scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

[christo]

Any reason why I shouldn't use an old piece of non rusted chain link fencing in place of wire mesh in my foundation and hearth pour?

Just have a some lying around....

Thanks

[redbricknick]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

When we demo'd the slab in our backyard to make our foundation, we found that chainlink fence was used as rebar.. If the difficulty it took to remove it was any indication, it works. We re incorporated it into our foundation, along with some rebar we found for the perimeter trenches. As far as the hearth slab goes, it's gotta be rebar. Whoops.. just re read your post and realised you werent planning on using it as rebar after all.. Wire mesh.. That'll work.

[james]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Hey Christo,

Do you still have five more projects before you start your oven? It's sounding pretty close.
James

[christo]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Yup!!! James you are correct!!!

I've been scrounging materials and cutting trees down over the last year to get ready for this momentus occasion. Doesn't look like we will have any more deep frosts - so it's time to get started.

I got started cutting triangles and they are spread all over the driveway. It could only mean two things.... The oven is now offically one of my projects - and I'm going for Dmun's Geodesic Dome.

My bricks are larger than Dmuns - so I'm going for a 38" GeoPom oven. With all the detail from Dave - it made it very easy to scale up.

I'm trying to learn from some of his minor difficulties and will make forms for the pentagons and hexagons to see if I can make them really exact when I bond them together.

Thanks!!!

[dmun]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Hey, that's great.

Just one note: If I were doing it again, i'd only pre-assemble the pentagon for the top, and lay the rest up as triangles. I had to re-cut a bunch of my polygons, and they didn't fit together as well as I hoped.

[james]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Christo,
Very exciting. I'm looking forward to this.

David,
When you do think you might be ready to start firing your oven (have I missed something)? I am very interest in hearing how it behaves, cooks, holds heat, etc.
James

[dmun]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

March is supposed to go out like a lamb:



It's not the end of march yet, but last weekend we got three inches of granular snow that froze solid. Not quite masonry weather yet, but I'm still hoping it's soon.

[james]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

A minor detail?

Looks great in the snow though.
James

[CanuckJim]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Dmun, James,

The saying goes that March "comes in like a lion and out like a lamb." Well, bull. In Ontario during the last week or two, we've had high winds, low temperatures, blowing snow over the ice that already had formed during one warm day. Generally dismal. The saying should read: "in like a demented lion, out like a snarling tiger." Geesh.

Jim

[maver]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

I got started cutting triangles and they are spread all over the driveway. It could only mean two things.... The oven is now offically one of my projects - and I'm going for Dmun's Geodesic Dome.

Christo - congratulations on getting started. Look forward to seeing another geodesic project!

Marc

[christo]

Re: scrounging mateirals - wire mesh substitute

Thanks for the encouragment!

I will assemble with the triangle route and bypass the preassembly. After mortaring the tips of the triangles on the bricks, I tend to agree that the joint becomes stable quickly. So, I will assemble one triangle at at time. I'll take photos of these steps incase it goes well!!!

Christo