36" in Seattle

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

I thought I could embed youtube videos with {youtube}videoCode{/youtube}, replacing the curly brackets with square brackets. Why didn't it work in my post above?

[EDIT: fixed in the post above, just the seeming illogic of the presence of this post...I guess I could just delete this message, but whatever.]

[dmun]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Test:



Seems to work for me. Did you have an incomplete number, or a space between brackets? Hit "edit" to check your code: I can't see it.

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Did you have an incomplete number, or a space between brackets? Hit "edit" to check your code: I can't see it.

Go figure. There was, in fact, a space. Pure carelessness on my part. Thanks.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: 36" in Seattle

That's a well insulated dome you've got going! You're going to be really pleased with the heat holding ability.
I think that slightly spreading your 1st couple of low temp curing fires is a good idea. From your reading on-line, what is your curing strategy going to be?

Curing fires! Hurray, did you ever think this day was coming last year?

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Well, my curing "schedule" has been shot to hell. I fired my first curing fire. Then immediately thereafter I decided to fill some brick gaps in my arch merges, so that was fresh mortar than I wanted to let sit for several days. In the intervening week Seattle got really wet, like humid, not just rain...so when I did my second fire yesterday I figured I was basically starting over from scratch...although as you saw I might do some of my curing fires as multiple smaller fires on the side of the oven. I don't want to crack the apex by putting too much heat into it and likewise I don't want to shock the sides with later hotter fires due to their not being exposed to any real heat by the earlier fires...thus the logic of curing with multiple fires around the perimeter sometimes, and one fire in the center other times.

I just fired my third curing fire right now (just came in doors as a matter of fact). I was trying desperately to get the apex up to 200F, but even with a ton of 1" pieces of wood I just couldn't do it. The paper, cardboard, and wood were smoldering badly. It was hard to get a good burn. It is soooo humid here right now, everything is just damp. I was using materials from inside the house (admittedly stored in a basement), and they just weren't bone dry.

As this "fire" was bumbling along, I started putting lots of wood in the oven around the perimeter to dry out for the next fire (this afternoon?)...but I dunno. It'll dry out, but by the time I come back to it, sitting outside all day, it might all be fog-logged again anyway. I'll have to see.

My intended schedule, to answer your question, was to do the basic 100F per day over a week (perhaps two fires a day in the earlier stages) and get up to pizza temperatures within a week of starting my curing fires. The humidity around here right now may or may not permit me to do that. It's just impossible to keep my material dry. I'll have to store in the house proper, not the basement...which is fine for paper and cardboard, but I'm not keeping wood in the house, I don't have room!

[fxpose]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Great job so far! This is turning out real nice!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Might I suggest a small, electric heater like a cheepo under desk plastic type with 2 heat settings and small fan) since you're having humidity. You've already put your insulation on (a good thing I think) since it will start to hold and absorb heat when you get up to the 300 deg day but it could also make drying it out take longer and more change for steam expanding (a bad thing). You could set the heater on the landing blowing in for a few hours each day when you're not doing a curing fire. I've read where others did that in humid or rainy conditions. Just a thought. Cheers, dino

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

I have exactly one of those heaters. I used it in my basement workshop throughout the build. I've only run a workshop halogen out at the site so far, never an actual heater...although the halogen was freaking hot! Kept the inside at 70 when the outside was 30.

Thanks for the reminder that the heater is an option.

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Third and fourth curing fires, with some wood drying around the perimeter.

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

So, as per some recent posts, I poured the vermicrete for the first terrace, 8:1, hydrated about 3:1. Seemed to go pretty well, hardened up after a day or two. However, the exposed horizontal surface (I have no exposed vertical surfaces since I poured the vermicrete behind a permanent hardibacker form) is very rough-textured (of course) and quite crumbly. I would go so far as to say that much of the top layer of aggregate is totally "unstuck"; it would merely brush away if attempted.

Bear in mind as you read the following questions that the goal (the design) is to put some shallow brick walls around the terrace to form planter beds and then encase the entire structure (vertical hardibacker walls, vertical and horizontal faced brick planter walls, horizontal vermicrete planter beds) in surface bonding cement (with acrylic fortifier) then further waterproof as best as possible with various concrete sealers.

Three questions:

• Should I parge the extremely rough-textured vermicrete with some portland/sand combination before applying the SBC?
• Should I brush away the loose vermiculite aggregate before parging or applying the SBC?
• Will the SBC definitely adhere to (and support itself up) a vertical 20" hardibacker wall? It won't "fall away" from the hardibacker or fold/buckle/collapse like a ribbon under its own weight? Should I wrap the walls in expanded diamond lathe first? I have read that this shouldn't be a problem, but it is difficult to imagine a thin sheet of concrete standing up in this fashion (unless it really glues solidly to the hardibacker), it just seems like a weird concept.

Thanks.

[Tscarborough]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Surface Bonding Cement. It is formulated to create code compliant walls from loose stacked CMU. It will do just fine on the Hardi. If you vermicrete is reall loose, you may want to do 2 coats on those areas, with the first being very loose (wet).

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Will the SBC definitely adhere to (and support itself up) a vertical 20" hardibacker wall? It won't "fall away" from the hardibacker or fold/buckle/collapse like a ribbon under its own weight? Should I wrap the walls in expanded diamond lathe first?

Hey Keb,
you can see in the pic my oven before I used the SBC on the dome, But the walls are 4 blocks high and have the first coat of SBC on them.. It's really like Icing a cake..... I pnly had a problem with one batch that I made too soupy, but I just let it sit for about 20 minutes and it was fine... and yes I did apply it directly to the cinderblock without any lath..

Good Luck
Mark

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

My fifth and sixth curing fires. The sixth was the first with "big wood" (heh heh). Dome center temps just barely in the 400Fs. It's all I can do to get the wood to burn. I have to blow on it constantly or it just smolders. Everything is just a little bit damp. Seattle is very humid right now. I leave wood to dry in the oven after it goes to coals and I close it up for the night, but it doesn't matter, it's still just a little bit damp the next evening.

I will have to try the electric heater trick (or storing wood indoors).

Started sourcing foodstuffs. San Marzanos are easy, Caputo 00 less so. I found a source of 5lb bags for around $5 and 50lb bags for $33 (Merlino's, a restaurant supply store who also had 3kg cans of San Marzanos), but quite a bit further away and only open work hours (MF 8-4 or something to that effect). I saw a reference to the same place selling the 50lb bags for $15, but it was obviously desperately out of date. I don't know if it's worth the $17 savings to drive $3 more gas plus wedging it around my work schedule.

How far will a 5lb bag go?

Starting to think really hard about a door design. I'll need it very soon if I'm going to do any bread with the the later curing fires (or post-pizza fires).

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Hey Keb,
You should try putting some wood in those heavy (contractor) garbage bags.. If you keep enough wood in it for one fire and seal it,, the black should absorb the heat/sun and help dry the wood.... Right ?????
congrats on the fires
Mark

[bbell]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Keb, Pacific Food Importers (PFI) carries the 50lb bags of caputo as well as selling it by the pound. Great source for all things Italian. Fresh mozzarella as well. https://www.pacificfoodimporters.com/

Also, I found it helpful to start the fire at the very front of the oven where there's more air and once it starts blazing, slowly push it to the center.

Great build.

Bill