Cart ahead of horse

[Gassman]

Finishing up my 36" build and had 3 curing fires with the insulation on. Got up to 300 degrees. Had a nice day yesterday and slapped on the scratch coat. Then last night it dawned me i prolly should have finished the curing process before rendering. I confirmed that on this priceless forum. Apparently one cant research enough. So now do i finish the curing process, finish the rendering, or both? 4" of ceramic blanket so it shouldnt cook the render too much. Thoughts?

[Gassman]

And i did put a vent in the top for moisture escape

[SableSprings]

The "cure before render" is a recommendation not a rule. Just go slow on the curing fires. Lay a piece of clear plastic loosely over your vent occasionally to check for escaping moisture. It's amazing how much moisture is contained in a new build, especially when an insulating concrete (perlcrete or vermicrete) is incorporated...or a lot of mortar has been used to fill in dome brick gaps. Go extra slow and do some baked small potatoes in a Dutch oven or beans or a batch of ribs with long, slow & low temp cooking. Those 300-400F temps are perfect for a lot of good eats.

[Gassman]

Ya im struggling to keep the drool under control. Getting excited. Thanks for the reply. I think ill do both unless the render looks like its drying fast and keep it low. And definitely get some food cooking!!

[UtahBeehiver]

Heed Mike's advice, this is where we see builders get too excited and fire too fast and hot and potentially damage the oven or outer coatings.

[Gassman]

I understand. Hurry up and wait!!