Giardino 60 curing

[mek363]

We have a Giardino 60 kit and applied our second coat of stucco yesterday. We live in Minnesota and it is starting to cool down but this weekend has been a nice 70-80 F. SableSprings suggested that I go through the curing process before the final coat. In our case we are planning on laying limestone rocks to match the structure. Then I would like to waterproof.

I have to say it's frustrating to use the "official instructions" from Forno Bravo and then come on the forum and get conflicting advice, even in the main "pinned" topic.

1. Instructions have curing as a final step. Here I get advice to do it before final coat.
2. Instructions say use temperatures 300, 350, 400, 450, 500 (5 days). Pinned topic here from james says use 200, 300, ..., 800 (7 days).
3. Instructions say keep the fire burning as long as you can during the day and into the evening. Pinned topic says let it burn out as soon as you reach the temperature.

How about some more opinions?

Also, since I just applied the stucco and I have been misting it occasionally, how long should I wait until I start the curing fires?

Thanks!

[SableSprings]

I didn't mean to frustrate or present conflicting options to you on the order and suggested curing process. Like all things, in the forum new ideas and changes in techniques and procedures have changed over time and the experiences of all our members. If you'll notice the original curing temperature schedule posted by James was dated 2006. Variations in materials and insulation used make an absolute curing schedule difficult to define. On the forum, we now recommend the long, low, i.e. slow method of curing as a general rule of thumb. Although using a much faster, i.e. hotter schedule, does work, it tends to also cause more cracks in the oven and we all hate to see someone's oven damaged. Remember you have a large mass of firebrick or cast material and that means there is the potential for a huge temperature differential between "front and back" of any refractory material...so heating the oven slowly, allows a more gradual heating of the oven which pushes the moisture out nice and evenly. Heated too quickly, any water contained in the brick or mortar or insulation may turn into a much larger "steam pool" looking for a quick exit...which may crack refractory materials, insulating concrete (perlcrete or vermicrete), or outside renders.

That is why, based on the combined experiences of our members, we now recommend long, slow, sustained temp, curing steps with only the outside insulation applied (no final rendering). It's not that it can't be done with the outer render in place...it just is likely to get cracked by the pressure of the exiting moisture/steam which will then need to be repaired. As with everything else, the time it takes your stucco/outside render to "cure" depends...

Here's two links that give you the curing time frames for either mortar based render or actual stucco...the stucco link was converted with tinyurl simply because the link was sooooo... long.

https://www.powerblanket.com/blog/ho...-take-to-cure/

https://tinyurl.com/y52g7maa

Hope that helps!

[SableSprings]

Mek363, I thought you would be interested in this series of posts that are directly related to your outer render questions. Posts 92 through 103 (as of 9/23/20) are pretty informative.

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...e-design/page7

[mek363]

SableSprings , thanks for the help. You are not the source of frustration, it's just the wide variety of opinion. Anyway, just using my best judgement to work through it, leaning heavily on the instructions that came with the oven. We're on day 4 of curing and all is wel, even tried some baking along the way!l