Renovation of a wood fired oven - sort of....

[lcats_TX]

Long story short - I purchased what appears to be a pre -cast style oven ( I bought it in 2016) unknown origin. It sat covered for many years and finally now going to try to get it going. Here is what I see so far;

Dome is a left half/Right half setup
floor looks like four surround pieces and one center piece.

The floor tiles are sitting on what looks like a piece of 1/8 or a 1/4 steel.

There is maybe another 2" section underneath that and it had some sort of 2" + insulation which is constructed out of plate steel as well and the stand is massive angle steel type legs and supports.


Things got wet in the 2" section of the oven and I removed all the insulation that I can see - finally, he is my questions;

Is it okay to have the floor sitting on metal plate?

Can I just replace (stuff or spray in) insulation within the air gapped space?

I have thought about taking the two halves of the dome off, but i'm afraid of breaking them (has some cracking in the dome)

Also, the precast is not wrapped or rendered yet - this oven was supposed to be an indoor restaurant oven.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Luke

[Pizzarotic]

Is it okay to have the floor sitting on metal plate?

Not normal and may bow up as it expands.

Can I just replace (stuff or spray in) insulation within the air gapped space?

Yes, you can replace the insulation but it will need to be proper temperature rated not spray foam.

I have thought about taking the two halves of the dome off, but i'm afraid of breaking them (has some cracking in the dome)

All cast domes have some cracking but yes it is a risk.

Also, the precast is not wrapped or rendered yet - this oven was supposed to be an indoor restaurant oven.

Indoor or outdoor it will still need adequate external insulation.

[lcats_TX]

Thank you for this information. I have totally tore it down to the stand. Glad I did - rotted heavily and the insulation is destroyed. I would like to know what company made this oven- the floor was sitting directly on plate steel which was causing the floor to buckle at temp. Anyhoo, I want to reuse the stand. Now I need to figure out what substrate I can use in conjunction with the new silicate board and castable heat bank.

[david s]

Is the supporting slab that the oven sits on adequate to support the oven weight now that you have removed the steel? Ovens normally require a 4" reinforced concrete supporting slab. It is a good idea to have some drain holes through the centre of this slab so that the moisture in the underfloor insulation has somewhere to escape.

[Pizzarotic]

Anyhoo, I want to reuse the stand. Now I need to figure out what substrate I can use in conjunction with the new silicate board and castable heat bank.

My suggestions would be to use either fiber cement sheeting, 1 to 2" thick depending on the stand supports or cast a reinforced cement base on the stand. A 2" slab with adequate support should work fine.

Post some pic's of the oven and stand with some measurements would help.