SE Minnesota insanity

[Eric Pfeifer]

Hey! Look at this. A middle-class MN home outside of the kitchen, with established flower beds. It's about to be destroyed. Why? Cos, I just gotta have the pizza. Quattro Staggione. Fungi. Whatever. I've waited twenty years for this.

It's now time.

[Ken524]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Looks like the perfect spot to me! Don't tell the neighbors what you're up to... Keep them guessing

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Digging the 48 inch deep (below the MN frostline) footings was the last discrete thing about the whole project. Then a truck with a 100 ft boom showed up to blow in the concrete for the hearth tower. After that, although they're still guessing, there was nothing clandestine about this!

[james]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Nothing too subtle there. I am looking forward to seeing your build -- and your neighbors' reaction.

Good on ya' Eric.
James

[paulyboy]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Excuse my ignorance. Your formwork is high, high, high.
Is this oven going to be accessed from inside the house?
Paul

[jmhepworth]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

This will be a fun one to watch.

Joe

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Excuse my ignorance. Your formwork is high, high, high.
Is this oven going to be accessed from inside the house?
Paul

Yep, the oven will be accessed from within the kitchen--a necessity I feel, when it's -26F around here. The dome will be supported by this tower, which is steel reinforced concrete and is 8 feet above grade. I have a friend who is a skilled concrete tradesman, and we borrowed the mud forms at no cost. It took a day to put them up, and 45 minutes to pour (with the monster boom truck), and half a day to remove the forms. Even after paying my friend his normal wages, buying the mud, and renting the pumper (150 dollars per hour), doing it this way was far cheaper and faster than laying block. The foramen will be about elbow-shoulder height inside.

[fxpose]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Nice. This is going to be such a cool set up. Have you begun work in the kitchen yet?

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Hello, yes. This is what the disaster looks like in the kitchen as of this morning.

[pizza_bob]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

This is almost as insane as Brett favre leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 6-0 start to the football season!
This ought to be really cool!

Good luck with the build!

~Bob

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

For the hidden amount of my tax dollars that goes into his 1 million per game, the Vikes better do something right this year!

Finally I am ready to lay the masonry. The FB boards are mushy in areas where they absorbed water from the concrete, so I'm trying to dry them out with a heater. At least the hearth is enclosed now, and I can work through the winter.

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Yeah, that's right...2000 pounds of firebrick in one haul. Now how to put these together to make pizzas.........

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Wow,, very cool.... It will probably take longer to carry the bricks in than anything else..

good luck and keep posting pics

Cheers
Mark

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

Hello All,

Today we nearly completed the (what I call) the "thermal containment area" for the indoor 36". The hearth is 2 inches FB board, 1 inch percrete, and 4 inches structural concrete. The outermost walls are cement board. The dome will be covered by 5 inches of ceramic blanket, leaving an air gap between the dome and the cement board. The hole you see is the outside access door for inspections/repair.

I also started laying out the floor and soldiers. As you can see there is quite a bit of space competition in my little garage. Next week the brick cutting begins in earnest!

Cheers,
Eric

[Mitchamus]

Re: SE Minnesota insanity

I'll be watching this one.

The best part is - the beer in the fridge is so close!