hi everyone. I am in the planning stage of my first pizza oven and I've got a few questions that I am hoping someone will be able to help me with. I'm not sure if I should be posting this here or in the newbie forum pages but i figured I'd put it here as im planning on doing a cast oven.
Firstly, I was wondering what tools everyone finds most useful for building? At the moment I don't have anything more than the standard stuff that anyone who's done a bit of DIY has, but I have a bit of money in my budget for any tools I might need. In many of the threads that I've read people cut their firebricks using angle grinders. I don't have a grinder but I know that standard bricks can be cut with a brick bolster, which would be cheaper than an angle grinder. Does anyone know if firebricks can be cut using a brick bolster in the same way?
Secondly, I think i'm going to use the 3:1:1:1 mix that seems to be most popular on this site to cast my dome. Is the cement portion of this mix standard portland cement or do you have to use a specialist cement (I've read on some other sites that you have to use calcium aluminate cement if you don't want stuff to fall apart at high temperatures)? I'm also thinking about using bricks for the front arches in the entrance of my oven. Is this likely to cause issues due to different amounts expansions as the oven heats up?
Also when I've researched firebricks for my cooking surface i've found some bricks are marketed as being "smooth". Is the smoothness of the bricks much of a factor in how well they perform as a cooking surface or is this just a marketing thing to try and get a bit more of my money?
Finally, what is the best way of attaching the chimney to the body of the oven? I may of been googling the wrong stuff but everything i've found online so far seems pretty pricey. Is there a cheap and easy way of doing this or am i just going to have to put a bit more of my budget into the chimney?
I know these questions cover a lot of different stuff, and I apologize if any of the answers are in other threads that i haven't found, but i would really appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction on any of these issues.
Firstly, I was wondering what tools everyone finds most useful for building? At the moment I don't have anything more than the standard stuff that anyone who's done a bit of DIY has, but I have a bit of money in my budget for any tools I might need. In many of the threads that I've read people cut their firebricks using angle grinders. I don't have a grinder but I know that standard bricks can be cut with a brick bolster, which would be cheaper than an angle grinder. Does anyone know if firebricks can be cut using a brick bolster in the same way?
Secondly, I think i'm going to use the 3:1:1:1 mix that seems to be most popular on this site to cast my dome. Is the cement portion of this mix standard portland cement or do you have to use a specialist cement (I've read on some other sites that you have to use calcium aluminate cement if you don't want stuff to fall apart at high temperatures)? I'm also thinking about using bricks for the front arches in the entrance of my oven. Is this likely to cause issues due to different amounts expansions as the oven heats up?
Also when I've researched firebricks for my cooking surface i've found some bricks are marketed as being "smooth". Is the smoothness of the bricks much of a factor in how well they perform as a cooking surface or is this just a marketing thing to try and get a bit more of my money?
Finally, what is the best way of attaching the chimney to the body of the oven? I may of been googling the wrong stuff but everything i've found online so far seems pretty pricey. Is there a cheap and easy way of doing this or am i just going to have to put a bit more of my budget into the chimney?
I know these questions cover a lot of different stuff, and I apologize if any of the answers are in other threads that i haven't found, but i would really appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction on any of these issues.
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