John's Barrel/vault build

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Today was a good day. I finished the door and the vent arch. The door is 12.5" high and 23.5" wide and the entry area is about 27" wide and 2" above the door in the center. I hope I have done the vent area correctly. (I've read so much on this forum... I better have... bet alas I know myself better than that.) The vent opening is about 11" wide and 6" to 8" wide. I have 13X13 clay flue pieces to use for the flue... I may try to cut them down and make than 13X8. Picture 4 shows the thermal break.

Does the vent look like it will support the flue?

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Question before I move any further...

I plan on placing a 27"x15" piece of granite in the entryway as the landing. This piece will be 1/2" from the doorway and level with the cooking floor. Will the granite get too hot? Should I use firebrick for the floor underneath the vent instead of granite? I was going to get the granite tomorrow. I ask because pictures from the threads I've read tonight don't seem to place granite that close to the doorway.

[david s]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Yes, I think it is too hot there for the granite, better to use it where it is completely outside the outer decorative arch.

[gummz]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Hi john,

Nice build ! I'll be following~

I've also used granite for my landing it's held up ok. I originally wanted a granite piece to cover the whole landing but i bought an offcut. To fill in the void i used normal house bricks (cut so it's only 3~3.5cm thick)... haven't had issues so far.. (picture attached for clarity).

I think if you used firebricks they will get hot and retain the heat (i use firebricks as a temp door and find they soak up alot of heat by morning).

Would it be better to use an insulating material of some type?

Gi

[Mitchamus]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

I did the same thing as gummz, but with a granite step tread in place of polished. (that polished looks great gummz btw)

I used regular firebricks continuing out from the floor, but my entire hearth is insulated from the stand with insulating bricks and perlcrete....

here are some pics from my thread...

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

I made some progress today on the exterior. My goal is have a brick-face front with three sides stucco and gabled roof.

Today the skin on to of my fingers began to fell off... too much cement!

All suggestions are welcomed!

[cobblerdave]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

G'day
Neat vinegar!
Wash you hands in that and it will take away the sting and the itch.
The damage is done however it just makes it a little less uncomfortable
Regards dave

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Today I was able to progess a little further. Years ago I had been given 8 pieces of 13x13 by 2ft. clay flue. I cut two of them today and mortared them together to have a 13x10 OD (well not diameter since it's a rectangle, but you get the point). I dry stacked one piece of flue in place and did some more brick work. I tucked some 3/4" gasket rope into the thermal break between the vent/landing arch and the doorway arch. I finished the afternoon by lighting my first curing fire... The max temp on the vault roof was 160 F.

I had planned on a brick chimney around the flue, but I ran into clearance problems... so something else will have to work.

[cobblerdave]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

G'day john
If your taking the pics with a Mobil phone/tablet take the pics in "landscape" and they'll come out right.
If the bricks will not fit, there is no reason you can't cut them to fit! You can achieve the effect you want with a veneer.
Regards dave

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Thanks for the advice on the pictures... the sideways view has been bothering me. I only have 1.75 inches between the back of my decorative arch and the flue. Since it needs 1" of space I didn't think 3/4" brick faces stacked up on each other would hold. I plan on finishing this section with concrete board and stucco... it should look ok. Since I've never done anything like this before I am making it up as I go, thankfully not too bad because of the help I'm getting here.

[cobblerdave]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

G'day john
By brick veneer I mean



This is Gulf oven and shows bricks cut to basically tile thickness. You could cut a brick up with a drop saw like a loaf of bread to achieve this.
Sorry I can't work with imperial at small sizes so I revert to metric. But you'll get the idea.
You have 1.75 inchs to play with... Or 44 mm
10 mm sheet?
6 mm " tile glue"
10 mm hand made brick tile
Leaves you 18 mm or 3/4 of an inch to play with !!! Not bad when you only started with an inch and 3/4 to start with.
Might make it possible to get the bricked chimney you wanted as I'm certain that cement stucco would approach much the same thickness
Regards dave

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

A little more progress today. Today I cut my clay flue down from from 10X13 to 8X13 so I can easily build the brick chimney... I'm glad I did this. I started the chimney and hope to finish tomorrow. The two pictures of the vent area are from above and below.

Any suggestions for cleaning mortar off the face of bricks (the white coloring)?

Hope to finish the chimney tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks Dave for the encouragement to keep working at the brick chimney.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

]I've been making progress. The chimney is finished, the framing is done, the oven is insulated. Hopefully I'll wrap this up in the next 2 weeks.

For insulation I have 4" of CalSil block underneath the cooking floor. I have 4" of foamglas and 2" of vermicrete on the side walls and 2" of foamglas and 1.75" of vermicrete on the rear wall. The vault is covered with 2" of ceramic blankets and the top of the vault 24" wide and the length of the oven is covered with 3" of blanket. On top of this I have 8 cu. ft. of vermiculite to pour in after I get some of the roof sheathing on.

I saved a 2" thick piece of foamglas and 1" thick piece of ceramic blanket to layer inside the door for insulation.

I took the forum advice and did not cut corners on insulation. Thanks!

Here are some pics of the progress.

Question: There is a 1" air gap between the clay flue liner and the brick chimney. Will the bricks expand because of heat? Right now two of my trusses are butted up against the brick of the chimney, and I didn't know if that was a problem.

[david s]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

I don't think you have any need to worry about anything. You've done a great job and will have a good working oven.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Home stretch...

The roof is almost finished. I found a product by Decra that is steel roof panels that with an asphalt finish. I put the first coat of stucco on today... hopefully I did it right. I couldn't "scratch" it like I thought I was supposed to... hopefully the next coat adheres. I poured a cantilevered ledge on the front of the oven today. It is 12" wide by 60" long and 6" deep at the back and 3.5" at the front. I'll be putting a piece of granite on top... lots of rebar inside.

Any recommendations for the best way to finish the concrete board soffit where I have recessed lighting in the front of the oven.