My 32" oven build has begun

[brickie in oz]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Getting thin bricks to look good is actually harder than full sized bricks, youve done well.
Have an elephant stamp.

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Thanks for the stamp brickie.

[david s]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Oscar,
Your decorative outer arch bricks look very much the same in size,

as those used by the Ancient Romans. Here are some pics of similar brick arches in Pompeii we visited last year. Because the bricks are thin like yours they didn't bother to taper them at all. We saw lots of these bricks used in combination with all kinds of other stone.

[david s]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Vermiculite concrete generally has a crumbly exterior. If you can float it smooth, you may have too much cement in it.

I use a 5;1 vermicrete mix which seems to work ok, enough cement in it to hold the vermiculite together, but still has some flexibility.

[david s]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Check the K values (R values are a reciprocal of these) of varying strengths of vermiculite concrete.
Vermiculite Insulating Concrete--The Schundler Company

I would consider using lime instead of cement as a binder because of its elastic properties, but it"s way harder on the skin of your hands.

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Thanks for the pics David, I'm glad I went with the skinny bricks. I still have some large mortar gaps but not as large as they would have been had I used standard size untapered bricks.
Here are some pics of todays progress and it looks like I will have a large gap in the middle so I'll have to address that by slightly separating the bricks ealier so when they meet the gap is no longer there.

[cobblerdave]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Dear OscarA
Why not find a rock or something different to fit a space at the top so you have a sort of Key stone like you see on the old bridge arches

Just a thought

Regards Dave

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Now you have me thinking Dave. I have some nice pieces of granite that I could cut to fit.
My head hurts

[brickie in oz]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Thank god you can buy acid.....

[Mike D]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

You could use a full size brick for the key stone to make it pop. Just another thought.

Mike

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Thank god you can buy acid.....

Are you trying to tell me something what can you expect from someone who takes 3 days to do an arch
I've now finished the arch how long do I wait till I can acid wash it?

You could use a full size brick for the key stone to make it pop. Just another thought.

Mike

Thanks Mike, I thought about using some granite then I grabbed a nice piece of white quartz rock I had in the garden. After roughly shaping it to fit it just didn't looking right even from a distance. In the end I pressed along with the bricks and by the time I got to the middle the gap was a non issue.
I'll clean it up (water only for now) then take a pic.

[brickie in oz]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Are you trying to tell me something what can you expect from someone who takes 3 days to do an arch
I've now finished the arch how long do I wait till I can acid wash it?

Well done for doing the arch.
Me being the bull at the gate wash with a weak solution the next day to check everything worked out ok, its a lot easier to undo wrong work the next day compared to next week.

But, you should wait 1 week before washing, or so they say..

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Here is a pic of the almost finished arch, just need to finish the landing, then clean it all.

I'm focusing today on the chimney area as this has been something doing my mind in due to the height difference between arches and this is what I have come up with. The inner arch had a small ledge which I have widen slightly. I'm going to put small pavers along side it and cut them to shape. This will give me a level surface between both arches. I've decided not to insulate that area as I don't think the heat loss will be great.

[OscarA]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

you can see how the arches are level now, well will be when I mortar those pavers in.



You can see from this angle (my decking/alfresco) that the pavers on the ends will need to be trimmed.



This is two pieces or hebel blocks I mortared together last night. I wanted to see how well it held and after 18hrs it was a firm grip but I was able to separate them without a problem so not sure how that would have compared to normal bricks.

[Mike D]

Re: My 32" oven build has begun

Nice arch very Italian. keep it up.

Mike