Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

[Piscatorsalmotrutta]

Hi everyone I am attempting to build my oven entirely from recycled products with exception of the cement and castable cement.
I will be posting photos in due course.
Kind regards and before registering have spent many hours researching.
Chris aka Piscatorsalmotrutta (Fisherman for brown trout)

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Welcome Pisca,

Don't be afraid to ask questions and keep the progress pics coming. And I thought I had a long screen-name!

John

[Piscatorsalmotrutta]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Thanks John, I will post some photos soon, I am waiting for a break in the weather to pour my slab top onto the base and stand. Form all made and levelled just waiting for that break to crack on!
Kind regards
Chris

[Piscatorsalmotrutta]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Okay the base was dug on fathers day, with my son Jacob, architecture student and build designer cough.......

This then led to solo construction from there on in. Materials are predominantly recycled building materials left over from building jobs in our local area, they find their way to a local yard. The chap there is a retired builder, he just can't leave it alone. here are a small selection of some of the materials, the oven floor is made from very heavy bricks that line what are called night storage heaters in the UK. The bricks are heated at night, using low cost electricity, They retain the heat and air is blown across the bricks releasing the heat, they are heavy.

The plan is to cast over a sand mould cased in news paper. when set dig out the sand and off we go.

Diameter 90 cms (Roughly 36 inches) dome height 40 cms (20 inches) opening 38 cms (roughly 18 inches using a welded arch using locally reclaimed tie bar from a demolished barn. The wrought iron was over 150 years old, as estimated by the blacksmith.

Sand mould has been in place and awaiting return of the prodigal son for the casting process. Hopefully tomorrow

Using Ciment Fondu from a local French based company along with fine and coarse Alag. Mix 40% alag fine, 40% alag coarse and 20% fondu cement. Slightly nervous as the ciment has a 20 minute working time, it does bond well with subsequent mixes so need to assemble a team to make sure we get it done stress free and pronto.

Click on the photo to see all the pics that I thought you might be interested in seeing.

[david s]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Suggest you also add some natural fibres to the mix.they will help bind the material when it is in a plastic state and when they burn away will leave tiny pipes which water can escape through reducing the likelihood of blowing. Proprietary mixes usually include this. Seeing as you are making up your own mix, some hair from a pet grooming shop or hairdresser could be a suitable solution. You should also consider using stainless steel fibres (melt extract fibres), for additional strength. Although it does make the material more difficult to handle, they arevsharp.

[Piscatorsalmotrutta]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Thanks David, locally I used an aggregate produce by the cement maker in both coarse and fine. I should start firing process int he next couple of days.
More photos added.

[jammyweb]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Hi

I used mostly old storage heater bricks too - and mostly reclaimed materials. Keep the pics coming.

James

[Piscatorsalmotrutta]

Re: Hello from Norwich, Norfolk, England

Cool none of those kits for us Brits .... will post curing/firing photos when done, being patient..