Dome

[EricBrick]

Hi, I build my first real brick oven this past summer 2025. Using the Pompeii Oven Plans.
My issue is that after the dome was make i waited about a week then started my five fires. my last fire i saw in some places that smoke was coming through between the Heat Stop 50 Refractory Mortar and the bricks. So i put a layer of Heat Stop 50 Refractory Mortar over the dome hoping that would solve the issue. Well the layer of Heat Stop 50 mortar is coming off the dome.
My Questions are.
1) why is the mortor coming off?
2) can i put the installation over the dome even though the smoke is coming through the cracks?
3) is Heat Stop 50 Refractory Mortar - Dry Mix: Fire-resistant mortar ok to use over the dome, then put the installation, chicken wire, normal mortar?
4) If i use a liquid form of Heat Stop 50 to fill the crack will that help?
thanks
eric

[david s]

Hi Eric,
I suspect that you’ve gone at it a bit too hard. In the construction there is an enormous amount of water added and only a week of curing does not allow wind and sun much time to dry the oven, weather dependant of course. Secondly, the drying fires are better done with the oven insulated to reduce the big difference between the inside and outside surfaces which of course also lead to a big difference in thermal expansion. If it were mine I’d be continuing low and long fires to eliminate moisture. You can check this by throwing a large sheet of plastic over the dome to see if moisture is condensing under it. When most of this has gone you can seal up any cracks with the heat stop, insulate and then proceed to do more fires building up to decent cooking temperature to get