Hearth Slab, no lime...

[KINGRIUS]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

It's about 2" space on each side between the inside of the brick and the edge of the slab. So that would leave my insulation area to 2". Is 2" enough for the insulation?
Rado's design calls for lots of high-refrac mortar over top of the brick dome, along with steel reinforcing and alumunum foil. All topped off with more high-refrac motar:

[bernerdog]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

Try hard to see if you can do the Pompei--it is a treat to build, does not require the mass that the barrel does and ( I hope!!)will fire with a lot more flexibility. I say this with some experience as I built an Alan Scott oven about 14 years ago. Credit is due Alan who was a very early creator and instructor on ovens when no one was writing about them and very few attempted builds. I admit that my Pompei is just underway (I will be insulating in the next two days) and untested but everything about these plans and forum inputs leads me to feel strongly that this little puppy will be great fun and serve me well. I offer no opinion about the sizing problem but several others have expanded their stands or bases to take a wider footprint. Rado`s plans are probably excellent but it is a bread oven much like the Scott ovens and the dome is a much nicer thing to see and build.

[KINGRIUS]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

I have decided to build a 32" pompeii oven. This will for 3.5" excess space outside the dome to the edge of my slab and I'll use 3" of the insulating blanket. From what I've read in the forno bravo manual, this should be sufficient enough insulation for my home oven cooking needs. Thanks so much for all your advice. I will need to gather some nickels together for a week or two to buy the 2" insulating board. Then I will start cutting fire bricks and starting the dome! I am sure I will need plenty of your help along the way...

[Neil2]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

"The problem is HEIGHT."

Try it. If it feels too high you can always raise your patio.

[KINGRIUS]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

Actually the height will end up being right where I had originally planned it to be, around 50" above the front slab. The barrel vault oven design I was going to use had me standing the 4.5" firebricks on their sides as opposed to laying them flat using forno bravo design. I would have lost 2" elevation for that, but since I'm putting down the 2" insulating board I'm within a 1/2" my original height for the cooking surface. But you're right about the front patio, I thought I was going to have to raise it before changing to the pompeii design. But it was a simple matter of laying down some 4" cinderblocks on my front patio slab. But this new plan is easier!

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Hearth Slab, no lime...

2" of insulating blanket on the sides is sufficient. Your exterior wall may get a little warm to the touch, but since your exterior is brick, it is not really a worry.

That would let you get a 35" oven....much better.

Drake