Cast oven build in Shelbyville, KY

[fox]

Yeah probably about 11/4, it was just like an electric drill with a flexible vibrating rod on the end!

[david s]

I've tried a few things and found an orbital sander held to the outside form after filling about two inches works well. I then fill another two inches and use use the sander again. That way air bubbles have less distance to reach the surface each time.

[sriceky]

Had a little bit of rain yesterday so I postponed my first casting until this morning. It went very smoothly. Had a couple of friends stop by and give me a hand. It made things go a little faster, but this was very doable by myself. Used a small rod to vibrate the castable as it was going into the forms and then an orbital sander on the foam to really help shake the bubbles out. I'm happy with the progress so far. Should cast the rest of the dome tomorrow and then pull the forms on Tuesday if all goes well.

[sriceky]

I was able to cast the upper 1/3 yesterday and this morning I pulled the forms. I am very pleased with the interior finish. The newspaper is still damp and stuck to the castable, but it will dry and come loose soon. My inner form took about an hour to remove. I cut it into small pieces using a sawzall. It made a huge mess, but I am very pleased with the results. Next up is the gallery.

[deejayoh]

That was a pretty clever approach. I love how forum members are always coming up with new and unique builds

[fox]

Looks promising.

[david s]

While your casting is still moist it would be a good idea to remove the newspaper to inspect the entire inner surface and fill any voids. This operation needs to be done before the cast is dry.

[sriceky]

It has been a little while since I posted progress. I continued with the foam forms for the gallery - but I learned a key lesson. Make the forms as hollow as possible to simplify the removal. It was a major pain to cut the solid foam core out of the dome. Leaving a hollow in the gallery forms made cutting them out a very simple task. I also used 2" packing tape on the forms as a release. It worked great and left a nice finish on the inside of the gallery.

[sriceky]

A couple more photos showing where the oven is now. I found an incredible deal on granite. I had originally thought about building a 3 piece granite landing out of offcuts and scraps from a local fabricator. I stopped by and spoke to a sales person and told them what I was doing. She had a great suggestion. The fabricator has a pile of showroom sample pieces that come with each batch of granite. Once that granite batch is gone, the sample is no longer useful. They get placed outside in a pile and sold for $30 a piece. I bought one, had a few cuts made and built a brick support to raise the granite to the correct height.

This weekend is grouting the tile (assuming the temperatures drop enough to actually be conducive to grouting) and then adding the Cerablanket insulation.

[sriceky]

A few more finishing items this weekend. Added the insulation and wire in preparation for stucco. Had my first small curing fire - I was astonished at how damp the insulation became. There is a lot of water left in the dome.

[sriceky]

Ran almost a week of curing fires. The oven was retaining heat very well and a couple of days ago I decided build a big fire. I watched in awe as the dome cleared - really was amazing the first time. Had 900F dome temps, 750F floor and the outside of the insulation was 101F (the air temp was 90F). Started the stucco yesterday. I'll be cooking in this beast next weekend.

[rajhlinux]

Ran almost a week of curing fires. The oven was retaining heat very well and a couple of days ago I decided build a big fire. I watched in awe as the dome cleared - really was amazing the first time. Had 900F dome temps, 750F floor and the outside of the insulation was 101F (the air temp was 90F). Started the stucco yesterday. I'll be cooking in this beast next weekend.

What is the temperature under the foundation base?

[sriceky]

What is the temperature under the foundation base?

Barely warmer than ambient

[Tractor]

Just read your whole build thread from start to finish, very inspirational and just what I need to as I'm now finally after nearly 10 years in a position to realise my own build.
how did your stucco come out? Is that what us in the UK would call render? Essentially sand and cement rubbed over smooth.
Would love to see the finished oven if you have a picture
Trac

[sriceky]

Just read your whole build thread from start to finish, very inspirational and just what I need to as I'm now finally after nearly 10 years in a position to realise my own build.
how did your stucco come out? Is that what us in the UK would call render? Essentially sand and cement rubbed over smooth.
Would love to see the finished oven if you have a picture
Trac

Yes, Stucco = Render.

I've attached a finished photo. This oven works great. The only change I would make would be to build more of a "house" style instead of an igloo. I believe that I could make it more weather proof and keep it drier over the winter. It ends up fairly wet inside and takes a good fire to dry everything out again in the spring. Let me know if you have any questions and I will be glad to help.

Steve