Nevada Desert Oven

[nevada desert]

I've been coming to this site frequently since this past January, which is when I started building my oven. It has been a long, yet enjoyable, process, none of which I could have accomplished without all of the advice I found in this forum. Many of you have been a great help.

[nevada desert]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Basically, I built a 42" Tuscan-style oven. By the time I finished the firebrick dome, I had become so accustomed to the dome shape that I really wanted to preserve it in the finished form. I will try to put some better pictures on when I have a chance to have someone take them. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after I finally finished the whole thing I moved to China for work, which means I'm practically counting the days until I can go back home to use the oven again.

[nevada desert]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Ok. Now that I have made two posts on this forum, I should be able to post a link, which is my pizza oven construction photo gallery. Leavitt Pictures - Pizza Oven Construction

I realize that most of you post pictures as well as progress reports of your oven construction as you work, but I suppose I was so paranoid that the whole thing would turn out as a disaster that I waited until the whole process was finished before venturing to post anything.

[Les]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Are those solid cores on the dome? Absolutely beautiful work!

Les...

[Frances]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Its lovely!!

I know what you mean about wanting to keep the brick dome look, its sad to cover it up after spending so much time and effort building it. I really like what you came up with.

And the view behind the oven is fantastic, too!

[mfiore]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Great brick work! Please tell me your a mason!

[egalecki]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Great brick work! Please tell me your a mason!

Man, the work we're seeing these days makes me glad I did mine already. I'd be afraid to start!

It looks terrific. What did you insulate with other than bricks?

[christo]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

wow - outside of your dome looks great too!

I love the way the entry ties into the dome - looks super.

Does it cook as good as it looks?

Christo

[Wiley]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Beautiful job, absolutely beautiful!
Wiley

[james]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

What a beauty. Great brickwork -- there are quite a few ovens where the brick enclosure follows the lines of the dome. Eccellente.

Time to get those opening bricks dirty. :-)
James

[nevada desert]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

I appreciate all of your comments. I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who so quickly give kind and helpful feedback on this site. To answer all of your questions:

First, the bricks on the dome are only brick faces tiled on using Thinset and using dowels as spacers. I thought that would be an easier, as well as much lighter, way of doing it. I cut all of the brick faces by hand, which, of course, was a lot of work. For some reason, thin bricks are quite expensive, so this was the best idea I could come up with to get the look I was hoping for. I wanted the dome to match the chimney.

Second, I am not a mason, so all of the brick work took a long time and a lot of leveling and re-leveling. So don't look too closely! I made a huge mess with the mortar and thus had to use far too much brick cleaner to remove it. So, eventually I'll probably have to refill some of the joints that were weakened by all of the acid cleaning.

Third, for insulation I used quite a bit of kaowool ceramic fibre blanket (most heavily on the top of the dome) and then four or five inches of perlcrete. I put a layer of stucco on top of the perlcrete to recreate the dome shape and then finished it off with the brick faces. I hope the whole thing doesn't collapse someday from all the weight! The brick faces are only about 1/2" thick or less.

Finally, the oven seems to cook quite well and holds heat impressively as well. I have been using dried mesquite and some mulberry as fuel from the numerous dead trees around our property. Friends who have seen the oven cook are amazed with the Pompeii oven design and how well it circulates air and then draws it out through the chimney with so little escaping through the opening. I hate to tell them that I had absolutely nothing to do with the design of the oven. The premium brush and peel set that I bought off of this site also work extremely well, and I would recommend them to anyone. I still have a lot of work to go as far as perfecting the pizza-making process, but I have already found it to be quite an enjoyable process. Most people who try the pizza are already quite amazed after watching the pizza puff up almost instantly in the oven and then cook in such a short time. It seems hard to make a really bad pizza in the oven (unless I burn it, of course). Thanks again to the hosts of this site and all of the contributors.

[Les]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

For some reason, thin bricks are quite expensive, so this was the best idea I could come up with to get the look I was hoping for.

ND - I hear ya. The face brick is about the same as a solid brick around here - go figure. For not being a mason (even if you were a mason) - outstanding job! How available is mesquite down there - all we have is friggen pine up north.

Les...

[nevada desert]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Mesquite is a lifesaver down here. It's all over the place. We live in a river valley, and the water table is high enough that it grows quite well anywhere it's allowed. I've even seen people burn it in large quantities when they're clearing land. A lot of people seem to have no idea of its value. We have several acres of very rural property, so we're lucky enough to have a huge supply of dead trees as well as live ones for the future. I'm not sure how much it costs to buy. Hopefully I won't have to find out anytime soon.

[egalecki]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Well, it looks great. I like the picture of it with the desert background a lot...it seems to belong where it grew!

[nevada desert]

Re: Nevada Desert Oven

Thanks! I used the local desert sand in my mortar mix, and now that some of the cement has been leeched out through the acid washing, it has exposed the desert sand, which makes the oven blend into its desert background a little more.