Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

I'm noticing more the wood structures like you are planning, although most of them are not as nice as yours.
I would like to understand the benefit of the structure. I don't see how they provide any benefit in the heat of the day when the sun is overhead. If the sun is lower in the sky (morning/evening) and the overhead beams run North-South I can imagine that there is some additional shading. I'm obviously missing something.
Let me finish by saying what you have looks great.
Jeff

Jeff -

the idea is that the structure blocks a certain % of the sun. It's like providing "partial shade." In California - the heat in the summer is direct heat from the sun. Humidity is low so moving out of the sun provides significant relief. In the afternoon, because of the size and layout of the cover - I will have more than 80% shade on the patio below.

It's a bit hard to find a good picture - but here's an example:



If it's 105 degrees outside - sitting in the partial shade is wonderful . . .

It's the same concept as "shade cloth" - which is used for patio covers as well. Shade cloth comes in different % - depending on how much shade one wants. Some block 50%, some 60%, etc.

We wanted to go this way because we really didn't want to build a solid roof. It doesn't really rain from April through October here - so we never have to worry about rainy weather in Spring, Summer and most of the Fall. When it does rain - it's really too cold to be out there cooking anyway. The relatively "openness" of an arbor helps keep the yard from feeling closed-in too . . .

Anyway - that's my story and I'm sticking to it . . .

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Well - I went ahead and added the sun and shadows to my 3D model. Here's the patio at 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm in mid-July. It shows the shadow cast on the patio with the layout the way I currently have it. It's pretty good coverage, IMO . . .


1pm


3pm


5pm

I absolutely love Google Sketchup!

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

I love it! That's gonna be one helluva place to gather and enjoy good food, friends, and life! Excellent SketchUp skills, too!

[PizzaIdiot]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Nice design! Function and looks great too!

Looks like I'll need to learn SketchUp.

I may have to consider one for the area between my oven and deck.

If only there were a way to remove the South Carolina humidity!

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

John is right. Amazing Sketchup skills! I Struggle to get the chair right in the tutorials so needless to say I am not very good. Maybe I need to spend more time on it and learn how to use it so that I can get a better idea of where I want to put my oven since I keep going back and forth. Anyway the plan looks awesome and I am sure you will love it no matter what. And if it isn't cool enough as is you can always add a misting system. My brother in Vegas had one of those and it dropped temps by ten to twenty degrees. Just a thought.

Nate

[Laurentius]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Hi Cheezesteak,

That looks really cool and so Japanese. I would love to have that here, but a typhon would blow that bad boy away.

[Amac]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Nice cheesesteak

I absolutely love Google Sketchup!

Couldn't hack it at all - I love pencil and paper
Slainte
Amac

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Thanks everyone - I love being able to see what it's going to look like before jumping in.

After a bit more thought - I'm thinking about changing the gabled portion to mimic the roof of my pizza oven. You can see the actual metal roof in the pictures of the oven - here it is in the model. Any thoughts?

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Nice cheesesteak

Couldn't hack it at all - I love pencil and paper
Slainte
Amac

Sl?inte mhaith Amac - I'm really looking forward to getting back to Ireland soon.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

I've been toying with the same idea, Cheesesteak. Aside from the obvious benefits when it is drizzly, the attractive feature of a solid roof is that if you paint the bottom of it white, you can cost-effectively pump light into it for those hot summer nights when you'd rather be outside, but not in the dark.

[jab49]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

I mortared my first course on top of the hearth bricks.

I debated a bit about using the "indispensable tool" versus cutting a quarter-circle / arch to use as a form - and decided to give the indispensable tool a shot. I've seen so many variations of this thing - I thought I'd try to put together something simple - and very inexpensive.

So . . . I walked around HD a bit and let things find me. I ended up with a low-duty gate hinge, a piece of poplar, and a 90 degree Simpson StrongTie angle bracket. I wanted to use a gate hinge because I thought that I could construct the tool in such a way as to have a 21" radius at the bottom but reduce it to around 19 1/2 - 20" at the top. I'm amazed at how well this thing works. Took me around 10 minutes to build and cost a whopping $3.00 and change.



I tested it and ran it up and around the entry arch - and all of my dome bricks will contact the arch. So - my little Google SketchUp exercise really worked quite well (Arch Location)

Course 2 tonight . . .

Hi Cheesy

Does your IT hold the brick at the "just right" angle by itself, or did you use wedges to set the angle? Did you need to clamp the angle bracket to the brick as you applied the mortar?

Thanks

JT

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Hi Cheesy

Does your IT hold the brick at the "just right" angle by itself, or did you use wedges to set the angle? Did you need to clamp the angle bracket to the brick as you applied the mortar?

Thanks

JT

JT - the IT held the bricks at the correct angle - but I did use shims to fill the gap between courses. I did not clamp the brick to the IT.

I would do a quick dry fit with the IT to get a rough idea of the size/thickness of the shims I would need. I buttered the brick (that was already set) and put a couple of firebrick shims in the mortar, and buttered the brick I was going to lay. My homebrew was pretty sticky - so the bricks held themselves in place pretty good. I set it with the IT, then tapped lightly with a rubber mallet as needed to set at the correct angle, then rechecked with the IT.

It's not a work of art - but it sure cooks a good pizza. Hope that helps.

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Spring has sprung . . .

Fired up the oven and did a nice tri-tip roast and vegetables (with a bottle of '06 Hewitt Estate Cab) - and re-fired the next day for pizzas. Roof / pergola construction has begun - so I'm raising the chimney today to accommodate the nearby wood structure. The oven will be out of commission for a couple of weeks - then it's game on . . .

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

Well . . . it's been a while. Got the patio cover built early summer - and it's really a great addition to the yard. Got my outdoor ceiling fans, LED rope lighting, and outdoor chandelier all operable. It looks remarkable similar to my design . . .

We get it fired up every few weeks - it's working wonderfully. After using this for a while - the brick oven (in my opinion) is much better than my "old" precast. I really just enjoy cooking in it much more.

We've even hosted some fundraiser dinners for our high school sports booster club - our wood-fired pizza party is now an annual auction item for the sports booster club fundraiser. Great time!

[gt40]

Re: Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

This really came out spectacular