Placement of oven on deck

[mendozer]

I'm planning on putting in a stamped concrete "deck". While technically a patio, it will be 4" off the grass to emulate a deck, and will have the stamped wood grain texture. I designed an idea having the base of my soon to be pizza oven off the edge of a convex curve of this deck. But now I'm wondering if it'll flow better being directly on the slab within the curve. What are some thoughts about having it stick out from the curve vs being in the curve? I even thought at the very beginning of putting it just off the higher portion. But then decided that's where I want seating available, and it'll take away from the rest of the appeal of the deck.

[JRPizza]

I'd recommend whatever design gives you the most living space, which looks like keeping the oven off the deck. Being a fellow resident of the rainy part of Washington, I'd also strongly recommend you consider putting a cover over the oven. It is pretty hard to keep water out of an oven exposed to our elements, and cooking in the rain is not much fun. We have a nice shelter over our oven but the ten feet between it and the house is still enough to necessitate a quick scurry to and fro when it is dumping. The other thing I wished we had done was not placing our oven on the downward slope of our concrete patio. Even though we have a nice sized shelter (~14X16) water runs into it and although not a big deal We'd rather it was dry.
There is a few other builders in your area that are active on the forum (deejayoh for one) that can help you with sourcing materials and any area specific tips.

[deejayoh]

Yeah, gotta agree with JR. Love the look of a igloo oven - but I think it would be nearly impossible to keep one dry in our climate. The problem is sealing water out from wicking in around the bottom. I'm sure that with the right materials and approach it is possible, but for a one time builder it's a tall task and not worth the risk.

I am guessing that the covered section of your deck is for seating? You might figure out a way to put the oven there, or extend it to cover the oven if you really want an igloo. You also need to think about the direction of the weather and how rain might blow in.

I went for a totally sealed up doghouse style enclosure with an 18" overhang for cooking. Would love even more cover if I could have it.

[JRPizza]

Check out my build if you get a chance. We did an igloo but put up a roof and sides to the South and West which keeps most all of the wind and rain out. You know how it is around here, if it blows from the North it is usually dry

[mendozer]

I did end up changing my mind the other week (IDK why but I didn't get a forum notification on this) and will put it off the covered portion. We can end up extending the roof a bit over it. Rain usually blows in around here maybe from the south (this face of the house looks directly west). Might be a dumb question but how will rain blow in aside from the chimney? I plan on putting a deflector at the top as well for that. I will certainly ask for more insight regarding oven specs before I finalize any plans as well. I think I got most of it figured out from my thread last year and David's input.

[JRPizza]

By the rain blowing in I meant soaking the dome and hearth. Best to keep it all as dry as possible. Water has a way of working its way into the oven and insulation and can take a while to drive back out. My ceramic board got soaked during the build and took many fires to dry out. Even with the roof if I didn't have the walls up my oven would be perpetually damp.

[mendozer]

so it can soak through the dome? I was going to make a casted style, not mortar and brick.

[david s]

Castable is just as porous as firebrick and will still soak up moisture. We live in the tropics and in humid weather, even if it hasn’t rained and no water has entered, the oven picks up moisture from the atmosphere. In this situation the oven still works ok, but it’s performance is reduced somewhat. The outside of the oven feels hot after an hour of firing in this situation, indicating the insulation is moist and not working as well as it does when dry. After a few fires normal function is restored. Ovens in Italy traditionally are neither waterproofed nor have a roof over them.