My Pizza oven made cheap

[Fred.C]

I wanted to make myself a pizza oven
I remember my mother had one that she build out of mud, brick and cement
She used to bake all the breads and things
Hers was a big oven in a shed

I only wanted a little oven, so I set out looking at building one
First problem was my deck is too small for a big oven so I had to build it off my deck 2mt high on a metal pole
The platform comes just over the edge of my deck
Of that I have build my wood storage box with openings at both ends so that I can put the wood in from the outside
next I but a 1'' fibro sheeting that is designed for fire places that are build inside on wooden floors
on top of that is a row of bricks with a refectory mortar mix as my hearth over the bricks then I have my fireclay and sand bedding on that I have clay bricks
On the out side I have used thermo blocks which are the size of besser blocks
I have tested these at my work on the glass melting furnace
My oven inside is clay bricks out side is thermo block
This is the stage that I am up to at the moment
Next I will line it with insulation foil and refractory mortar mix
Will put photos up very soon

[james]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Welcome aboard Fred. Can't wait to see photos and how it cook. Sometimes it's difficult picturing something without a picture. Was your mom's oven in Australia or elsewhere. I seems as though immigrants take their oven designs with them.

Can you fill us in on Fibro? I haven't heard of it -- sounds interesting.
James

[Fred.C]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Mum oven was in Australia the design was one that the little peasant villages in Calabria Italy had been making for hundreds of years
Its main purpose was for bread making

The fibro I got from a handyman job I did they wanted me to dump it
All I know is it is a compressed Fibre Reinforced Cement and usually expensive epically for the thicker one

So far my oven has cost me under $200 which is how much that fibro sheeting would cost me to buy (glad I didn't dump it)
Will be uploading photos in the next week

[Bacterium]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Hi Fred C.
great to see another Aussie on.

I built mine with a "smaller sized" budget in mind.

Would be great to see some pics of yours. You'll find this site a great resource on a whole range of subjects around ovens. cooking etc.

[Fred.C]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Here are some of my pictures

1 My stand 2mt of the ground to give me more room on the deck
under it will be a wood box with side access

2 Hearth with a compressed fibro cement sheeting under it and thermo blocks around it

3 Mixing my fire clay and sand (old drill with paint mixer)

4 Support for my arch

5 Arch

I was planning to insulate today but it is pouring down
lucky I covered it with plastic

[RTflorida]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

I'm very curious how your project finishes; and more importantly how it does long term.
I have a couple of friends here in Florida that live on the beach in 'stilt' homes (built on pilings 8-10 above the ground to avoid flooding). Both have beautifull decks at the same level. Your idea looks like a good solution - a pizza oven at a usable hight that would not require re-engineering and rebuilding of there decks to support the weight of a conventional built oven.

I hope you keep us imformed as the months go by.

RT

[Fred.C]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

My options at the time was buy a pizza oven from Bunning’s hardware that was the size of a tall skinny fridge, base size 500mm x500mm
Gas, ugly and $1500 or build outside the deck
Then at work they removed some post from the loading dock
I knew it would easily hold a ton of weight

The only thing that I would change near a beach is having the post galvanised

Will show process of completion and use

Regards
Fred

[Fred.C]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

The day arrived Pizza day
Having dried my oven with a week of fires, starting with a little fire
The only problem I had was that it rained half way through my curing and instead of starting with a small fire again I continued which resulted in some small cracks on the outside (I have not put my insulation on yet) but none on the inside
I decided to cook my first pizza before I put the insulation on
I did this for a couple of reasons
1 I wanted to see the difference with and without due to the thermal blocks that I used

2 I was dying to try my oven and if I didn't do it then I would have to wait for 3 more weeks till I had the weekend off

Saturday at 4pm I lit the oven
6pm I raked the coals to the back
I had a white oven, the outside was slightly warm
I made the dough that morning and my daughter was the first to have her pizza ready in it went the only problem I had was to keep turning the pizza as the side near the coals would cook to quick
2 to 3 min later out came my first pizza a little dark on the edges but great
Straight away I but two bricks in the oven to shield the coals and put the next pizza in 2 to 3 min later out came the best looking pizza
I cooked 5 pizzas that night all came out great and tasted fantastic

At 10 pm I put in a loaf closed the door
Came out at 10.30pm to find one burned loaf oven to hot

Sunday
Oven is quite warm on the outside some hot embers inside

My sister’s family want to try my pizza
Make more dough
Light fire at 4pm
6pm My Niece 6 and nephew 5 make their pizzas and I put them in then cook 8 more pizzas all taking 2 to 3 min to cook
After the last pizza was cooked I put some more wood in the oven and we sat outside eating and drinking by the fire.

Regards
Fred

[wg_bent]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Let's see if I go this right... Pizza, fire, beer and family... What a nice evening. Pictures?

[nissanneill]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Fred,
good to another one from 'down under' having a go!
I noticed in your first pictures that your flue looks like it originates from the front of your oven chamber with a control gate close to the oven top. How much heat is lost through this set-up, as most ovens have their vent and flue outside the oven chamber.
Almost finished my Pompeii and ready to start curing fires tomorrow.

Neill

[Fred.C]

Re: My Pizza oven made cheap

Neill
Good luck with the curing
I noticed on my second or third firing that the heat was coming straight out
So I made a moulded insert to restict the opening
This went in place before the flue opening and is also designed to allow me to place my door against it that way the oven chamber can be sealed

I mentioned this idea in the barrel vs dome oven forum
I did plan to have it able to be removed so that I would enjoy my oven as a fire place after I fininshed cooking , i have since found that their is no need as it is great as a fire place
I have some more pics that I will upload soon

Regards
Fred