North House Folk Scool

[NCMan]

Hi, everyone. I am set up to attend a weeklong class up in Minn., at North House Folk School in a few months on Wood Fired Brick Oven Building. Does anyone have any experience w/them? I want to build an oven for myself, then, hopefully build them for others. I do have a concrete/masonry background, but know next to nothing about building brick ovens. Thanx, Carl from NC.

[stonecutter]

Re: North House Folk Scool

What part of NC?

[Les]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Hi, everyone. I am set up to attend a weeklong class up in Minn., at North House Folk School in a few months on Wood Fired Brick Oven Building. Does anyone have any experience w/them? I want to build an oven for myself, then, hopefully build them for others. I do have a concrete/masonry background, but know next to nothing about building brick ovens. Thanx, Carl from NC.

Carl, why don't you go to the FB store and download the free set of plans for ovens most have built here. I have a hunch that the class will be building the Allan Scott design. It's a great oven but it's geared more toward baking then pizza. It would be good to understand the pros and cons of both. Good luck w/ the class and hopefully the temps will be above -40

[Greenman]

Re: North House Folk Scool

I reckon that this forum, when added to the material you can download, is the equivalent of the best that a school can offer. If you already have skills as a mason then what is to be found around this forum/site should be all that you need to get you off and flying straight.

If rank amateurs can knock out good looking completely functional ovens this way it has to be some sort of recommendation. Scour the threads......... you will make the same conclusion.

Just my humble opinion. Good luck with your build which ever way you chose to move. And, welcome to the forum.

[Xene]

Re: North House Folk Scool

I reckon that this forum, when added to the material you can download, is the equivalent of the best that a school can offer. If you already have skills as a mason then what is to be found around this forum/site should be all that you need to get you off and flying straight.

If rank amateurs can knock out good looking completely functional ovens this way it has to be some sort of recommendation. Scour the threads......... you will make the same conclusion.

Just my humble opinion. Good luck with your build which ever way you chose to move. And, welcome to the forum.

I completely and wholeheartedly agree. The oven is not terribly tricky to build, commonsense (and the free FB plans) will get you most of the way there, but this forum is a treasure trove of advice. I had no masonry experience whatsoever but I managed to pull out a decent oven in one summer with the help here. The members on this forum are the best!

[NCMan]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it is the Scott design they teach. I did download the FB plans and have been looking them over. I may decide to skip the expense and travel costs and keep soaking in the info here. I live near Hendersonville, which is south of Asheville, NC.

[NCMan]

Re: North House Folk Scool

What part of NC?


Near Hendersonville, which is south of Asheville.

[NCMan]

Re: North House Folk Scool

I guess a problem I have is I'm so meticulous w/my masonry work. I just want to do it right the first time and hopefully, be confident enough afterwards to do it for others.

[Tscarborough]

Re: North House Folk Scool

If you already know how to do masonry, then you can build ovens with no problem. Just remember that insulation is your friend, not necessarily mass.

As for being meticulous, that is fine, but please look at this thread that shows Italian commercial builders at work on very expensive, high demand, high output ovens. Use it to keep perspective.

Authentic Neapolitan WFO - How to build -

(also note that they are for continuous commercial use and are not well insulated)

[NCMan]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Tscarborough....Thanks. I would like to first know how to build the tool the folks use on here for setting the oven bricks.....aka.....the "IT". Looks fairly simple, but seems like the tool to use. I do love this forum and being able to come here, ask questions and soak in all (or some) of the knowledge from the folks here. Great Forum!!

[cleverdick]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Hi, everyone. I am set up to attend a weeklong class up in Minn., at North House Folk School in a few months on Wood Fired Brick Oven Building. Does anyone have any experience w/them? I want to build an oven for myself, then, hopefully build them for others. I do have a concrete/masonry background, but know next to nothing about building brick ovens. Thanx, Carl from NC.

I know it's not entirely in the spirit of this forum, or necessarily what you wanted to do, but don't discount a pre-cast. (You'd still have plenty of building to do with the enclosure.) Some would say it's cheating, but the time between now and your first pizza would be greatly reduced. Possible disadvantages are: (1) it could cost a lot more if you want a really large oven, (2), the thermal mass may not be as great, and (3) you won't get quite the same sense of achievement. But there are at least plenty to choose from.

PS Went to NC about 15 years ago - visited some freinds near Dunn. Pizzas not good - Pizza Hut had just won "Best Pizza Retailer of the Year" or something...

[NCMan]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Thanks, but I do intend to build from scratch. I am really fascinated by the whole process.

[Tscarborough]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Personally, I am glad the tool works for so many people, but it is not needed, nor is it the fastest or best way to build. A simple half-dome template works just fine.

[wotavidone]

Re: North House Folk Scool

Personally, I am glad the tool works for so many people, but it is not needed, nor is it the fastest or best way to build. A simple half-dome template works just fine.

Can't agree with you.
I'm sure a template works fine, and an IT is certainly not essential, but I reckon an IT is the best and fastest way to build a dome.

The only trouble is, most guys overthink the tool and spend far too much time on the engineering.

If you use a simple stick, L bracket and hinge arrangement it takes about 30 minutes to construct and install.
Then, if you butter the brick with mortar properly, and clamp the brick into the L bracket with your hand as you position the brick, the tool aligns the brick perfectly and the joint fills with mortar properly. Scrape off the excess and you are done.
No crawling inside the oven to clean bricks and fill gaps, as often seems happen when guys use various wooden or sand forms.
The template gives you a curve to follow but it doesn't set the angle of the brick for you.
Also, I explained in another thread the tool can also be used to construct low domes and domes that are not an exact hemisphere with little if any modification.
The speed limiting factor when we built a dome at my mates place last week was cutting the bricks. (And lunch and beer breaks. )

[stonecutter]

Re: North House Folk Scool

I think it is a matter of perspective and your level of experience whether the IT is the best and fastest way to center the dome. Using one must take away some of the anxiety of running off course or keeping the correct angle for new builders, but here's another take....

In the time it takes to construct one of those tools, I can build up three or four courses freehand ( after the soldier). I use a half dome template for checking the inner shape as the brick go up, and I don't need support until the last few courses, because the domes I have been building are elliptical, Neapolitan ovens. Once I reach a point where the brick needs more support than a few seconds, then I use a half dome template. I have been making them out of rigid foam insulation.

IMO, the best centering that is used has everything to do with the individual builder, and what they are comfortable using. The IT is a crafty centering tool for sure, but it comes with its own fiddily problems...no different than the unique obstacles that are present when using a sand form or template.