Oven floor height, opinions please

[bobmurphy]

Well, no turning back now. I poured my foundation slab Saturday. It went quite well, not a pretty as it could be. No one will ever know!

My question is about the height of the oven floor. I have two easy possibilities using either 4 or 4.5 courses of block 38.5? or 42.?. 38.5 seems a little low to me I don't want to have to stoop over a bunch. I am thinking that 42? would be good. Those of you who have been using your oven for some time, can you tell me how high your oven floor is from the ground? Do you wish it was lower, or higher, or is it just right. I am average height 5'9?. Thank you.

[texman]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

excellent question!

i am 5' 11" and mine is about 47". which is about the distance from my elbow to floor in while standing. That measurement with some imaginary pizza peel should get you close. You can raise the floor with vermicrete to get the height you want. Just make sure you allow for the floor brick thickness, insulating board and any other material in the calculation.

Texman

[rsandler]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

My stand has 4 courses of blocks, 3.5" of hearth and 4" of insulation, putting the oven floor around 40". I'm 5'8", and I think the height is fine. For that matter, I started finding it a lot more comfortable once I put in a small patio such that I was standing level with the foundation instead of a couple inches down (the reduction in mud was nice too ).

[boerwarrior]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

I am 5'9" and my floor height is 42inches and I wish mine was a few inches higher. I do have to bend to see all the way back into the oven. No issues for one or two pizzas but after a 12-pizza party I could feel my back a bit!

So go big!

[mrchipster]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Well, no turning back now. I poured my foundation slab Saturday. It went quite well, not a pretty as it could be. No one will ever know!

My question is about the height of the oven floor. I have two easy possibilities using either 4 or 4.5 courses of block 38.5” or 42.”. 38.5 seems a little low to me I don't want to have to stoop over a bunch. I am thinking that 42” would be good. Those of you who have been using your oven for some time, can you tell me how high your oven floor is from the ground? Do you wish it was lower, or higher, or is it just right. I am average height 5'9”. Thank you.

I am 5-7 and my floor is 43.5 high. I think it is a great height. Remember if there are other cooks you might want to move up or down for an average height for all the cooks.

Bending over is hard on the back especially when lifting with leverage like wood, heavy pots and large pizzas.

[deejayoh]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Mine is 45.5" and I am 6' tall. It's perfect for me, but shorter folks need a stool

As Texman suggests, hold your forearm level to the floor and measure from the floor to your elbow - and you probably have a good estimate of how high you want your oven floor.

[bobmurphy]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Thanks everyone for the replies, I really do appreciate the input. I think I am in the right neighborhood with 42"., I have a peel I've been using for bread and pizza in my regular oven. I think I'll make a cardboard mock up and have a little jousting match with it. Maybe that will let me see if I need to adjust up or down a little.

[deejayoh]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

One more thought - think about the door height relative to your eyes. It's really nice not to have to bend over too much to look into your oven. Now that I think about it, that's probably a more important consideration for me than the height for the peel. Not sure how heavy those pizzas are that Chip is making, but that hasn't bothered me . If I had to bend over for 15 minutes to watch the rice on a paella to make sure it doesn't burn - now that would bother me!

[bobmurphy]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

dejayoh, bending over to look in is exactly what concerns me. I will be letting my slab cure for a couple of weeks as previous commitments will keep me from it. I am definitely going to make a cardboard mock up in the mean time to help me decide. Thank you very much for the reply.
I have been lurking here for about two years, and continue to be amazed at the kindness and generosity displayed by all the contributors to this forum. It's very refreshing. Thanks everyone, not just those who have responded to my question, but to all who have shared on this forum.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

I made mine too low, I have to bend over or back up to look in. I based it on where my forearm was level, but it needs to be 3-4 inches higher.

[mrchipster]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

One more thought - think about the door height relative to your eyes. It's really nice not to have to bend over too much to look into your oven. Now that I think about it, that's probably a more important consideration for me than the height for the peel. Not sure how heavy those pizzas are that Chip is making, but that hasn't bothered me . If I had to bend over for 15 minutes to watch the rice on a paella to make sure it doesn't burn - now that would bother me!

It is not the pizzas I make, I like the less is better method, but my guests- more cheese, more sausage, more onion, more bacon, more, more, more, more....

Make yourself a nice window door. http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...oor-18303.html

[deejayoh]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Make yourself a nice window door. http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...oor-18303.html

I cook the paella with a live fire. I've taken to cooking a whole bunch of different chicken and rice dishes in a paella pan. You get this really moist chicken with crispy skin, and super flavorful rice. But, I digress. Guess I should have a "what's cooking" thread!

[texman]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Bob
ok, I lied. My floor is 44.5" not 47". I was thinking my base was 36"

My elbow is about 45" from floor for me. I have to bend somewhat to see the back of the oven. But not at at all for most oven work. I also like the higher floor because i have kids around. Here is my setup: a 34" block and concrete base, 5.5" of vcrete, 2.5" of FB board, and 2.5" of firebrick.

Texman

[bobmurphy]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Lots to think about with just this one little detail. It's probably a good thing that I have to spend a little time away from my project, as it will give me a little time to ponder, instead of just forging ahead. Looks like some more scale drawings are in my future. It seems to me that it would be ideal when standing up straight that my line of sight would reach almost into the center of the oven, and if I want to look further back I could just lower my head a little. I'm pushing 60 here, and if I am still able to stand up straight after building this oven, I don't want to have to bend over to use it. I know that other people might use the oven, but I am sure that I will be the one using it at least 90% of the time.

[Coastman]

Re: Oven floor height, opinions please

Well, no turning back now. I poured my foundation slab Saturday. It went quite well, not a pretty as it could be. No one will ever know!

My question is about the height of the oven floor. I have two easy possibilities using either 4 or 4.5 courses of block 38.5? or 42.?. 38.5 seems a little low to me I don't want to have to stoop over a bunch. I am thinking that 42? would be good. Those of you who have been using your oven for some time, can you tell me how high your oven floor is from the ground? Do you wish it was lower, or higher, or is it just right. I am average height 5'9?. Thank you.

I'm a newbie! 5'7". I imagine doing most of my cooking sitting down talking with friends who will also be sitting. For that reason having hearth floor at about 30" so we can all see inside. Looks like everybody else cooks standing though! Why is that?