Noob question: barrel ovens

[Adsmith20]

Hi, I'm in the process of research and planning for a wood fired pizza oven to build in my back garden, with the primary goal of making 45-90 second Neapolitan style pizzas. Due to my lack of masonry equipment and experience, I'm heavily leaning towards a barrel style oven, with a lower ceiling height. Is it possible to make a true Neapolitan style pizza in this type of oven, or do I really need the igloo style oven instead? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[david s]

Many folk start out with the belief that a barrel oven would be far easier to build than a hemisphere. While this is true the inherent instability of an unsupported barrel arch requires either buttressing or bracing because the thermal cycling and corresponding expansion and contraction of the oven will compromise its structural integrity. In addition the form of the resulting chamber does not produce as good circulation as the hemisphere, leaving cool spots in the corners and less efficient combustion. The structural integrity issue is further compounded if the larger radius of the vault is used in an effort to reduce internal height, as the side thrust on the walls is increased. It is no accident that the hemisphere with an independent front flue as used for over 2000 years has become the preferred design. Do more research on barrel ovens before settling on this design.