Michigan WFO

[peter]

Re: Michigan WFO

Naw it's field corn. I rent the land to a local farmer. Yes we like it here a lot. I hope to do my fourth cure fire today. It is getting pretty exciting.

[Derocherconstruction]

Re: Michigan WFO

Those bricks almost look like they are tapered from the photo, but I'm sure they are just half bricks right? You must be building the 42" oven, that makes the joints a little tighter. My oven is about 35" inside, but I had gone in a different direction at the beginning, trying to build an Argentinian oven with no plans, different venting, not enough insulation, etc. etc. I had to back up and do some things over, some tearing out of the floor, add 4" of vermiculite concrete, re-lay the floor, shape of the dome template changed,some misery, some struggles, some days that I really wondered if I had accomplished anything, But thanks to some of the folks on this site that gently persuaded me to make changes that I didn't want to { by the way, they were always right! } I have ended up with an oven that my family and lots and lots of friends, neighbors and customers have enjoyed this summer. I stumbled into this forum after I was well underway, and folks like Frances, and George { what ever happened to George } and others helped me to correct what I had done and make it all work... You are way ahead of me with your knowledge of the WFO, you have been active in this forum for a long time, I joined after I had done a lot of my oven { and had to tear stuff apart }... You will end up with a great oven and never have to back up and re-do anything. And ditto to Peter, If you are in the area stop by for a look, a vino, a pizza, Best to all... Jim

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Third course completed today. Although it takes me all day to complete one course, it is quite enjoyable.

I think I'm going to have to tackle that entry arch. I've been procrastinating long enough. It's a little intimidating.

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Didn't go down four feet though.

I'm hoping the huge foundation was overkill. That just means my oven will last 500 years, while yours will only last 490

I saw your photo. It looks great. What an amazing location. Are those grapevines in the distance?

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Jim, Thanks for the invite! We just might take you up on that offer! I saw that vermiculite in Menard's. I was wondering if it was the right stuff, it seemed like a good price. I've been pretty happy with that place. I live within a mile, and it seems I'm there every day.

[peter]

Re: Michigan WFO

Heyyyy Michigan... Me too. I am just finishing up my oven. Didn't go down four feet though. I just posted a picture of where I am on my "Michigan" oven I wonder what it will be like baking a loaf of bread with snow in your ear? We're about to find out. Already getting chilly here in West Michigan. Maybe we could name it "frostbite bread"

Peter

[Derocherconstruction]

Re: Michigan WFO

Hi Mike, I too had some joints on the outer edges that seemed way to big, but I haven't had any problems with my oven. We have cooked 130 pizza's so far since the 4th of July, about 14 firings of the oven since the curing fires. As the dome starts rounding the curve to the top the outside needed lots of mortar too, sometimes an inch, but no cracks inside the dome, only some around the vent, but I think they are mostly between the vermiculite concrete and the outer layer of stucco. If you take a trip up north to see the fall colors in the next month you are more than welcome to stop by and check out my oven, maybe even have a pizza and a vino. I am planning on cooking all year, winter won't scare us!!! That's the story right now anyway. You are doing a great job from the pictures that you are posting, your oven will turn out fine. I have never done much of the masonary work, but everything is working great so far. Jim P.S. If you need vermiculite They have it at the new Menard's in Saginaw. I think it was less than $ 8.00 for the 4 cu. yrd. bag....

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Thanks for the encouragement. I squeaked in a little work today. Half of the second course is in before I was chased away by rain.

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Mike - it looks like you are already cutting bricks at this course, what size are you aiming for? Les...

I just took a standard brick cut straight across. 4.5 inches, no bevel. I want the inside profile of the courses to all have uniform thickness, 2.25 inches. Therefore, I won't be cutting the inside face of the bricks if I can avoid it.

My soldier course has some outer mortar joints that are a little larger than others (hard to tell from my photo). Some are nearly 1 inch. No gap on the inside, though. I'm sure it should be OK, it's just larger than recommended on the Heat Stop 50 bag.

[egalecki]

Re: Michigan WFO

All my joints weren't perfectly even either on the soldier course- but all my bricks weren't perfect. Some of them were sort of warped- if you put them side by side they curved away from each other. I figured that as long as I was as consistent as I could be without making myself a complete nut (not easy, since I'm already halfway there! ) it would be fine. So far, so good.

And like Frances said, we all went into it blind on the first go. Yours looks fine to me!

[Frances]

Re: Michigan WFO

I think it's because I don't really know what I'm doing.

Nobody ever does on their first oven... it'll work out fine, and looks great so far!

[Les]

Re: Michigan WFO

Mike - it looks like you are already cutting bricks at this course, what size are you aiming for? I believe I didn't start the taper until the third. Anyways, brick on my friend...

Les...

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

I played hooky today and finished the soldier course. It took much longer than I thought it would (all day!). I think it's because I don't really know what I'm doing.

I didn't taper any of these bricks. I hope it works out OK. Some of the mortar joints were a little larger than I had hoped.

[egalecki]

Re: Michigan WFO

Well, I don't know, really, from an engineering point of view. It isn't the same problem in mine as the long joint at the landing- I actually hung my dome on the arch some instead of using a mortar only joint inside it. I think that makes the forces even out somehow. But I'm not an engineering/physics kinda person, all I know is one doesn't seem to be a problem and the other one definitely was. I had to run another course of bricks up from the base on each side, with rebar in them, to keep it from falling over when I put on the vent stuff.

[mfiore]

Re: Michigan WFO

Looking good. That's exactly how I'm going to do my next oven's connection to the landing- in this one I have them as separate items, not tied in, and I think yours is better, structurally.

What about this long, 10 inch vertical mortar line that seems to be in many ovens. Does this pose a structural problem?