Neapolitan oven restoration

[Odin]

done some work yesterday. I removed one cast iron side and recovered clay that was under it. I managed to remove the dome cover - pumice concrete mix, Luckily it was not mortared to the dome just isolated with clay.
Now I can see the dome. It is pretty big...

[Odin]

You are correct - clay is an insulation layer and adds thermal mass to the oven. I have to remove it as while the oven was deteriorated outside and was exposed to weather conditions clay soaked the water, ants made the a nice nest etc. Also de constructing it is the only way to move it as the oven is bloody heavy.My plan is to take it apart first. Scrap concrete with stones ( pumice not perlite). Recover, clean and dry clay to a powder - easy in sunny WA. Transfer dome and hearth to stand with new insulation board. Then insulate, render etc. Sounds easy, but we will see how it goes.

For last few weeks I've been buying second handed oven supplies. I bot for cheap roll of insulation blanket with chicken wire on it, 100l of vermiculite. I also have 2 kiln shelves (70x120) made of lightweight refractory material and I am thinking if I can use it as and insulation for the base.

[SableSprings]

I wonder if the clay was used to increase the mass of the oven (and consequently it's ability to hold temperature). Do you really need to clean it off? If the interior is in good shape there wouldn't be any real need to take it all apart and rebuild. Putting it on a new insulation base and adding external insulation might be all you'll need to do to make a functional oven (other than making it look nicer outside to keep friends and family happy).

Looks like the lightweight stones may be pumice (or large pieces of perlite) in a cement/lime matrix. As insulation board for the base of these ovens is usually a bit expensive, many of us have opted to use a base layer of perlite/cement (perlcrete) or vermiculite/cement (vermicrete) mix. The ratio is 5:1 (insulator to cement) for a base and 10:1 for a cover insulation. These insulation options take about twice as much thickness as the CaSil board and ceramic fiber batting to provide equivalent insulation value. Some folks have successfully used loose perlite or vermiculite to fill a box built around the dome instead of mixing them with cement to form over the dome. Batting or ceramic blanket and either perlcrete/vermicrete both have their pros and cons, but technologies supply the insulation needed when applied correctly.

When planning your new base, make sure that you can keep water out. The CaSil board will suck up water like a sponge as will both the perlcrete or vermicrete, so you have to think about that. David S (on the other side of OZ) advocates putting drain holes in the supporting base to allow any free liquid to escape. If you are thinking about simply making a steel box similar to the original, make sure you plan the outside metal sheets to overhang the frame so water doesn't collect anywhere...

[Odin]

Mike - yes I am planning to move dome and hearth to new base. Current one literally crumbles. When oven was moved to my property it was put on a pallet so I can use stand to create new base and then is my deconstruction is successful I will move hearth and dome to.
Today I have removed one side of steel layer. It was easier than I thought. took about 5 minutes with my angle grinder. Between dome and steel, there was about 2 inch layer of clay. I am planning to clean the clay and maybe use later in my restoration process. As you can see in attached picture there is no other insulation than clay steel and above the dome - something that looks like concrete with small lightweight stones.

[SableSprings]

Good to have you on board Peter. I for one will be very interested in seeing your deconstruction/reconstruction process. Are you planning on lifting the dome and hearth onto a new insulation base? What's the object below the oven?...an old mixer or just a support jack (or an old mixer being used as a support jack ??)

Looks like they may have had a crop of wheat harvested from the top pan...

[Odin]

Hi,

It is my first post on this great forum.
About two months ago I've decided I want to build pizza oven and spent some time researching my options. Dome shape or barrel vault?
Luckily ( or not) I have been offered for free Neapolitan style commercial pizza oven. The only cost was to move the oven. As this was a big one (110 cm external diameter) I had to hire Hiab truck to move it to my property.
Attached you can see couple of photos of the oven. Outside it is in poor condition. Cast iron layer rusted ( oven kept outside) and insulation below fire brick hearth crumbled. Although dome and hearth fire bricks are in very good condition.
My plan is to remove cast iron shell and remove concrete render just to keep dome and hearth. Cast Iron heavy duty stand requires only hammerite paint touch.
If you are interested in disassembling low dome oven let me know. I will upload more pictures of my work progress.

Peter
Perth (WA)