Greetings from Bedford, Va.

[tigersmith]

Hey Folks,
While searching the web for brick oven info, I ran across this forum. Looks like everything I need to know about brick ovens can be found here.
The plan is to build the 42 inch Pompeii oven as part of an outdoor kitchen which will be an extension of my back deck. Hope to build a gas grill into the kitchen as well. I've found a source of the firebrick and already have a large pile of 8 in. cinder block. Will probably pick up a masonry saw from Harbor Freight since they have them on sale now. ( I had been trying to figure out what to buy myself for Christmas and it looks like it will be a saw.)
I have greatly enjoyed reading the various posts here and look forward to reading many more.

Later

George Stein
Bedford, Va.

[christo]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

George Welcome!

I used to live in Forest, VA.

You came to the right place!!!

Enjoy the journey and take lots of pics!

I'm in Lynchburg occassionaly and always ready to help!

Christo

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hey Cristo,
Thanks for the reply. I'm really looking forward to getting started on this oven. It's really a lousy time to be starting on an outdoor project but at least I can gather all the materials and begin getting the site ready.
Later

George

[nodoubt68]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

You'll need at that time just to read what you need to know on this forum.....BEWARE... this forum is addictive...just when you think you know what your going to do, you'll see something and change your mind ...lol
Have lots of fun and enjoy the company

[egalecki]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Greetings from Radford! This is a great place, and they're right- it's addictive. From the forum to the building to the cooking in your wfo. As a matter of fact, I was looking at tandoori yesterday..... and caught myself wondering how hard it would be to build one! Before you know it, you'll have a whole outdoor kitchen!

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

I found out within the first day of finding this forum that it was addicting. I've spent quite a few hours reading and watching the videos.
When I first started thinking about building a WFO, I figured it would be a really difficult task. I think it will probably still be a little difficult, but this forum has filled in many of the questions I had. Difficult but not impossible.

George

[dmun]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Difficult but not impossible

The difficult part is mostly just the heavy lifting. If I did it again, I'd get in hired or volunteer muscle for the stuff like slab pouring and material moving. There's nothing technically difficult about oven building if you have good info to start out with. The number one mistake, bar none, is insufficient insulation. That's not likely to happen if you spend any time here.

[staestc]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Welcome to the forum George! Your gonna appreciate finding this place even more than you know! I know that I do, and more than I know

Travis

[nissanneill]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hi George, from 'down under'!

( I had been trying to figure out what to buy myself for Christmas and it looks like it will be a saw.)

This is a wise move as it leave you available for other gifts from the wife and kids.
I bet after you complete your oven, that you will have a list of things on your wish list.
All the best with your research, your planning and construction.

Neill

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hey Folks,
Thanx for all the replies and encouragement. I am really getting excited about getting started. I have been playing around with Google Sketchup7 and am having a ball. As soon as I figure out to upload a pic file here I will upload my proposed design.

Merry Christmas

George Stein
Bedford, Va.

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

I am going to try and attach a Sketchup pic of what I want to do for my outdoor kitchen.
My first hurtle is the fact that I plan to attach it to my existing back deck. It is almost 3-1/2 ft. above the ground so I will have to build my foundation up that much just to get at the normal starting point.
Just got approval from the building department on my proposd plan. Now to pay for the building permit and getting started.

Looks like the upload worked..... The deck is 16 ft. wide and 13 ft. deep. This seems plenty wide for the oven and my gas grill as well. There is even room left over for a make-up area between the oven and grill.

George

[nissanneill]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hi George,
it looks like a lot of work especially if it is going to have that dressed stone. Should look great but I'm not sure whether ot not the brunette would allow me as much time to get the job done without distractions.

Keep us informed with your progress and questions.

Neill

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hey Neill,
My initial plans were to use a stone facing on this project till I priced this stuff. I may end up using stucco instead.
And I agree on the brunette. But in this case at least she is just on the drawing and can be erased at need. I'm one of the last remaining confirmed bachelors (sp?) I think.
The first thing I need to do is transplant the four Cascade hop plants growing at the end of my deck. ( I brew my own beer as well).
Hope to start soon.

Later

George

[nissanneill]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

George,
we have over here an alternative to 'solid stone' face but are tiled, cut and dressed stone but only 35mm thick. Still not cheap but a heck of a lot cheaper than solid stone.
They lay the bricks on edge rather than on flat which reduces the wall thickness to allow the 'tiles' to come out the original brick width on completion.
You would only need a couple of square metres to do your job and it would be a pity to (and I will use the word) 'spoil' the job because of maybe a $100 or so rather than plain old render.
You always need those extras around (back to the brunette), to get the drinks and to massage all those aches and pains each night (whether you get them or not - just don't let them know).

Neill

[tigersmith]

Re: Greetings from Bedford, Va.

Hey Neill,
I priced the artificial stone here and it is about $8.00 sq. ft. I have about 275 sq. ft of exposed surfaces counting the front and back of my kitchen. That comes out to more than $2000.00. That's a bit out of my range.....Well, WAY out of my range actually. Maybe I could just "rock" the front and part of the sides. That would save quite a bit.... Time to do some more shopping.

Later

George