Duane's 42" Build

[MarkJerling]

Looks fantastic Duane! Well done.

[Hamilton]

Stained cedar post and roof joist. The roof/ceiling is 2x6 tongue and groove cleared cedar. The door is walnut.

[Giovanni Rossi]

Great structure Duane. Really like the look. Since I had to do a corner build, I had envisioned something similar early on in my planning but my site just wouldn't support it.

What type of wood did you use? Stained?

[Hamilton]

Finally a roof. Door in progress, lacking handles at this point.

[david s]

If the firebrick floor is laid loose on the dry mix it allows free movement of individual bricks which will expand at different rates because of uneven heating. If laid on a wet mix it acts like mortar and doesn’t allow that free movement as well. The dry mix also has the advantage of making the replacement of a floor brick in the centre of the floor far easier. The floor bricks take quite a beating and it will be the bricks in the centre that get the worst of it. The bricks on the outside of the floor never seem to have this problem.

[bencuch]

Thanks for your time. I'm at the beginning of construction and I also poured refractory concrete under the floor because of the heat bank and I'm about to lay bricks on the floor. David advised me to lay them loose without sticking them on a mixture of clay and sand. I think he is an experienced builder and I want to do it anyway.

[fox]

Most one piece ovens will crack, segmented cast ovens are far less likely to crack because they have built in allowances that allow the oven to expand.
Take it slow with the drying fires, try to control the intensity and duration of the fires as gradually as your patience will allow.

[Hamilton]

Since the drying fires I have found one hairline crack in the dome starting at the base and goes about 3/4 of the way up.
My understanding is that all ovens will crack.

[bencuch]

Are there cracks in your oven or is everything OK?

[Hamilton]

Good morning.

I have seen it done both wet and dry but I did add water to the mix.

[bencuch]

Good day,

I will also ask you for a small detail - you laid the bricks in a dry or wet mixture of sand and clay

Good day,

I will come back to my question.
When fine sand, stove clay and water are mixed, a sticky substance is created that would definitely stick the bricks to the refractory concrete. (so the mixture should be used dry, I mean)

Moisture must definitely be avoided and therefore it would probably be better to use fine fireclay dust (0-1mm).

[bencuch]

Hi Hamilton,

You have created a really beautiful building.
The floor bricks were glued to refractory concrete or laid freely on a mixture of brick and clay

Good day,

I will also ask you for a small detail - you laid the bricks in a dry or wet mixture of sand and clay

[david s]

I will give it a try.
Can somebody remind me of the formula for the render coating and the thickness?
I have 3" of insulation so I think I can go straight the the hard shell.

You can buy a premixed commercial render that has a degree of waterproofing, or make your own brew. A high proportion of lime give the layer a degree of elasticity. 4:1:1 sand, Portland cement and lime is pretty good and if you add 50/50 water and an acrylic fortifier, you’ll also get some partial waterproofing. Once perfectly dry an elastomeric acrylic coating can be applied to fully waterproof the surface if desired, but the outer shell then is not breathable. The addition of random fibres to the render mix makes mesh reinforcing unnecessary and saves lots of time. I usually apply this outer render in one go to around 12-15mm thick, basically to save time, but the recommendation is not to exceed 10mm and to be done in 2 layers. Use a wet sponge to smooth out tooling marks.

[Hamilton]

Hello,

The bricks were laid on a 50/50 mix of sand and clay.

[bencuch]

Hi Hamilton,

You have created a really beautiful building.
The floor bricks were glued to refractory concrete or laid freely on a mixture of brick and clay