New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

[Hillbillylunatic]

My name is John and I have started a new oven and have the block walls, concrete, and insulated layer done. Got the walls up intending to build a barrel vault bread oven but changed my mind after finding this website a couple of weeks ago. This oven seems much more versatile and this website and especially the forums are a great source of information. Thanks and wish me luck.

[buckeyebreadman]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Welcome John......Good Luck and let's see some pics....

[Les]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

intending to build a barrel vault bread oven but changed my mind after finding this website

Hi John,

I wonder how many of us have gone this route - I know I did.

Good luck!

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

The hearth stand was built behind a retaining wall at the end of the patio. I raised the forms an inch to gain more r-value for the insulating layer and filled the resulting gap with spray foam. Half inch rebar on one foot centers was added before the concrete pour. The form inside the stand was two short walls with an unattached third top plate that can be pried out so that the entire thing collapses and can be pulled out. Only enough bracing was used to to hold the form square and level. During both pours no form deflection was evident. Now all I have to do is wait for the rain to stop so that I can get back to work. Or maybe a little tent is in my future. My wife kicked me out of the kitchen so the shed out back is my dedicated home brewery. What goes better with a good beer other than pizza?

Thanks for the interest,

John

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Got the floor cut round with the tile saw in a couple of hours on Saturday but I'm stuck now with no fire clay to get the floor down on the hearth. Found a place in Nashville, TN that sells the stuff so will have to make a trip this week to be prepared for the weekend.

John

[Ken524]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Hi Neighbor!

You definitely found the right forum. You have a really nice start; keep up the great work! Keep the pics coming. Pizza is right around the corner.

[OzOvenBuilder]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Nice work, looking forward to progress pics!

[Hillbillylunatic]

New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Started to work on the oven as soon as I got home today. Got the floor laid down and started on the front arch. The oven opening will be twelve inches high and 19 inches wide after a one inch reveal. Because it was easy for me to lay out I'm ending up with one brick on the flat and then my arch starts. Found that with my wet soaked brick my mortar got to wet to work with. Next time I will go for a drier mix. Is there any reason why this opening won't be good? Not to late to change at this point. I'm a firm believer in rough framing. I plan to build a dome that is sturdy, neat, and appropriate for it's purpose. Nothing more. Plus, I'm not a mason so I can live with what I can do given a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks for the input,

John

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Went sailing for a week off the coast of North Carolina and lost a couple of weekends on the pizza oven. I have got this far without any kind of forms but this will change as gravity wants to have a say in the matter. Tile spacers gave me the required angle and I had a bunch of them. Also the floor looks low because I have not yet received my insulating board. I have a friend in Michigan that has a burn off oven that is insulated with the stuff and has offered me some cheap. Never burn a bridge even if it leads to Detroit.

[buckeyebreadman]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Lookin' Good John!

another oven building sailor, I see?

[WJW]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Are your hearthbricks and the walls isolated from the concrete stand by insulation?

If not, I think you are going to find that the concrete stand acts like a giant heatsink sucking heat energy from your oven to the stand and ground. As a general rule you want to isolate the oven from anything which is going to conduct heat away from it.

If you have the floor sitting on top of insulation, but the walls are connected to the concrete stand, you are better off that no insulation, but I'd think that you'll still lose a lot of heat from the walls into the stand.

If I'm wrong about how you have it set up, I apologize as it's a bit hard to tell from the pic.

Bill

Edit: Whoops. Just re-read the thread. Never mind..

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Lookin' Good John!

another oven building sailor, I see?

Arrg, matie

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Saturdays progress still without a form. Going around the arch is today's mission. Had a wood fired pizza at Bosco's last night in Nashville along with a find IPA. They let me go in back and check out the ovens. Big cast deals imported from Italy.

[Hillbillylunatic]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Sunday progress was great. Got the outer arch and transition done. Yippe. Still doing without forms. I figure if anyone checks for perfect round they won't get pizza.

[WJW]

Re: New pizza oven in Franklin, KY

Looking great. Fantastic brick work.!

Bill