Foundation
Spent a full day excavating foundation, with a hired helper. Had to transplant a small redwood tree, deal with lots of roots, sprinkler pipe and electric, etc.
Had to shovel all the dirt 3 times. Once into wheelbarrow, once from barrow to trailer, once from trailer to fill site.
It was hot and not the funnest part so far.
The foundation forms then sat like this for about 3 months, so long that they warped and I had to replace them when it came time to actually pour concrete.
To pour the foundation, I rented a mixer/trailer that came with my concrete in it. Was kind of fun renting and operating it. Made a lot of noise spinning around behind me while I towed it home. Cost $200 but I didn't have to mix any concrete, just pour into barrow and wheel into place. Took less than 20 minutes to get all the concrete (.8 yards) into the forms. Took a lot longer than that to finish it of course. Ordered brown concrete. It doesn't match the patio but it's better than gray I think.
I placed tie down bolts in the corners. And I didn't leave those wood blocks in place, replaced them with concrete ones. I also added some more rebar to fill the gaps you see.
Slab is 5.5 inches thick with gravel underneath.
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Saint Helena Oven
After hours spent reviewing various ovens and postings, I think I'm building what seems to be a fairly typical oven. I've documented my progress to date with the camera, but have been too lazy to post.
I now have a few questions and would like to document my overall progress, so I believe it appropriate to start a new thread for my oven. Progress pics to follow..
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