Price range for building project

[Guyskr]

Hi everybody,
I'm new in this oven-building world, and I want to start my own project.

I was wondering about the cost of a project of this genre.
What is the price range for a simple oven (assuming I have all the tools) built with the pompeii oven plans, and what is the effect of the size (36"-42") on the final price.

Thanks to you all and sorry for my English,
Guy

[Saggy]

Re: Price range for building project

Guy,

Material price where I'm at in Kansas for only the refractory oven materials was just under $700 USD after tax. That bought me 200 high duty fire bricks (enough to build a 42") @ $2.30each, insulating board @ $98, insulating blanket @ $85, and refractory mortar @ $95.

I am guessing on the prices, but that is pretty close.

Like I said, that just gets you the oven. Your stand and house will very likely differ from mine so I can't help you there!

Casey

[fred.collins]

Re: Price range for building project

About $1,000 for the basic base, bricks, insulating materials, mortar. Where it gets expensive is if you go with a few tons of flagstone strips, make a huge house structure around it, add a flagstone patio, two islands, water to the island, stainless outdoor cabinets, stone farm house sink ... etc.

[moderator]

Re: Price range for building project

Hi Guyskr,

Thank you for your post. We here at Forno Bravo understand the need to save money and cut some conners when need be. Just be careful when doing that. You get what you pay for. You don't want to take the inexpensive route now and in a few years have to rebuild a new oven. With that being said we would recommend that you get really good insulation as well as a really good cooking surface. This will be your best bet!

Happy Building,
Forno Bravo

[fred.collins]

Re: Price range for building project

I had a Forno Bravo kit that sat around for ages until I finally decided to have a professional do the work and assemble and install the oven. To be honest. The Forno Bravo oven is very easy to install and their instructions are good. I simply didn't have the time to build one from scratch. My kit was a Premio 100 1G (first generation). I'm not sure how long it took others to create the basic oven, but with the kit it literally took 30 minutes. It was just lifting up the pieces and then putting them together with refractory mortar. I've seen some posts where that 30 minutes took some people a season (meaning like 4 months of working on it part time). We elected to have a full-on outdoor kitchen set-up. We also decided we wanted an insulated door because bread making and roasts were going to be important. I think the most cost effective route would be do to it yourself and go with an igloo design and a stucco finish. You could, in theory, same some money with reclaimed fire brick. I personally would be a little bit concerned on where those came from. I wouldn't cut corners there. In terms of size. I have the 100 (I think it's the 100) and it's about 40" inside.

[Guyskr]

Re: Price range for building project

Thanks to you all!
My budget is around 1000$-1250$ for a 36" oven.
I'm not planning on bulding a huge house around it nor an island(?).
My plan is just to built a good and basic igloo-shaped oven.

Is this a good budget or should I invest more?

Guy

[fred.collins]

Re: Price range for building project

That's really cutting it close. I think it can be done. Scrounge for materials. Sometimes you can find cinder blocks for free on freecycle. I don't know the feeling about reclaimed firebrick ... as I stated, I'm just not sure I'd want to cook on someone else's used fire brick. No idea what it was exposed to. I think the key will be to source your materials intelligently.

[Guyskr]

Re: Price range for building project

Thanks again,
one more question, for the cooking base should I use bricks or a panel?

[fred.collins]

Re: Price range for building project

I'm not an expert here but from what I've read you absolutely need an insulated base and firebrick for the cooking base. The advantage of FB insulated sheets are that you need a thinner insulated concrete base. It also decouples (via the insulation) the firebrick from the insulated concrete base.

[Guyskr]

Re: Price range for building project

Thank you Fred, but it ain't what I mean.
What I meant was should I use firebricks for the cooking base or should I use a panel, made of the same material.
Sorry for my poor English.

[fred.collins]

Re: Price range for building project

Oh sorry. I used the large FB blocks that are the same thickness as firebrick for the base of my oven. It came with the kit. I've seen posts where larger single or 4 piece floors have cracked. If you have firebrick you can in theory remove a single brick if it cracks.

[Guyskr]

Re: Price range for building project

Oh, this is a serious thing to consider.
Thank you very much!