Corner Build in South East PA

[Grahamstein]

You can use a plumbers torch and heat the spot you want to bend until it's black and it starts giving off red sparks, then bend it with the pipe. It will bend exactly where you heated it.

[UtahBeehiver]

FYI # 4 rebar can easily be bent with a piece of scrap 3/4" or 1" steel pipe.

[david s]

David S, I don;t have a bender. And I'm only going 3 courses high.

A length of 3/4" steel pipe around a metre long works ok.

[Chris inPA]

David S, I don;t have a bender. And I'm only going 3 courses high.

[david s]

The normal procedure is to have short starter bars hooked over, then lay the blocks, then hooking the longer bar onto the starter bars just before filling the cores. This avoids having to thread the blocks over each bar.

It doesn’t make much difference, doing it your way eliminates bending the hooks. But it would be a pain building blocks 3m high that way.

[Chris inPA]

It's a 7" wet saw. So, it won't cut through a brick in 1 stroke. I'll need to flip the brick to cut the remainder. I have it raised high enough to allow it to pass over my jig without cutting into it.

[Chris inPA]

The horizontal bars in the picture are just tied in to allow me to keep the vertical bars level. Of course they're coming off to allow the blocks to slide over them.

[Chris inPA]

Rebar is epoxy set into the slab. Waiting for a dry day to set the blocks.

[Chris inPA]

My slab wet and after I stripped the forms.

[Chris inPA]

26 inches deep under the footprint of where my block will sit. 2.5 yards of concrete, 2 layers of rebar for reinforcing it.

[Chris inPA]

This is my jig for cutting bricks with the wet saw.

[Chris inPA]

Trying to resize and attach. Technically challenged I am.

[Grahamstein]

Lots of rain this week. So, I couldn't start on my cinder block base for the hearth.

I built my I T.
I modified the wet saw to allow bricks to fit under the motor housing.
I started building my brick cutting jig.

But, I still haven't figured out how to resize my photos.

HA! You'll get there. From my phone I use and app called "photo and picture resizer". Pick the photo and shrink it by 50%. Works easy enough for me.

[Chris inPA]

Lots of rain this week. So, I couldn't start on my cinder block base for the hearth.

I built my I T.
I modified the wet saw to allow bricks to fit under the motor housing.
I started building my brick cutting jig.

But, I still haven't figured out how to resize my photos.

[NCMan]

I recommend you give careful consideration to the height of your cooking surface. Specifically to how much you will need to bend over to tend to your fire and pizzas.
It's most definitely a personal choice but do your back a favor. Make a mock up of your oven floor and your outer arch, then simulate reaching into the 'oven' to build a fire and use a broom handle to place and tend to 'pizzas'.

I'm 6 feet and my oven floor is 48.5 inches from the ground.

Yeah....I'm even more of an armpit guy. To me, it's the best working elevation for an oven. Anywhere from the elbow to the armpit is a good suggestion for the main user.