Northeast PA newbie ready to go!

[SableSprings]

I just painted the outside face of the baking door with high-temp paint & left my firing door plain stainless steel. As JR noted above you can do some various types of "pretty" veneers, but just keeping it from being a deep & old high tech rust () is adequate. Since food is never going to touch it, just keeping it clean & dry is visually a good idea & I don't see why high-temp paint on the insulation protected side would be a problem.

[w650gb500]

Yes sir. The inner arch fits inside the cast concrete opening. The outer arch fits under the bricks which are 3” thick plus the mortar. Both arch pieces are 2” thick. There is less than 1/4” of side-to-side movement once the door is in place. When I add some insulating rope to the outside between the arches, it should be an interference fit. Hopefully you can see what I mean by looking at this picture.

[w650gb500]

Rainy day at home, so I decided to take a ride down the shop and finish up my door. I did an overlay on the front and had some “hot” rivets in a drawer and decided to use them as decoration. The handles are table/chair legs from Lowe’s. So in all, there are 3 steel plates and 4” of CaSi insulation between the inside of the oven and the outside. I’m going to also build an insulated cover to go over the chimney vent. Even with a damper, I will be losing a lot of heat out the chimney as it’s the least insulated spot on the oven. An insulated can that I can put over the copper vent when I need to retain heat should work well.

Here it is in its raw form. Still trying to figure out the color and coating material.

[JRPizza]

Beautiful door - almost a little Steam Punk. As they say "I wasn't picking up what you were putting down" when I asked you about how the door was going to fit - didn't catch your double arch design. Have you weighed it yet?

[w650gb500]

HEAVY! 18.6 pounds as it sits, so by the time I fit the handles, thermometer and have it coated it will be 20+ pounds.

[MarkJerling]

HEAVY! 18.6 pounds as it sits, so by the time I fit the handles, thermometer and have it coated it will be 20+ pounds.

As long as you don't drop it on a toe! LOL

[SableSprings]

My firing door is also in the 20 pound range so I have a much lighter "baking" door that I use when cooking. Really handy to have that baking door that can be easily moved with one hand...especially as I get older...

I really like the Retro Steam Punk () look of your door...heavy but very cool!

[w650gb500]

Rather than painting or high-temperature powder coat, I decided to finish the door with Cerakote. It’s a ceramic coating usually done on firearm parts or exhaust components. It’s applicable for high temperatures, so should be perfect for the door. Unfortunately it’s silver. I wanted to do it in black or a dark charcoal, but Jennifer wanted silver, so guess what......... Silver it it!

[MarkJerling]

Rather than painting or high-temperature powder coat, I decided to finish the door with Cerakote. It’s a ceramic coating usually done on firearm parts or exhaust components. It’s applicable for high temperatures, so should be perfect for the door. Unfortunately it’s silver. I wanted to do it in black or a dark charcoal, but Jennifer wanted silver, so guess what......... Silver it it!

That has a decidedly steampunk look to it. Nice!

[sergetania]

Dan

Glad to see that the winter is gone even in NE PA! That is quite a door - NO ONE will be able to steal your pizza! Great choice of color too!

Nicely done and looks great!

[w650gb500]

OK, the weather is finally cooperating and Inwas blue to uncover the pizza oven and firepit FINALLY!. The door is fit and I will begin the initial firing procedure this week, hopefully cooking in the next 2 weeks.

Again, I want to say “THANK YOU” to all of the members her who provided comments, advise and inspiration during my venture and journey into wood fired cooking. It’s just beginning and I can see that there is definitely a larger build in my future.

[sergetania]

Looks great! Fire her up (carefully)!

[MarkJerling]

OK, the weather is finally cooperating and Inwas blue to uncover the pizza oven and firepit FINALLY!. The door is fit and I will begin the initial firing procedure this week, hopefully cooking in the next 2 weeks.

Again, I want to say “THANK YOU” to all of the members her who provided comments, advise and inspiration during my venture and journey into wood fired cooking. It’s just beginning and I can see that there is definitely a larger build in my future.

Looking good! Do let us know how well it works.

[w650gb500]

The weather seems to have finally cooperated here in northeast PA and spring has arrived. I wanted to get all of the stone work done on the base as the bare concrete blocks were bothering me. Again, I contacted 3 masons and nobody is available to do the fieldstone veneer work. I decided to just take a few days and do it myself. It’s done except for the back wall facing the back yard. The stone is on and everything is pointed. Came out great and looks like it’s been there for a long time, just how I envisioned it. The fence and lighting finished it all off. Two more days to complete the back side and then my attention goes to doing the initial firing and drying out procedure.

It’s been a labor of love so far and I’m hoping it cooks food as good as it looks.

[Ope-dog]

Wanted to put a question out to the forum regarding doors and door thermometers, etc. Some excellent point on here, not to mention some fantastic looking doors. To me, the door is an extremely important detail and NOT to be overlooked.. simple, small (in comparison) but definitely draws the eye in and will always be a talking point! So, to SableSprings point about having a "dial" in your well-designed door, I get it. Not always the most aesthetically placed feature. But.. I also compare it to a TV being staged in a model home.. they are never there.. yet.. everyone has and will use one. lol.

I have an IR gun that I will plan to use for cooking pizza. (I suspect over time I will learn my oven and learn my temps, dome clearing, etc.) My main goal to have a dial thermometer in the door was for the post-pizza cooking the next day. I wanted to have something simple and familiar so that my mother can go out to the oven, see the temperature, and know if it's at a range for her to throw in a loaf or two of bread. Having her grab an IR gun and get an accurate temp isn't something I want her to have to fuss with.

So to my question.. most probe thermometers seem to only go to around 550 F. Is this sufficient or is it best to find one that can go higher? By the time the door goes on, logic dictates the oven will not be firing at 800F, however I don't want to have any worries about screwing up a thermometer if I put the door on too soon after an evening of slinging pizzas. Any thoughts?

Love the pics and designs!