldier' course for the first one. These will commence at your oven openning and radiate at your oven diameter to the other side of your openning. A little shuffling will get a whole brick rather than cutting one lengtways to fir your dimension.
What I ded was to first of all lay my chimney void and both front facia and oven archways. This the gavw me a very substantial rigid surface to lay all of my adjoining dome bricks and transition bricks to be laid against. I had the dead centre of my oven marked and I cut a piece of construction ply in a 1 metre semicircle. I then laid a few bricks around where I would later put the hearth/floor bricks and laid the semicircular wood template on those with the centre of the radius exactly over the deac centre of the oven floor
This was then used, in fact I sat on it and laid my cut 'soldier course' of bricks vertically against this wood pattern. When I got to the end of the semi circle, I simply rotated the wood around the centre to prepare for the other half of the base 'soldier course'. I was about 1/3 of a brick too much in perimeter, so I simply pushed the wet motared soldiers out a little to fit in the last whole brick.
First course completed.
As I had a pile of mortar remaining, I went back to the spot wher I started and commenced laying my second course on top of the 15˚ cut soldier bricks BUT I staggered it so as to generate the strong brick bond.
I then cut my semicircular wood pattern in halves to make 2 quarter circles which I then used to guage the incline or radius of the dome. Be carefull here as you need to sit the pattern un bricks laid flat where your hearth surface will be, not on the bottom of the hearth bricks.I continued around with the second course and had to cut a few transition bricks to make them fit nicely.With still plenty of mortar, I completed the third and ran out half way through the forth course. Yes, you are going to ned to cut your transition bricks but it is very easy and look at one at a time, no worries, do it and move on to the next.
The next day, I cut and fitted the hearth bricks, then made 4 stacks of hous sbricks to make a plywood platform so as to put a sand pattern on top for the 5th, 6th and final keybricks in place.
All of this is explained in detail in my Pompeii build at:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/n...-1-a-2005.html

Follow the links and every thing is photographed and tips/explainations made throughout my build.

Give it a go, plan and think it through and as the advertisement says.... just do it!!!!

Neill

[karl]

Re: First milestone passed

Nissanneil,
Lots of good advice. I appreciate that. The main reason for using "sleeping soldiers" on the first rounds is that i will get the bricks (except a small number) ready cut in half. So the option does not exist. If I had the full lenght bricks your suggestion would still create a lot of "wasted" brick material?
I think that starting with the opening and chimney part, providing a firm basis for the rounds must be the best solution. I am concerned that as you climb on the opening arch with the bricks they will tend to meet the arch in a more and more tangential direction which will not efficiently "lock" the ring and create a risk for it to collapse inward? As soon as I get above the arch the problem is solved.
Your suggestion on the form,- will it make it possible to do a low vault dome (ellipsoid form)?

Kind regards from Karl

[karl]

Re: First milestone passed

Finally. On The 23.07.2008 my refractory bricks and mortar arrived! Not according to the punch list. A few bricks still missing, but enough to start going.
While waiting for the bricks, what to do? Make some tools, do some planning and throw in another layer of insulation (2" of cement/perlite, - I am glad i did not use more of this! The layer looks and feels suspicious. I hope it will stand the test of time,- and heat?).
As you can see from the picture I am just starting to "lean in" on the third course.

regards from karl

[karl]

Fighting gravity

Further progress made. I am really starting to fight with gravity now. I will not start the 6th course before I have done the opening arch. Still waiting for those full length bricks. Hopefully tomorrow....!

regards from karl

[karl]

ready to close up

The oven is starting to look like just that! Opening and flue exit completed. "Only" the closing of the top remains. The dome/opening was challenging, but I am pleased with the result.

karl

[sarah h]

Re: First milestone passed

Karl,

Nice job - you're really moving along fast, too! Any plans yet for the finish? It looks like it won't be too long before you're at that point.

[karl]

Re: First milestone passed

Thank you for the supporting words Sarah.

I am planning to do a full enclosure. At this point it is the flue transition that makes me uncertain. I have no clue how to make the "reducer" adapting a 6" flue gas pipe to the rectangular flue gas exit.
I estimate that there will still be 4 weeks before I have enclosed the oven. mainly because my vacation is over this weekend and (due to commuting) I cannot work on it except for the weekends.

regards from karl

[Breven]

Re: First milestone passed

Karl-
Here's a couple of pics on how I did it (I think I followed pics from Les). I used a grinder to make the round hole for the chimney base plate, which is actually tapered. Then made a curve on the bottom of those bricks to mortar onto the arches. I sandwiches those two brickes in between 4 outside bricks for support. It took a while, but was pretty easy to do.