Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

[aceves]

Hi FB Members!!

Newbie here, just getting started on my oven build!!

First of all, congrats to all who have completed their ovens and best of luck to those getting started and in the middle of their builds!! I'll be seeking your masterly advice as I start on my project, and adding my own 2 cents in hopes that I might help someone starting after me.

I'll be pouring the foundation slab this weekend (Saturday), and hopefully a few weeks after start with the concrete stand. Pics to follow as I progress with the build. I have the forms all ready to go and have rebar set in place, with some PVC pipes going into the foundation for future lights to the oven face.

My setup will be similar to Modthyrth's (look for her posts under the "Nikki's Oven in Phoenix" thread), with a corner install and prep areas to the sides. However, my setup will be a corner install with a Gable House roof, prep/grill area to the right, and prep/sitting area to the left, and an additional prep island w/ fridge to the far left to complete a big "U" setup. However, I'm going all wood-fired appliances, so no gas or charcoal grill for me!! My beautiful, loving and patient wife got me a wood-fired grill from Santa Maria, CA (specifically for Santa Maria BBQ - Tri-Tip) for my B-Day a couple of years ago and I'll be integrating that grill into the build. Pics of the grill will follow with pics of the oven! So all wood-fired, all the way, all the time!!

Just wanted to start my build thread and ask all the awesome members some build questions and seek all your advice.

Take care and keep an eye out for my posts and questions!!

Thank you all!!

aceves

[Jed]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi, acves,

Welcome to the forum.

As you are well aware, there is a wealth of information here and a great group of folks. I am looking forward to watching your build. Nikki's project has been great fun to see come together, and with all of the accessory spaces you are planning, your project sounds great also!

Keep us posted.

JED

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi Jed,

Thanks for the post!! Yes, this is a great community and I'm excited to hear all your advice & suggestions during my build. I'll definitely keep you all posted!

UPDATE: We poured the foundation slab!! 6" deep and 2.75 yards of concrete. I rented a ready-mix trailer that can carry 1 yard at a time and I made 3 trips total. Not too bad since the concrete place was close to my house. And I figured the time and energy I would have spent mixing all 2.75 yards by hand would have killed us. I weighed our time and energy vs. the added cost of buying ready-mix and renting the trailer and it was worth it for me at this point in the project. We'll be doing our own mixing on-site for the hearth and cabinet tops though, so that's going to be fun!!

I have to give a HUGE, HUGE THANKS to my step-father-in-law, R.O., for helping me with the pour. He actually knows how to work concrete, so we were done in about 4 hours and it looks PROFESSIONAL!! Super-smooth with multiple straight-breaks in the slab. 2 guys, 2.75 yards of 6-sack concrete per yard, 4 hours... Not too bad if you ask me!!

Now I have to keep the whole thing wet and cool, so it sets strong. Looks like I'll be spraying it with water every day for the next week!!

Pics coming soon!

aceves

[Modthyrth]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

We love pictures, so post many!

I thought I'd pour the hearth myself, but after mixing concrete by hand in the wheelbarrow for the cores, I rethought that plan. Ready-mix sounds like a great way to go. Are you doing polished concrete countertops? I'm toying with that idea after seeing mannextdoor's work and Christo's plan with the LED lights. Oooh, the possibilities.

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi Nikki,

Thanks for the post. You're right; I'll reconsider the ready-mix vs. mixing my own concrete idea when I mix the concrete for the cores. The foundation slab is curing as I write this, and I'm going to give it about 1 week to cure completely before I start with the block stand. I'm having the blocks delivered, as I'll be getting quite a few blocks from HD.

I"m having issues with my camera's pics (don't we all have these pic demons when we start on this forum!?) but I'll be posting soon enough.

Not sure on the polished concrete tops yet. My brother suggested rounded front edges for the tops, so I'm still considering that. And I might go with the plain concrete but stained and sealed. Or I might go with tile for the tops, it's all up in the air right now. I'll be looking for inspiration/ideas in the FB forum!!

And Nikki, that mini-house is great!! I have a 1-year-old daughter and I'm planning on building her a two-level treehouse soon, but not as nice & detailed as your daughter's!! Awesome work!

I'll post on my progress with the concrete block stand and core-filling soon!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi everybody!

I'm back after a short hiatus. This will be a short post, as I plan to continue the build this weekend and post pics as well. Just had a quick question for the FB members regarding the filling of cores from the stand with concrete.

I'm thinking of attaching new rebar sections destined for the hearth to the rebar already in the cores that come up from the foundation. This would be done before I fill in the cores with concrete, and before I pour the hearth, to basically tie in everything together with rebar into one solid unit: the foundation, the block stand, and the hearth.

Has anybody done this in their build? Any pros/cons to this concept? Please let me know what you all think, as I'll be doing the work this weekend and would like your ideas/suggestions before I start.

The foundation is done, the block stand for the oven and the cabinets are up (with the rebar smack in the middle of a number of cores), and everything is ready for the concrete core-filling for this weekend.

Thanks in advance for all your comments!

aceves

[Les]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

I'm thinking of attaching new rebar sections destined for the hearth to the rebar already in the cores that come up from the foundation.

Go for it! After I poured my hearth, I had a PE run the calc's. It would have been a HUGE improvement if I had bent the rebar and dropped it in the cores.

Les...

[dusty]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Welcome aceves!

You are going to like it here.

I must agree with Les...the stronger the better. I also built an L shaped outdoor kitchen with my oven in the middle.
I built an L shaped gable roof also. Works great. Only problem, though small, was that the oven chimney stack was right in the middle of the valley.
I have a BBQ (charcoal)to the left and a sink and fridge (kegerator, that is) to the right. I am also building a bar that goes around the back and side to the right. Kind of hard to explain, I think.
Where in Sac are you? I live in College Greens which is near Sac State U.
Come by and check it out anytime. It would be fun to talk "oven" with another builder.

Good luck and don't forget the pics.

dusty

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Thanks Les and Dusty!!

I'll move ahead with the plans for reinforcement then. This was actually not my idea (can't take credit for it); it was my step-father-in-law's idea (R.O.) to re-inforce the hearth with the rebar tied to the rebar in the block stand. He used to work concrete, so he know's what he's talking about (he's been part of this build from the planning stage all the way until now, so he'll be first in line when the oven starts cooking!!). I have to thank R.O. for the suggestion, his ideas, and willingness to help out on this build almost every weekend! Having seen the block stand and kitchen design, now he's talking about building a small oven of his own, and has asked that I provide my building services in return. Of course I said yes!!!!! Another member to the FB community!!

Les and Dusty, I've seen your ovens and they are incredible!! Awesome work, seriously! I'm a detail person myself, so we'll see how long this build takes us. I'll be asking you guys more questions as I progress, so please keep checking in on my thread! Pics are on their way, so you'll get to see the progress.

And Dusty, I'm in South Natomas, just minutes from downtown. Part of the older community, not the new housing section up north. Small community with large properties (and lots of room to build). I'll hit you up on the "oven" talk soon. Just have to progress more in my build so I know what I'm talking about!!

Thanks for your suggestions, guys. More to follow!

aceves

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Hi FB members!!

Well, after a loooooong, and I mean looooooong hiatus, I am back with you all here at the FB forum!!! It's been a hectic few months, with family life coming into the picture, bad weather, and additional projects in the backyard.

I have set my forms, poured my foundation, dry-stacked my blocks, filled my cores, and reinforced my oven stand thus far, but that's as far as I have gotten. The reason for the delay is actually well worth it: I have also been building a multi-level wood deck right next to my backyard kitchen.

My wife wanted me to start on the deck before the oven project, but I wanted to lay down the overall design of the kitchen and oven area before the deck was built.

So I have built the entire substructure of the first floor (which consists of two levels: one half is one level, and the other half one step higher), and the skeleton of the second floor (which will be all one level), which will be right outside our second floor bedroom door. I plan to have all this done by mid May 2009, the deck AND the oven/kitchen project!!. Wish me luck!!

So here are some pics, as promised. I do want to apologize for posting them so late, but better late than never!

These are the pics with our forms in place. We used rebar and dug footings about 8-10 inches deep. It came out solid as a rock!! That's our Golden Retriever - Gordo - supervising the project.

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Here are the pics after the foundation was poured and almost dried. My step-father-in-law, R.O., is removing the forms. As you can see, it's a modified corner install, sort of a U design. The concrete circle to the right will be a fire pit. I'm still throwing around ideas for the rest of the kitchen flooring: poured concrete, pavers, bricks. We'll see what I come up with.

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Here are the pics after we dry-stacked the concrete blocks. We have since filled the cores with concrete and built up the rear of the counter area. We have also added the electrical wiring and tubing to both areas, for lights and outlets. The area where my step-father-in-law is sitting will be a concrete bench, with cushions on top for sitting. The grill temporarily set in place is the wood-fired grill my wife bought me for my birthday a few years back. This will be an all wood-fired backyard kitchen!!

[carloswlkr]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Looks great! Good luck on the build, and keep posting pics!

[aceves]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

Thanks Carlos!

I'll definitely keep you all posted. And congratulations on your completion of the dome. Yours looks great!! I'm looking forward to working and completing my dome soon too! Saludos a San Jose!

aceves

[telehort]

Re: Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

The pictures look great! Great to see another oven in the Sacramento area getting built.