Material between wall and cooking floor

[HoJo]

After laying the cooking bricks and placing the 3 section dome, there is space between the edges of the bricks and the dome wall. What should I fill the gaps in with to prevent the brick so from shifting? It is more noticeable at the entrance. Thanks!

[Lburou]

Re: Material between wall and cooking floor

Ashes usually fill areas like that. It sounds like you may be assembling an oven from fornobravo...is that correct? If you have much of a crack to fill you might contact their customer service for a specific answer or post a picture. Ashes filled the gaps in the floor and around the edges in my pompeii oven.

[johan.dantuma]

Re: Material between wall and cooking floor

I'm planing to build my first barrel shaped brick oven , but i'm unsure of the floor . Can i just use a vermiculite and cement mixed base and reinforce it with some re-bar , or should i first throw a slab of plain concrete and the the vermiculite . What i'm trying to ask is , is the vermiculite and cement base strong enough to support the oven

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Material between wall and cooking floor

Vcrete in not strong enough alone to support an oven. I suggest you look at the free oven plans from Forno Bravo to help you. The support structure will be the same regardless of oven style.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Material between wall and cooking floor

At least 4" of rebar-inforced concrete support slab. Then at least a 4" slab of vcrete. If you're building a barrel vault for retained-heat bread-making, the more under-floor insulation the better.

[vtsteve]

Re: Material between wall and cooking floor

No rebar in vcrete - it's too crumbly (if you do it right) for reinforcement. Vermicrete should only see well-distributed compressive loads. It'll support the oven, but you could punch a screwdriver right through it. It's unsuitable for a floor (again, too crumbly). It's an insulation layer below the brick cooking floor.