Shaping the dome on a Giardino or Casa

[damiano]

Hello,

My base is done and I'm nearing the decision of whether to go with a modular Giardino/Casa or a pre-assembled Primavera. The one thing stopping me from a pre-assembled Primavera is just the concern of installing it on the base without the use of a crane, and I'm not sure how difficult/feasible that is to do (assuming you need 4-5 people at least but not sure of the process).

On the other hand, the steps for shaping the dome with the insulation, wire mesh, and then stucco seem a bit daunting simply because it seems like it would be quite difficult to get a symmetrical finish. I could always go with an enclosure instead and then not have to worry about how well I can make a stucco dome, but I like the clean, rustic look of the dome so that would be my preference.

Anyone been through this process that can share their experience? Forno's video makes it look quite haphazard.

Thanks!

[david s]

Don’t be daunted by the process, many builders here have had no building experience, but end up with beautiful ovens and have a very satisfying experience. The stucco application is easier than most think. It’s just like icing a cake, just a big one. Start at the base and work up to the top. Go over with a wet sponge to tidy tooling marks.

[JRPizza]

It's funny - several steps of my build I told my wife that the next step is going to be the hardest thing I ever did - I guess mostly fear of the unknown. The stucco was one of the steps that gave me great apprehension. I just found a couple of helpful youtube videos and some advice from the seasoned builders here and it ended up being way easier than I thought! One of the keys I found was getting the stucco mix to the right consistency so when I "iced the cake" enough of it stuck. Again youtube can be your friend. Another thing that I think really helped me was using galvanized metal lath that I was able to fashion into a very nice hemispherical dome. If you start with the right shape it is much easier to end up that way. The link below shows how I did my shape.

https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/pizza-oven-design-and-installation/pompeii-oven-construction/380308-39-inch-corner-build?p=388015#post388015

[damiano]

Nice!

I actually have done stucco before, but on a flat surface and finish is very forgiving in that context. However I am terrible at drywall mudding so I'm apprehensive that my lack of finesse there will translate to shaping a dome.