Continuation of papavino's oven thread

[papavino]

I thought I'd start putting progress on my oven here instead of the introduction category.

So, this weekend we finished the stand and picked up materials for the hearth. That work will begin this Friday and Saturday. We filled the corners and then 5 other voids. Almost every block is tied into another one now. We also filled the arch and stuck some rebar in that was bent 90 degrees to tie all that together. I debated with myself on whether or not to recess the angle iron and my lazy side won the debate. Once the hearth is poured, nothing will be going anywhere.

Cheers.

[exceloven]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Looks good, you're on your way!

Mark

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

I have a quick question for the community. I'm using Sakrete for all of my concrete needs and noticed the foundation had a slightly rough surface. We only used a trowel, so maybe we needed to use a float to smooth it all out. But I also saw some information on a contractor site stating that a shovel or so of cement added to an 80# bag of concrete would help smooth things out. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Any info would be helpful. Gracias!

[exceloven]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Papavino,
Actually if you use a float initially and tamp it down it brings the "creme" (cement and water mixture) to the top and pushes the gravel down. Then when it starts to set a trowel will smooth it out nicely. De nada.

Mark

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Just a note for those in the Seattle area who are currently building or are going to build: I called up Seattle Pottery Supply to inquire about the 14 lb bags of vermiculite that show up on their website. They no longer carry the loose vermiculite; just the vermiculite boards. They do carry perlite. 4 cu. ft. for $28.50. That's much better than the 8 quarts of vermiculite or perlite that Lowes or Maclendons carries for $3.97 (4 cu. ft = ~120 quarts). I haven't contacted any other suppliers in the area yet.

-Edit-

Sky Nursery carries 4 cu. ft. vermiculite for $36.97.
Steuber Distributing in Snohomish has 3.8 cu. ft. for $19.50. Looks like I'm headed north this weekend. Worth the drive for the savings.

[jrparks]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Hi Papavino,
Just picked up some perlite at McClendon's in Renton. 4cu.ft. $25.99. Vermiculite was $26.99 for 4cu.ft. I have completed the removal of my steel framing and is all bundled neatly for you or the local transfer station. Your base looks great. When are you going to pour the hearth?
Cheers,
JR

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

JR,

We're pouring the structural portion of the hearth on Saturday (in the rain, it looks like). How long should I wait before pouring the insulating layer? I was thinking I'd wait until Monday or Tuesday night to put that on top.

I'll have to go back to McClendon's today at lunch. I just wandered around the store without any real direction, so it might behoove me to ask.

Thanks for saving the steel frames. I can make another trip out to pick them up sometime. I've got a load of stuff for the transfer station from our re-piping, so if I decide that I want to go the igloo route, too, I can take them in. At least I'll have options. Thanks.

[jrparks]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Papavino,
You should be good to pour you insulation Mon. or Tue. after a Saturday hearth pour. I'd keep your heart perimeter form in place to protect the edge of the concrete hearth. It will still be soft for a few days. And, keep you underside form in place for week. Good luck with the pour.

McClendon's...row 9 to the right (west), back against the wall, look up if not stocked below.

Cheers,
JR

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Okay. So we poured the structural portion of the hearth today. Went pretty smoothly. Just a little water seeping through the cracks between the form and the stand. The following few photos are from the setup and the pour.

The last photo was just an idea for the exterior. We have a lot of stones from digging the foundation and from putting new fence posts in last year. I was thinking I could use them to decorate the stand. I'll probably change my mind, but I kind of like the idea right now.

[jrparks]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

fyi.
I found the same bags of Perlite at Home Depot in Issaquah for $22.97.

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Okay, so I put in my 2x4 forms for the vermi-perlcrete (using both). But we screwed up just a little bit on the structural portion of the hearth, in that it's not completely even and the 2x4's don't sit flush with the 2x8 form.

So, now I'm trying to think of ways to make it all even. I could take some 2x4's and rip them to the thickness I need to make my outer form high enough to be level with my inner 2x4 insulating form. Or I could take off my 2x8 form and shim it up enough to be even with the insulating form. We poured on Saturday, so I shouldn't have any issues removing the form, right?

[jrparks]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

No problem! Adjust the 2x8 form to be level and put the inner 2x4's flush and level with the tops of the 2x8's. You may first need to loosen the 2x8's free of the first pour.
Cheers,

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Phew, that was the answer I was hoping to hear. Thanks!

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

Put the vermi-perl-crete layer on last night. I used about half vermiculite and half perlite. Roughly 7:1 insulators to cement. Mixing that stuff was strange.

[papavino]

Re: Continuation of papavino's oven thread

I called up Mutual Materials today to see about either picking up or having delivered my firebrick. They've raised their prices, apparently, as it's $1.39 a brick. Or is it? The guy on the phone kept spouting off new numbers mid-sentence. "Let's see, it's $1.39 a brick plus a $100 delivery charge, plus a $0.20 per brick... $1.45 a brick plus $116 dollars delivery..."
That's almost a direct quote. I don't know what he was looking at, or why the numbers kept changing, but now I'm thinking Lowe's is my best option, unfortunately. They're $1.29 a brick. I was hoping to use a local store, but my hopes are being dashed.