Simon's 36" LA brick oven

[calipizzanapoletana]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

photos of the first curing fire! Also you can see the smoke drawing out the front, just the way it should

Height of dome ended up at 24" at the very apex - super unhappy
However height of arch ended at 14" - so all in all I might just be around the 60%ish ratio for arch to dome height.

What do you guys think? Should I call it close enough for government work? Or would I be better off tearing everything down, and whimpering in a corner

[david s]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

Keep going ,it will work fine.

[calipizzanapoletana]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

Thanks David! I bought a steel trash can for the ashes and coals from the curing fires, also I grabbed some metal lath (1" grid) to use for holding down the insulating blanket and helping with stucco adhesion.

On the subject of stucco - Should I wait to do this until after the oven is cured, or could I do it before I really get into the curing schedule? Also do you dye it if a colored stucco is desired, or should it be painted?

In regard to the flue pipe - can I mortar in the anchor plate, and then just attach my 40-68" flue pipe on that? In other words - does the flue pipe need to be enclosed in brick & vermiculite, or can I just attach the anchor plate?

My pipe will terminate ~2' above a patio covering with a vinyl roof - not directly above mind you, more like 1 - 1 1/2 feet away, and 2 feet above. Does this pose a problem? I did buy a spark arrestor.

[calipizzanapoletana]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

So after completing the dome, life has gotten in the way and I'm trying to find the time to do this vent and outer arch.

I have the brick, duravent anchor, pipe, blanket and chicken wire.

just need more spec mix, 1 bag of lime, and stucco

Anyone in the San Fernando Valley want to build a outer arch and vent for me?
I'll pay ya if you've done it before

I wanted to build it myself, but am overrun with projects

[calipizzanapoletana]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

Almost 10 months to the day I completed the insulation and stucco.

A contractor came out and gave me an estimate of $600 to stucco over the insulation This crazy estimate made me scoff and gave me the drive to get 'er done. The end result is a little lumpy, and probably could suffer from one or two more coats of stucco plus water proofing, but looks fine enough for now.

I left the oven alone for a couple weeks and did some sporadic curing fires to slowly drive out the moisture. I've already fired it to max for a short while to do a couple beer can chickens and to test the oven firing. It draws like a champ and produces hardly any smoke once its up to full blast. Actually it might be too efficient -I've noticed that if overloaded the oven will really spike too fast, like 800 degrees in a matter of minutes fast. That was using regular hardwood purchased at the grocery store. I'm switching to Almond wood due to its high temp and long burn -plus a much better deal when purchased in 1/3rds of a cord.

Oven is now ready for a full pizza night.
Time to knead.

[jimkramer]

Re: Simon's 36" LA brick oven

Cali P-

Awesome oven! Okay, I admit, she's built for comfort, not for looks, but I bet the pizza tastes as good as anyone else's. It inspires me to keep going. How's your floor insulation holding up? Can you tell if it is sinking under the dome? I have insulation in 1.5" boards. I could put down 6", but I think I'll stop at 4.5", cause I'm concerned about compression.

-Jim