Pizza Door Frame Bolts

[Bravissimo Pizza]

Hello Pizza Oven Enthusiast,

I am fabricating a brand new Pizza Oven Door for a Pizza Oven in my house. I am not the original owner of the house and the Pizza Oven did not come with a Door. I fired up the Oven and noticed a huge amount of smoke expels through the front and the oven does not hold enough heat because of that.

I have a couple of questions for those who have experience fabricating their own custom doors. Perhaps you have more insight onto this topic.

First....
I fabricated the inner frame using a Plasma CNC torch. I will weld 3 tabs onto the frame in which 3 bolts will secure the inner frame onto the Yellow Fire Brick. My question is what type of bolts should I use? TapCon Concrete anchor Bolts? My concern is if I use the bolts as is, will they expand because of the high heat and crack the Fire Bricks? Old West Iron suggested I add High Heat Epoxy to secure the bolts into the Fire Bricks. Is this in line what installers do to secure their doors that will be Hinged? I was thinking of using High Heat Paint onto the bolts to prevent the bolts from expanding.

Thanks and this is my first post. I will add pictures as I work through my project.

Bravissimo!

[david s]

My experience switch kilns and their failure has been almost exclusively related to hinged doors. Rusted hinges, door dropping creating a poor seal and damaged bricks at the door mouth are the main problems. Most wood fired ovens have doors that are unhinged and simply sit against the oven mouth. This proves to be a far better long term solution, although obtaining a good seal is sometimes tricky. Old Italian bakers sometimes used wet newspaper or some excess bread dough around the door to improve the seal. Likewise many kilns use bricks to block up the mouth, sealed with a mix of clay/sand. I recall a large WFO here locally that had a very nice custom made steel door frame sitting inside the outer shell. Not unsurprising was the huge crack it created in the dome because of the steel’s expansion.
It is better not to fix into the bricks, but if you must then use nothing but stainless.

[Bravissimo Pizza]

Thanks David!

That is my main concern that my Pizza Oven will be damaged. From expansion and the sheer weight of Pizza Door. It is getting quite heavy.

I will consider redesigning to be Self Standing Pizza Door.

I have a second question....
I'm considering insulating the inside of the door. Options below....

1. Insulating with Yellow or White Insulating Fire bricks that are 1.5" Thick and welding on expanded perforated metal sheet over the bricks.
2. Insulating with Mineral Wool and welding on a Metal sheet over the wool.
3. Insulating with Fiber Insulated Board sold on Forna Bravo.

Which option is the better choice yet also economically least expensive? The Bricks and Mineral Wool are cheaper than the FB Board. Wonder what other people are using to create a insulating barrier.

Thanks,

BP