Well i quess im building an oven!

[mfiore]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Now that's some fine helpers! I'm sure you'll pay them in pizza later!

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Well five hours later i dug the hole to 10" and filled it with pea gravel (about 3-4" tommorrow i will get some crushed gravel and compact it. Some pics for all. Any recommendations or issues you see let me know.

[dmun]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

You have two choices, pour a slab on a well-drained bed of crushed stone, in which case your excavation should be fine, or to dig down below the frost line, and pour footings on undisturbed soil, and build your structure up from there.

The first choice should be fine if it's a free-standing oven, without a tall masonry chimney.

[Gareth]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

i only dug down approx 7-8" on average and i hit clay, is this deep enough?

It depends on your frost line, you want to be below it if al possible.

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Hello all, i have dug my hole and was wondering i only dug down approx 7-8" on average and i hit clay, is this deep enough?

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

I cant believe it the small town i live in actually had somthing i needed, VERMICULITE! The hardware store got a surplus of the stuff and could not sell it so the guy gave me a deal! Check out the deal i got....

2 - 180L bags for $70

reg price 1 bag for $79.99

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

That pic is decieving there is an alley behind my fence and that house has a 5-6 metre yard till his house. And whats cool is all the people around me love and have fire pits so im gonna be a hit.....finally im important!
Im crazy i find something i like and dive in with both feet, about two weeks ago i found a cheese and sausage making site and already ive made a queso blanco cheese and some awsome pork sausages. I cant wait to taste my homemade mozza on a fired pizza MMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

[dmun]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

I like it! It's strategically located behind the neighbor's shed so they can't see what your doing until the chimney sticks up!

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Here is the site location.

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

I was checking out different products my work has and stubled on ceramic fire brick and american fibrex block insulation i think i should buy some from my work what do you think?

Mount Etna Partners, LLC - Refractory insulation,Ceramic insulation,Block insulation,High temperature,Specialty insulation,Vacuum former,Insulation manufacturer,Insulation fabricator,Insulation,Mineral wool

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Well i think you guys have me convinced... why am i so scared of the dome construction??? The plus is the plans have it all laid out!

[gjbingham]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

Yup! Do some more reading. As always, dmun's right on track. James first built a bread baking style oven, but was unhappy with the results and work required to get it hot enough to make pizza. You just need to ask yourself what you want to do with the oven, and build the type oven best suited to your needs.

You can beef up a pompeii style pizza oven with extra cladding outside the dome to give you more retained heat for extended bake sessions, but it will cost you more wood and time to get it hot. Most importantly, don't underinsulate, especially beneath the floor of the oven. That's where all my residual heat seams to go.

[asudavew]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

well...

my dome stays hot for 2 to 3 days!

no need for a barrel...
Pompeii is the new pink....

Less material, less wood, definitely the way to go....

Just my 2 percent of a dollar....

[FIREANDFLAMES]

Re: Well i quess im building an oven!

I understand what your saying, mabye i will take a second look at the round oven idea... i guess i would say the majority of what i will be cooking is pizza and other baked dishes with a light sprinkling of breads. I guess i can count on the cool people here to help with the construction, and i really like the idea of a lighter oven! Also my brick count will be smaller...hmmm

[RCLake]

Re: Well i guess im building an oven!

Thanks for all the responces everyone, i did download the Pompeii plans as a guide and helper when i get stuck on something, but the barrel design looks so much easier to construct. That is the main reason for choosing the barrel.

I would decide on what type of oven you build by how you are going to use it, not how hard it is to build. Building has been a fun part, now I need to learn the cooking part. If you have access to lots of wood the higher thermal mass in a barrel oven isn't an issue.