Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

[Langy3366]

I'm putting together an inventory of items to cost them out. I'm having to convert to metric so I may be out by a factor of 10 :-) Anyone got a metric UK inventory for a 42" they can share? Did anyone in the UK need planning permission? My oven will be about 15 feet from the back of the house. I'm nervous if I ring up and check, they'll dig a bit deeper.

Couple of questions firstly on the line entries...
"Or, (8) 12"x36?x2? FB Board panels". I'm assuming this is all meant to be inches and not feet?

"(46) 80lb bags of Ready-Mix concrete". This sounds an awful lot of cement and it's gonna cost me over ?500 for this alone. Can someone confirm please?

I'm also looking for an indispensible tool. If anyone has finished with theirs would they be prepared to give it a new home? I'd do the same once finished with it or return it.

Best Regards.

[THE CHALLENGER]

Re: Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

Hi , i am based in the Uk and i have just taken delivery of our firebricks etc. Kiln Linings are very good and actually list all you require for the building of the dome in 2 sizes i have copied the list for your size of oven as i thought this may be useful for you.(Listed below) it is for a 43" oven but you will still be able to get the amounts needed, They do have a kit available but it works out cheaper to buy them sepaeratly. I am still trailing through the forum trying to get specific sizes for the vent size landing size etc. i have been researching for ages and almost got the plans sorted. Where in the Uk are you? We are in the Midlands. Hope this info listed helps. The amounts due not include the amount of cemennt etc for the hearth which i am presuming the amounts you mentioned did. All the Best

140 ? FIREBRICK SQS 40-42% ALUMINA 230x114x76mm (9x4.5x3?)
20 - FIREBRICK SQS 40-42% ALUMINA 300x300x76mm (12x12x3?)
50kg ? PRE MIXED KLW.A.S.C 1600GD MORTAR (ready to use and can withstand 1600 Celcius)
3 ROLLS ? 7.32M x 610mm x 25mm BODY SOLUBLE BLANKET 1200GD (Dome insulation)
3 Boards ? 1000x600x50mm BODY SOLUBLE BOARDS 1000GD
1 Chimney ? Cylinderical Firebrick tube 89mmI/D x 305mm long
12mtrs ? Chicken Wire 300mm wide with 13mm Hexagonal holes

[azatty]

Re: Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

The hearth insulation is 30cm x 90cm x 5cm (give or take). Check with a pottery supplier or kiln makers for it. It's called "ceramic fiber board" here. Insblok 19 is the trade name of one of the materials some of us have used. Or you could simply go with the vermiculite/portland cement mixture as hearth insulation.

46 bags of concrete is accurate if you have to pour the foundation slab and footings. If you already have a good slab in place, you need fewer. The amount you need for the stuctural slab (what you build the hearth on) is a simple volume calculation. You'd probably need about 1/2 of a cubic metre for a 42 inch oven just for the slab, and some extra to fill the block cores. It might be cheaper to form up the area for the concrete and have a truck pour it. Delivered, concrete here is about $100 a cubic yard for a "short pour".

I do have an indispensible tool that i no longer need, but you can probably find one closer to home.

[Faz]

Re: Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

It will also be much much cheaper to buy bulk aggregate and sand along with bags of cement, and there's only a little bit of extra effort involved in mixing it. Or, depending where you're building it, you could consider a ready mix supplier, though this may not be practical if the build is to the rear of the property with limited access.

[Langy3366]

Re: Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

Many thanks to 3 really helpful replies. Challenger I'm based near Bath in Wiltshire. If I'm ever passing through the midlands I'll drop a message. Azatty, thank you so much for the offer of the tool, but you are right I'll need to look a little closer to home. Faz, good advice, will look at either a delivery or mixing my own.

I've just sourced a twin flue off ebay. It's a 7" internal 1.2 meter stainless steel for ?50, so a lot less than new. REbar looks expensive, even on ebay ?108 for 20*3m lengths (but includes delivery and vat).

Good luck with your builds.

[turkey]

Re: Quick Qs on Pompeii Plans from the UK

good to see more Brits starting a build, I think the FB plans are invaluable but are extreme in the engineering. In the uk we don't get quakes like a lot of the Californian builders but if you are going 42" then you will need plenty of support.

You could build a supporting wall across the middle of the hearth, this halves the unsupported span, you loose wood storage space but given the oven size it would still be a fair old size. I am making a 30" oven and have used lintels from Wickes to top up as I used a mesh I salvaged from scrap instead of rebar.

mesh could also be used for the base, the stuff I found was possibly 8mm with 20cm centers I think, and I folded it half with a 50% offset to try and reduce it, should really have cut it to offset it in both directions, but was doing it by hand and its tough stuff. Lol
would check with someone with some building experience if you want to deviate too far from the plans.

I did not go for planning, its at the end of the garden (city sized so only 20m away), and checked that the smoke control order does not apply.

I made an indespencible tool from some scrap wood a hinge and a L shaped bit of metal from homebase. Can't adjust the size or be fancy but dead easy to knock up. Some threaded rod or more thought and making one should be easy.

my hearth insulation is thermalite blocks, cheap, decent insulation and dead easy to cut, nice and safe as cf is really nasty stuff if you have to cut it.

my brick cutter is a ?30 BnQ mitre saw and diamond blade found on ebay, dead cheap and goes through like butter. Blade is only 180mm so does require two cuts to get through, if it was 200mm I think it would do it in one.

if you can't tell mine is a budget build :-)