Mark's 42" in MN

[splatgirl]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Your arch is gorgeous!
I brought my vent up and into a flat surface that I could set the metal anchor plate on. I used fire caulk and loosely set tapcons to secure it. I'm certain that joint isn't 100% air/smoke tight after repeated heat cycling, and I suspect firecaulk doesn't hold up to WFO temps, but it's on there and fine.
One idea that came to me later was to grind a channel into the edges of the bricks and fit the anchor plate flange into that. Those bricks would be mortarted onto the course below if that makes sense. That way you've secured the chimney flange permanently in place with a fairly leak tight connection while still allowing for movement vs. the risk of tapcons cracking the brick.

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Thanks for the compliment on the arch. Sure was alot of cutting to do all the tapers. If I ever build another one I am buying the tapered bricks.
My first thought was to build upto flat around the vent, but now that the arch is built we think it would look nice to have as much firebrick as possible sticking out of the finished wall of the enclosure. I only have half a brick in front of the vent. If I build up with firebrick I would loose half of that. Our plan is a full enclosure with a stone or tile veneer. So the enclosure wall directly in front of the vent will be a minimum of 1" thick (1/2" durock &1/2" tile) plus I would imagine that I will want an inch of ceramic blanket between the wall and the vent.
I do like the idea of cutting a groove for the vent to sit in. It would probably be easier to seal than a flange.

[splatgirl]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

As much as I love your arch, I think you would get a better looking finished facade and a better working oven if you cover it up with a decorative finish/arch. Those bricks are going to get HOT, so IMO it's a bit of a safety issue as well. You definitely wouldn't want to be getting skin near them as you work the oven. And leaving them exposed as part of the facade forces the whole finished face pretty far back and close to the chimney, regardless of how you do the vent. I know people have left the firebrick exposed, but for your level of craftsmanship, I think it would end up looking unfinished. I'm also sketchy on how the hot hot of the superheated firerick arch will interface with the relatively cool facade materials you would be butting up to it with...

Just my .02, of course.

[splatgirl]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

remember it's going to get sooty, too. You seem like the kind of guy who would want to be able to clean that off

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Mark,
SplatG has some good advice. Also, for me, I went with (what I think she referred to) with the anchor plate no bolts, no tap-cons, no caulking: see my pdf file on post 475 of my thread and this gallary of my arch vent transition and anchor plate:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Dino747...entTransition#

and you'll get a good idea on how I did it. It was simple; used the materials you already have; allows for heat expansion and minor cracking of the mortar at the joints (which will happen anyways) and...does the job.

You're almost done. I think the vent transition areas is the most important part and you've learned some good skills building the dome so put them to good use and you'll be so happy at every pizza party you do.

-Cheers, Dino

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Pop the champagne!!!
The keystone is in and the dome is closed.
We are back at the lake this weekend and we finished the dome and are ready for the chimney. Dino i went your way with the vent. Used up some of my extra bricks. Can't post any pictures till I get back home.
All the reading of this forum really paid off and we were able to close the dome in three weekends.

Thanks for all the help Forno Bravo.

Mark

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Here are a few pictures. It's not exactly a thing of beauty but I think it should function fine. The final chain and keystone took some imagination to get to fit. Now that my dome is done I have a much better appreciation for the amount of work put into some of the ovens on this forum. I can't imagine how some of them fit together so perfectly. I had bricks that I made a dozen trips back to the saw for and I still ended of with gaps.

Mark

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

The plan now is to go back up this weekend and install the chimney. Just need to decide if I should let to weight of the chimney sit on the vent or support it with a $40 hanger, cheap insurance I guess. I am just glad I don't have to use any offsets. And I suppose I may have to start cleaning up my mess. The place looks like a war zone.

Maybe have a little (tiny) fire on Sunday.

After that its three weeks off to attend graduation partys.

Mark

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

I had bricks that I made a dozen trips back to the saw for and I still ended of with gaps.

Mark, I hear ya! It's amazing how many times you have to re-cut your bricks and make the climb back up to your dome until you're satisfied, but like you said, now you know. I'll be tickled if my dome fits together as symmetrically as yours. Great job.

John

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Yeah, its like being on a stairmaster.
I built steps using a couple of extra cement blocks, so it is two 8" steps then one big one onto the oven stand.
And John, I've looked at OctoForno, with your attention to detail you don't have anything to worry about. Your oven is going to be/is a work of art.

Mark

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

Mark -

The dome looks great. You really don't have any gaps in those bricks - looks good a tight to me. Fire that puppy up.

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

yeah, it came out fairly tight, but there are some odd shaped bricks near the center.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

I'm with Cheesesteak. Let's see some smokin' pies comin' outta there!

[AtTheLake]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

You guys sound like my 16 year old son. If he had his way we would of been cooking pizza in it after chain 4. In the mean time he has been working on his pizza dough. Last night he mixed up batch number 4 (Forno Bravo recipe). We have a hard time getting the proper elasticity. He wants to be able to toss the dough around like Tony Gemignani in his YouTube videos. I think he wants to impress the ladies. So far all we get is big holes and really tough pizza.

Mark

[Tman1]

Re: Mark's 42" in MN

The pizza's won't mind the odd shapes. Get baking!!