How long did it take you to build your oven?

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

We put the soapstone in afterwards. We make a template, have it cut and then install it.

Wow, that is one handsome floor! Soapstone is so heavy I can't believe you got it to fit so nicely inside after the dome was built. Would love to hear how the floor performs in cooking various itesms (pizza & flatbreads, hearthbread and roasts).

Thanks for the pics!

[Stevenb]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Thanks! My brother and I do cut and fit a lot of other things together, so this was not too much of a stretch for us, thankfully. We have orders for two more to do now. Four so far. I consider us lucky to be able to do it. The soapstone was a piece of cake to put in really. We just made a template. It is heavy, but is so flippin nice to cool on. It does crack, but if you never take it out, the crack doesn't really matter. It just slips in and looks so beautiful. Here is a link to a better selection of pics. Not all by any means, but you can see them better at least.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sred...OAJ&feat=email

[dbhansen]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Four years and counting, but who's counting? (Oh, I guess I am!)

[Alter ego]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Incredibly, my oven took 1 year to the day to complete.

Cleared the space for the oven to go on 29/8/09


Finished off the deck around the oven on 29/8/10

[Lburou]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Six months from this:

To this:

A patio cover and the final finishing and we're done!

P.S. This was our first attempt at pizza John

[brickie in oz]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Nice Lee, nice..

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Lee,

Your oven rocks! Great tie-in with the existing bricks. Can't wait to see some pics of the food coming out of it!

John

[Stevenb]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

This is our whole project. It was probably seven months or so, but we came and went a lot to do other jobs. It was a fun winter job though.

[brickie in oz]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

I built one in seven days, then I woke up and it was time to go to work

You should have said 6 days and on the seventh you rested....

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Stevenb,

Each time I look at the pics of your oven builds it is obvious you and your brother are quite skilled and also have your masonry-team processes down in order to build an oven of such quality in 8 days.

However, it appears that you are not installing any insulation between your oven floors and the concrete support slab. This phase of oven construction is felt to be critical to oven performance during and after pizza cooking. Are you putting insulation in and it is so cleverly installed that we can't see it?

More importantly, I am curious why your soapstone floor has significant cracking and the beautiful soapstone stove/heaters from the eastern U.S. do not. Is it the soapstone type or thickness? Modular construction like pavers? Could it be from contact directly with concrete underneath with no insulation? Or could it be from the temperature differential of the soapstone from the interior of the oven and the exposed outside of the oven?

I am just about to finish the dome on my oven that has a 3cm soapstone floor installed.
I am concerned that imminent cracks are gonna lead to a re-floor job.

John

[Stevenb]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

We hide the insulation in the concrete. We pour a high strength 4" slab, then top with the kaowool, and pour 2" around it to hide it, hold it in place, and protect it. Then we install the base firebricks on top of that and start building the dome.
As for the soapstone, we have been told that there are only two places where soapstone is mined in the US, by several places in town. Rose mountain and flower mountain. The flower mountain has viens of talc that are weak and crack. The other doesn't have that, but still seems to crack. We are look in to getting the light green plain soapstone if we can find it. It sits on top of the firebricks, which are on top of the insulation. It is 1 1/4" thick slab. The way we I stall it makes it easy to replace, but it is spendy. $800 for the rose mountain, and $400 for the other.

[Stevenb]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Btw, the insulation extends to under the walls of the dome, which we like because it seems to help isolate the whole oven from the concrete base for better heat retention.

[aceves]

Re: How long did it take you to build your oven?

Hi Steve,

Awesome build!! Very clean and detailed! That is a great outdoor living area design.

As to your initial question for this thread: 2.5 years and counting. I've had to complete other projects in between (like a 2-level wood deck, a complete kitchen remodel, etc.) so it's not all WFO time. But I'm back with determination and plan to finish my WFO this summer!

aceves