Finally decided on 32in castable dome

[Boogie-D]

Aloha Mullster... I stayed up late reading your build last night and my heart sank for you, and for me when I got to the aftermath of your cast... I can feel you man.. you spend so much time and money you want it to come out killer... I was so glad you recovered... and was so happy when I got to your first pizza post... and seeing how much you enjoy it and how much every penny is worth it... well done for sticking it out... thanks for sharing... I am in the all in panic mode now ... way above budget... anxiety hi... I will be referencing your build and others for those little details... aloha

[david s]

I use castable refractory because I manufacture ovens, but if I were just making one for myself I’d go with the homebrew. Not only is it way cheaper, but it’s far more user friendly. At £15 though that’s a very good price and yes, most castable refractory contains the burnout fibres. You can check by sieving a small amount. It also has the advantage of not requiring extended damp curing like a Portland cement based castable.

[emyrjones88]

Hi Mullster

Like you I started looking at gym ball vermiculite dome before discovering this forum, As I’m likely to move house at some point In the next few year I don’t want to go into the expense of a brick Pompeii therefore I too have decided on a castable dome (hopefully on the cheap!)

A few questions

How much homebrew did you consume? And why did you decide on Homebrew instead of castable refectory or grog/Ciment Fondue

Assuming total needed is around 150Kg?

Dense castable

£15 for 25KG = £90

Safe to assume that this contains burnout fibers?


Homebrew

Assuming ratio 3:1:1:1 sand, lime, Portland, fireclay = £69 (75kg sharp sand @£6 + 25Kg Cement @£10 + 25kg hydrated lime @£12 900g Polypropylene fibres @£11)

Prices from Nick J C

• Fireclay 25kg bag £30 (inc delivery) valentines clays
• Cement 25kg x 2 £10 Selco
• hydrated lime 25kg x 1 £12 Selco
• Sharp sand ~
• Polypropylene fibres 900g £11 ebay

Grog/ Ciment Fondue

Assuming 4:1 + Polypropylene fibers = £83

Ciment Fondue - £20 per 25KG

Grog £13 per 25 Kg

DavidS as they are all similar in price do you have any opinion on which would be the best?

Thanks
Tomos

[skelly27]

Thanks Mullster for the progress. I've built the stand but not cast yet so learned a lot from your thread. Really helpful.

[sergetania]

Looks delicious! Definitely try fish! The oven took every seafood dish I cooked in it to the next level! Branzino, seabass, salmon, shrimp all tasted like cooked in the kitchen of an expensive restaurant.

[MarkJerling]

First non-pizza meal in the oven

First attempt at something other than pizza - went for chicken wings with roasted cubes of potato and sweet potato. Potatoes had oil salt and rosemary. Chicken had a homemade rub.

DELICIOUS - and so satisfying to use the oven like this!

It's fun! Our first "not pizza" meal was braised lamb shanks. I feel like I'm getting something for free when cooking the next day with yesterday's heat! LOL

[Matthijs]

Thanks, Mullister for sharing your journey. Was a good read, and very valuable. The result is great. Enjoy!

[Mullster]

Clicked post too soon!

[Mullster]

First non-pizza meal in the oven

First attempt at something other than pizza - went for chicken wings with roasted cubes of potato and sweet potato. Potatoes had oil salt and rosemary. Chicken had a homemade rub.

DELICIOUS - and so satisfying to use the oven like this!

[sergetania]

Great looking place to hang out! Love it!!! The dough balls and pizza look good as well! Enjoy the oven, it is a lot of fun!

[UtahBeehiver]

Enjoy the oven

[Mullster]

It’s not completely finished of course - I’m going to be cladding the internal walls and the base the oven sits on - so still some way to go - but big milestone this weekend

[Mullster]

A few more pics

[Mullster]

Final render, paint, lighting, heating and seating!

Today was so exciting - yesterday I painted the dome having left the top coat of render for 3weeks plus to dry. I used a Matt black masonry paint and mixed in a tub of furniture glitter - the effect is pretty cool!

I also got the festoon lights put up and a heater so despite being less than 10 degrees tonight the whole
family managed to enjoy sitting out for pizzas.

Thank you again to many on this forum - I hope you take some satisfaction from knowing you helped me create an awesome outdoor pizza haven!

[sergetania]

That's an interesting idea. Hopefully it looks good when all done! I am still trying to scrape silicone off the tiles on my oven's facade so careful when you go around/over then.