Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Here are the pics of the hearth with the forms removed. It's looking good!! I can't wait to start building the dome!!!

As you can see in the pics, I made a 3 inch overhang at the front of the hearth. I simply didn't want to make the hearth flush with the angle iron/block panel at the front. This gave me just a little overhang to play around with (either cover in stucco, rock, or brick).

And the conduit you see on top of the hearth is for my electrical. I plan to install two lights at the top of the oven and a couple of outlets for any appliances I might need to place on my countertops. More on that later.

The last picture is the oven from the backside. I plan to cover it with rock that my brother L.A. gave me for free. He's been a great help in this build I trully appreciate his assistance and materials!!

That's the hearth pour!! Many thanks to R.O. for helping with the pour! I'll keep you all updated as I move along!!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

And here is the reason for my long delay on continuing with my build from Sept 2008 to Feb 2009!! I'm also building a wood deck right next to my oven build!!

This is how it stands right now, but please be patient, this is a work in progress. Again, it does not look pretty right now, but it will look awesome once it's done (hopefully this summer!!). The urgency with this build was that there was a gaping hole in the concrete right as you step out of the doors to the back yard, and as my wife and I have a 2 year-old daughter, safety came first, and the oven was put on hold. But now the deck is safe, and my daughter loves walking and playing on it. And by the way, we used to have a glass sliding door back there; I put in the french doors as well!!

I'll include some deck pictures every once in a while so you see the progress and the finished product. Thanks for looking!!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Thanks Modthyrth!!!

Your build is looking great!! I'm avidly looking at your pics on the rock veneer progress, as I plan to add rock to my oven as well!! Keep up the good work!! And I hope you health and pregnancy continues in perfect harmony!! Best wishes from my family to yours!

aceves

[james]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Very, very nice Aceves,

I'm looking forward to seeing the sliding wood storage and how well that works.

Are you feeling pretty sore? How are those muscles? :-)

James

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Thanks James!!

I greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions!! I'll let you know how the slider rack works. Just an idea right now, but I know I can make it work.

And as for being sore, yeah, pretty sore. But not as sore as I would have been had I mixed all that concrete by hand (wheelbarrow & shovel method!!). Much respect to all the builders/members who have mixed their concrete that way in their builds. My mixer is a workhorse; I'll be using it for a few more projects around the property.

James, be expecting an order from me soon, because I want to get started on that dome asap!!!

aceves

[christo]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

funny how complicated things look while the forms are going up and how much more simple it is after the pour is done and the forms are gone.

Looks like you've got a great stand! You will be glad you have the electrical!

It's kinda like a roller coaster - and I think the most fun hill is just around the corner for you! Enjloy it!

Christo

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Thanks Christo!!

I've been following your build and it looks amazing. All your custom concrete work makes your build that much more unique! I'll definitely be seeking your advice in the near future. Thanks!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi FB Members!

Well, after a looooong hiatus, I'm back! Life has been happening, and I've had to put my WFO build on hold, but now I'm back on track.

Since my last post, I've completed nearly 90% of my wood deck next to my oven (picture of the deck coming soon), I've poured concrete countertops on both sides of my oven, and I've started applying stucco to the bottom part of the countertops and back side of the oven. Pics of the updated WFO build coming soon too!

Oh, and another important reason why everything was put on hold: My wife and I had another baby! He's 1.5 months old, and getting bigger by the minute! My 3-year-old daughter loves him to death, and we are all VERY happy and fortunate to have him in our lives! My girl and boy will be my WFO apprentices when we start the pizza parties this year! And next! And the year after that! And so on!

I promise to add pics, and I welcome any comments, suggestions and criticisms from all you FB members. You guys are awesome and have given me tons of ideas for my build. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, and I hope they work!

Next up, finish stuccoing the bottom part of the counters and of course, THE DOME BUILD!!!

I can't wait!! Sure glad to be back on FB!!! A big "HI" to all you members and friends on the FB Forum!!

aceves

[Modthyrth]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Congratulations! I'm impressed that you've managed to get anything done lately. Mine is 10 months old now, and I haven't done a *thing* since before she was born!

We need pictures of both of your remarkable accomplishments. ;-)

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi FB builders!!

I apologize for the long wait in posting my progress. Truth is I have been working on my WFO VERY SLOWLY due to life happening and me working on other build projects. Since my last posting, this is what I've done:

1. Complete kitchen remodel (torn down to studs and rebuilt with new appliances and cabinets from IKEA)
2. Wired the entire house with speaker wire for ceiling speakers.
3. New staircase leading up to the second floor.
4. Completed railing on our 2-level deck (currently staining the deck).
5. Started on my man-cave in the garage (added insulation, drywall, texture, speaker wire, TV cables, and the old cabinets from our kitchen remodel - painted in black!!).
6. Bought a used huge wooden swingset with 2-level castle, swings, slide, monkey bars and rock-climbing wall. Tore it apart, re-stained it, repainted all metal braces and handles, and re-built it in our backyard. All for my little ones to use this summer.
7. Poured the rest of my concrete countertops for my outdoor kitchen and started the fire-pit.

AND NOW: back to my WFO dome!!!!! I will be getting my firebricks this weekend, and I just placed an order for my FB Insulating Boards. I plan on start cutting bricks and building my dome in two weeks!!

In the meantime, here are a few pics of my projects: the deck that I'm staining, the fire-pit, and the countertop with an opening for an outdoor sink.

More posts and pics coming soon!!!

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

And here's a pic of the used swingset all stained up, refinished, and re-built. Did I mention that it cost me $150 on CL? Add $40 for stain and spraypaint, and the whole set was $190!! Not bad!!! Should give my daughter and son a few good years of play.

More WFO build pics to follow!!!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Wow, talk about super-fast service!

I placed my FB order for FB Board around 1:50 pm and received an e-mail confirmation from FB that my order had shipped at 2:50 pm that same day. This is excellent service!! Getting my materials fast will definitely help me get started on my dome asap!

Thank you so much FB!!! You guys are awesome!! I'll be ordering some FB Insulating Blanket soon, so be on the lookout for my order!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi FB Members!

Just thought I'd share a few photos I took on a recent trip to San Diego. My family and I visited Old Town San Diego and I snapped a couple of pics of a early-settlement brick oven!! It's was huge and beautiful in it's own right. Not sure how they vented the fumes though. Do you think they might have been cooking pizzas back in the day?? Anyways, enjoy the pics!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Also on the same San Diego trip, we entered a ceramic/pottery store near Old Town and I saw this mini-oven with very interesting mosaic finish. They are broken pieces of brick! It looks great, don't you think!? I might be considering doing something like this to my own WFO.

This is a good idea for all you builders that have bricks left over after your build: just break them up and design an intersting feature on the outside of your WFO!!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hello FB members!

SO I GOT MY FIREBRICKS!!!! 300 pieces for $90. How did I get such a great deal, you ask? I followed fellow FB member Dusty's advice: I contacted a local brick manufacturer, asked if they had any firebrick "seconds" or "number 2s" available. "Seconds" are the "rejects" due to discoloring, deformities or cracks. They said yes, they had about 300, at $0.30 a pop. I jumped on this deal, as I did not care about discoloring or deformities (as I am going to cut them in half and taper them!). As for the cracks, well, I would be selecting the ones with no cracks to use for the floor and dome, and hopefully have enough "good" ones for the whole project. At 30 cents a firebrick, I knew I had an awesome deal!!

I drove to the manufacturer's location, and they had 300 pieces on one pallet, all shrink-wrapped and ready to go: the entire pallet for $90. IT'S A DEAL!!!!!

They loaded the pallet on to my truck, and boy did my truck drop!! That was over a ton of bricks on that pallet!!

Drove it home and started to unload it, piece by piece. And let me tell you, about 250 of the firebricks are PRISTINE!! That leaves me with 50 firebricks with dings, cracks, and chips. As I was unloading them and re-stacking them in the garage, I was separating them out into 2 stacks to make it easier to select when I am building the WFO.

Some of them have different shades of color in them along with yellow, and some are entirely orange. But that is OK with me, as I will be picking the best ones for the floor and the better ones for the dome. And as for the dome, color isn't really an issue, as they will soon turn HOT WHITE when I fire up the WFO!! I want them for their functionality, not their color.

So there you have it. I have more than enough firebricks to complete the project, and I got them at a FRACTION of the retail price. I also picked up a few standard red cored bricks for my arch in the wood storage area. More on that later!

The name of the brick manufacturer? HC Muddox in Sacramento, CA. Thank you HC Muddox! You guys have an excellent product and offer excellent service! You guys rock!!

And I would like to give a special thanks to Dusty here at the FB Forum. He recommended this route and that's exactly what I did. Thank you, Dusty!! And all you FB Members: try to score some firebrick "seconds" if you can, it's totally worth it!!!!!

Here are some pics of the pallet of firebrick, view from up top, a close up of some of the firebricks and their imperfections, and a pic of 1/3 of the pallet already unloaded. Now I can say: I moved a ton of bricks today!!!!!

aceves