Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

[Wheels1974]

I have almost completed my WFO all that is left to do is apply the insulation blanket and then the 4 to 5 inches of Refractory insulator and 1 inch of waterproof render.

I would like advice on how to go about curing my oven and firing it also please. I have read basically everything posted on this site not to mention posting a few times which has helped me so so much. I read everything under the post titled "FIRING YOUR OVEN" which talks allot about Oven curing and admittedly has me concerned.

Many things were covered under that topic "FIRING YOUR OVEN". I realized last night after going through it again, that it quite often mentions that it's great to wet all your concrete, cement and the likes with a fine mist hose and a few other ways were recommended regarding keeping concrete/cement wet in order to strengthen it.

I have built my WFO slowly, for example I started the foundation in September 2009 and only 2 days ago 7th of February 2010 is when I finished the front arch. The dome was done about 2 weeks ago, all that is left is to lay the insulation blanket and then the 4+ inches of Refractory insulator and the chimney and door of course.

My query and concern right now is because my WFO project was done slowly and I never sprayed anything with water apart from the foundation.
Should I have wet other parts of the WFO? Would it be wise for me to spray the whole WFO dome with water NOW?
I'm NOT sure what I should do regarding this water, or if I screwed up by not wetting it as I was going along. All that was wet were the fire bricks and obviously ALL the cement, concrete and refractory mortar was mixed with water until it reached the right consistency.

I also read some where that it is better to start firing your WFO before you apply the blanket and Refractory insulator because if it does crack, then you can patch it up and then fire the oven again slowly once the blanket and refractory insulator is applied.
As I was writing this, I just thought that most of the moisture will be when I make the last mix of Refractory insulator which is going to be 4 or 5 inches thick and on top of that a 1 inch thick waterproof based render. Should I wait a week or so before I start to fire it once the extra 4 to 6 inches of added mortar is added.

P.s. I'm not sure if it is worth mentioning but it cannot do any harm by mentioning that I am in Australia so I basically started the hearth and dome in Summer and the average temperature has been around 28 Degrees Celsius or 82 Degrees Fahrenheit during the day and around 17 C or 62 F overnight.

LASTLY IS THE TERM "CURING" used when firing your oven and also when applying water on sections of your WFO?

Your advise is much appreciated.

Regards
Dean

[Tscarborough]

Re: Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

Fire that mutha up!


(Looks great)

[gdest]

Re: Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

I am not an expert on WFO's (YET!) but the weting or misting of concrete would apply only to the foundation and the hearth slab while its curing. The purpose of this is to retard the curing of the surface so that it cures at the same rate of the inner slab, thus help prevent cracking and spalding.
As far as wetting your oven, I assume you are talking about your mortar joints, that is not necessary since the mortar joints are so small. However you should have wetted your bricks prior to applying mortar since a dry brick will tend to leach out to much mosture from the mortar.

[Wheels1974]

Re: Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

I am not an expert on WFO's (YET!) but the weting or misting of concrete would apply only to the foundation and the hearth slab while its curing. The purpose of this is to retard the curing of the surface so that it cures at the same rate of the inner slab, thus help prevent cracking and spalding.
As far as wetting your oven, I assume you are talking about your mortar joints, that is not necessary since the mortar joints are so small. However you should have wetted your bricks prior to applying mortar since a dry brick will tend to leach out to much mosture from the mortar.

dgest,
I did like you said regarding wetting the foundation and slab.
I also let each fire brick soak in water over night prior to laying. I thought I mentioned that in my first post or maybe not. Thanks for your reply mate.

Regards
Dean

[Tscarborough]

Re: Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

Just as an FYI an important part of the bond strength of masonry involves the masonry units absorbing moisture from the mortar. You do not want them saturated or totally dry, but somewhere in the middle. Soaking the firebrick is probably not a good idea, but nor should they be at 0% moisture content.

If in doubt, mortar 2 brick together, then pull them apart in a couple of minutes. If some mortar sticks to both, you are gold. If the mortar only sticks to one (or slides off and falls on the ground) then they contain too much moisture.

[dmun]

Re: Advise needed about curing and firing my wfo

Just as an FYI an important part of the bond strength of masonry involves the masonry units absorbing moisture from the mortar. You do not want them saturated or totally dry, but somewhere in the middle. Soaking the firebrick is probably not a good idea, but nor should they be at 0% moisture content.

This is absolutely true. You want them good and wet before you begin work, a hose spray is good, but not soaked and dripping.