John's Barrel/vault build

[Gulf]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

................. 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..........

The oven build is looking great! John,
I would use an acrylic bonding agent/fortifier for the next coat. If you are going for a masonry look on the soffit, the acrylic will help you there, too.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Thanks Gulf.

I'll buy the fortifier tomorrow... but probably won't apply until next week. First freeze of the season tomorrow night.

Today I spent wAAAAAy too long pulling wire from the house to the oven for electricity. Note to self and others: three 12 gauge wires through a 100' run of 1/2" conduit with 5 90's is not an easy thing to do. I wish I had buried 3/4" or 1" conduit three years ago when I laid the line... oh well, its done and there is power at the oven.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Is duct work sheet metal with 3" of foamglass between sheets too thin for the door. It would have a wood front. Is 22 gauge too thin?

[gummz]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

John,

Whats your approach to designing/making the door? How many doors will you make?

Geez.. your builds been quick! I'm just finishing off the roof on mine and i'll be looking at making a door soon too.

[Gulf]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Is duct work sheet metal with 3" of foamglass between sheets too thin for the door. It would have a wood front. Is 22 gauge too thin?

John,
I can't vouch for the foam glass. I don't have any direct experience with it. But, I bet that it would be a hll of a lot lighter than the 4" (CalSil) filled door that I have!

The answer to your question about metal thickness would depend on how the door is assembled. I can't answer about welding thickness. My door was made from 26" guage metal. No welding, cut with metal snips, and put together with SS screws.

You mentioned "duct work sheet metal". That brings to mind, for me, "galvanized" or "galvalume". Either of those zinc coated steels should be fired with a torch, and heated to extreme temps, before being exposed to an oven's temperatures. That should burn off any zinc that could possibly gas off at oven temps. I'm not a metalurgist, but some on other forums say that the danger zone is at welding temps. (Which are much higher) I'm not so sure. The best thing (imo) would be to find carbon steel that had not been coated. Of course SS is always a good option .

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

OK... I am now at a computer and can describe my door idea in further detail... thanks for the responses they are helpful.

Today a bought a piece of duct work at Habitat Restore that is 3' wide 12.25" high and 3.25" thick. I bought it because it is the same heighth as my door opening and the same thickness as the insulation I want to use. My doorway is 24" wide and 12.4" high. I have a 2" thick piece of foam glass and a piece of 1" ceramic blanket that I saved for the door insulation.

I thought I could use tin snips and cut/mold this piece into the shape of my doorway, fill it with the insulation, put on a wood face with a handle and call it good.

Gulf your concerns make me question whether or not it is worth it. I have a torch... do you think heating up this piece of duct will do the trick. And I don't think it is 22 gauge, probably thinner.

Any further thoughts?

[Gulf]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

OK... I am now at a computer and can describe my door idea in further detail... thanks for the responses they are helpful.

Today a bought a piece of duct work at Habitat Restore that is 3' wide 12.25" high and 3.25" thick. I bought it because it is the same heighth as my door opening and the same thickness as the insulation I want to use. My doorway is 24" wide and 12.4" high. I have a 2" thick piece of foam glass and a piece of 1" ceramic blanket that I saved for the door insulation.

I thought I could use tin snips and cut/mold this piece into the shape of my doorway, fill it with the insulation, put on a wood face with a handle and call it good.

Gulf your concerns make me question whether or not it is worth it. I have a torch... do you think heating up this piece of duct will do the trick. And I don't think it is 22 gauge, probably thinner.

Any further thoughts?

It is probably is 26 guage and it does look like it is galvanized. I really can't advise a "best practice" method for using it. But, if I did, it would be to torch it until there is a marked discoloration to the whole piece. The outside of the metal could be painted with a high heat (grilll, header, or engine enamel) paint. The inside, which faces the oven interior, should only be coated in pam or bacon fat .

[vtsteve]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

It's safer to use a vinegar bath to remove the zinc layer (many more results on google, search "galvanize vinegar"):
Vinegar to remove Galvanized coating. - Zinc, galvanized, and coatings - I Forge Iron.

[Gulf]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

It's safer to use a vinegar bath to remove the zinc layer (many more results on google, search "galvanize vinegar"):
Vinegar to remove Galvanized coating. - Zinc, galvanized, and coatings - I Forge Iron.

I did not know that. I believe that you should learn something new every day. And I just did!. I will have to experiment with some galvanized and galvalume that I have on hand. Thanks for the link .

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Thanks... I will be trying the vinegar wash.

Tonight we cooked in the oven for the first time... cleared the vault in 2 hours... with better fire tending techniques it might have been faster.

Wow, the pizza was great! We made 12 pies and my wife, 5 kids, and I were able to eat 10 (saved the other 2 for a snack tomorrow). We topped them all differently: goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, romano, bell peppers, garlic, onions, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, hot peppers, artichoke hearts, etc.

Lots of fun.

Put the second coat of stucco on today with the fortifier and began building the walls for countertops/bars.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Countertop question:

I have a 7' by 18" by 1.25" piece of granite that I will be using for a countertop/bar. I was going to build a 3.5" thick (or 4" if necessary) concrete countertop for the granite to sit on. the legs of the countertop are 16x8x8 block stacked five high.

The question is, how far will the the concrete counter be able to span. I can put the "legs" closer or farther apart depending on what is best. I have lots of rebar to put in the counter and will mix my concrete stiff...

So what is the best optimal placement of the legs if I did everything else right?

In the picture I have what I am talking about mocked up with a piece of OSB on top of the block.

So what should I do? I'd like to begin this tomorrow.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

I decided not to use concrete under the granite countertop. My reasoning: I didn't want to spent $40 in material and hours of time to safeguard the failure of a piece of granite that cost me $20. It is not going to be bearing a lot of weight so I figured it should hold up fine. I have it sticking out past the block legs 18" and the span between the blocks is 34". I mortared the blocks and then filled them with concrete... if anyone is more certain than not that the piece of granite will crack in half and land on my toe then I will pour the concrete slab... but if not then I'll mortar it down and see how long it lasts. I have 14' of countertop near the oven plus 6' attached to the oven... plenty of space to work and enjoy the work.

These are not final pics, but getting very close.

I still need to paint the stucco and waterproof the chimney... a few other minor things.

[gummz]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

Did you build your own Chimney cap? Could you post the design and how you mounted it..

Chimney cap is on my todo list

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

That is still left to do... part of the waterproofing piece. I will take pictures and post. I should get to in the next couple of day. My plan is to extend the flue and brick work another few courses and then put a cap on the top that the spark arrestor will sit on and attach to the flue.

[JohnR]

Re: John's Barrel/vault build

So I am using the oven and like everyone else who builds one, I am really enjoying it. Last night we had pizza, this morning I baked bread (9 loaves at once) then I baked 3 pumpkins for pumpkin pie, later I cooked dinner in the oven, roasted potatoes, roasted cauliflower, and stuffed mushrooms, then I baked 3 pumpkin pies after dinner... We have friends coming over for pizza tomorrow afternoon so I put wood in the oven tonight to dry out for tomorrow.

While I cooked, I added another foot of brick to my chimney to get ready for another piece of flue and chimney cap, used thin-set to "glue" down the granite countertops, and power-washed the wood deck around the oven because it had gotten nasty from all the cement, etc.

This is fun!