Hello all

[Nate CT]

Hey guys,
Just found this site...........Wow.........What a wealth of knowledge! Really looking forward to learning as I progress with my 1st oven

I have wanted to do this oven since I built the house in 2004........Better late than never I guess
I started the oven a couple weeks ago and now I am to the point where I really need some advice, sooooo many questions especially about insulations, refractory mortars, differential thermal expantion between materials
I guess I am building a semi dome or arched oven with a straight wall in the back. A friend had purchased a picture tutorial from one of the (other) websites and I am using that as a guide but there is no description of materials

I built my base out of tube steel 2.5"x2.5"x 1/4" on a 8" concrete pad.
2" rigid insul is fit between the framing members of the floor and the cross tubes are filled with pour-rock. The cantilevered arms are to support some 1" thick granite countertop from a kitchen renovation. I am ready to pour the floor next.
My biggest concerns are;
1.) I purchased perlite wall insulation to mix into the concrete. As far as size it is almost like course sand. Should I use larger aggregate insul ? I noticed some pre-cast oven kits at the mason supply had larger BB sized aggregate exposed.
The perlite was all I could find locally but I will order something if need be.

2.) Do you use insul through the entire slab or only mix a batch to do a spot say 2" thick just under the cooking area floor then fill in over it with regular concrete? Does the insul weaken the concrete?

3.) And finally, can you have too much re-bar in the pour?
I have a grid now of 3/4" bar. My concern was the bar might heat and cool at a different rate then the concrete working against each other. Maybe mesh is a better option?

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Nate

[Lburou]

Re: Hello all

Hello Nate

I would recommend you take a breather right now and read the pompeii oven plans (see the blue link in my signature below). When you study those plans, your grasp of the entire project and how the pieces go together will help you make a good oven like the successful ovens in these forums. Your base is large enough to build a very small oven in its current configuration, study the section of the plans pertaining to the size of your base, then go from there.

The slab you are about to pour needs to be strong concrete (with no insulation in it). The insulating layer works best over that slab and under the oven floor. Personally, I would put a larger number of smaller rebar pieces in the slab in the picture above.

Good Luck Nate!

[Nate CT]

Re: Hello all

Thanks for the advice Lburou,
And the links too! I will read em up before I proceed. I wish I found this site sooner I didn't truly appreciate how much goes into a WFO when I started !

I did pour the slab though, so I'm stuck with it. I scrapped the barrel oven idea to go with the pompeii oven, looks like I can fit a 32" on it......Picked up my bricks yesterday, looking forward to the weekend.

[Lburou]

Re: Hello all

Thanks for the advice Lburou,
And the links too! I will read em up before I proceed. I wish I found this site sooner I didn't truly appreciate how much goes into a WFO when I started !

I did pour the slab though, so I'm stuck with it. I scrapped the barrel oven idea to go with the pompeii oven, looks like I can fit a 32" on it......Picked up my bricks yesterday, looking forward to the weekend.

With a good cantilever, you can hang over on all sides and make the hearth any size you want, that is, if you decide on a 36 inch oven or even larger.

[nissanneill]

Re: Hello all

Hi Nate
great to see that you have decided in the Pompeii rather than the barrell vaulted oven. That one is better suited to bread bakers rather than the pompeii, but that is still good for bread after it cools a bit after the pizzas.
I agree with Lburou, by cantileving the sides and rear, it will be well supported by your rhs but also the main weight of your dome will be supported over your original base and the lighter insulation layers over the cantilever.
Alll the best with your build.
Cheers.

Neill

[Lburou]

Re: Hello all

We had planned on a barrel oven too. We cantilevered on two sides of the original base and it worked OK. Your steel frame is an easy thing to change at this point, take advantage of the flexibility it offers you.

You can see below how I cantilevered to the left and front sides of the original base. Could have used a couple more inches in width, but we worked around it.