Budget oven build help

[norcalmx]

Im just curious what is a budget way of doing it and can you do it with the basic products from a home depot or lowes store as your supplier. I was thinking of using a large plastic ice bucket as my mold. Now for what material to use. I see people use soooooooooo many diff materials. Has anyone done concrete with chicken wire? maybe a fire clay mix with it? It seems so confusing to find out what basic material works. Some say don't use it then I see some people are. So with the bucket turned upside down as my form what is recommended to start piling on it for my very first attempt at a oven? Thanks in advance for all the help.

[texman]

Re: Budget oven build help

Your best bet to save money and have decent materials is to get on craigs list or thrift stores and find the bricks and decent insulating materials. These ovens get really hot and using the wrong materials is not safe and can cause problems. You should be able to find used firebrick if you look around. These ovens are also a lot of work and it would be a shame to use the wrong materials and have your creation be unusable. The main focus of this forum is pompeii ovens using firebrick. If you are planning to build one of those, you will get lots of advice here and there are other oven types being discussed as well here.

Good luck and take your time. It is a fun process.

Texman

[wotavidone]

Re: Budget oven build help

What he said.
BUT, if you are so short of bucks and time that you can't do a "proper" brick oven, you might like to read the thread "brickless oven on a shoestring" by michelevit
Ordinary concrete - Portland cement/Sand/Gravel - is doomed to failure. Michelevit used homebrew mortar - sand/lime/fireclay/cement

[Greenman]

Re: Budget oven build help

There is a bit of work in building an oven regardless of the approach. Mine was built with bricks that were cheap but fit for purpose. Some of the things can be found in places like demolition yards, the internet and the like. It is about keeping your eyes and ears open and being a proper scrounger. That word is used a little differently in your country but there is no shame to being a meaningful repurposer or or upcycler whatever is the word where you are.

The skill is using what you can find to the best purpose for the best result.

Good luck with your 'scrounging' and building.