Gaps, bumps, uneven dome top....how bad can it be?

[Lburou]

Re: Gaps, bumps, uneven dome top....how bad can it be?

I hope Tscarborough chimes in here, I'd put a lot of confidence in his recommendations. If he doesn't, send him a personal message.

With regard to filling those voids after the fact, unless Tscarborough has a fail safe way to do it, I'm not sure the patches will stay. I say that because mine are falling out each time I heat the oven, and its been almost a year! Oven works fine, but it isn't as pretty as I dreamed of. It hurts less each time I use it. Sleep on it a few nights before you decide ot knock things loose, you may be able to live with it. HTH

[deejayoh]

Re: Gaps, bumps, uneven dome top....how bad can it be?

Xene -
It'll work just fine. I wouldn't worry about it. You just need the mortar to provide an air seal. The gaps are a natural consequence of using un-tapered bricks, and consensus seems to be that they are no big deal.

If you are really concerned about the look of it, you could fill those gaps with mortar from the inside. I've done that inside my oven, and I don't think it's going to come out. My trick is using mortar that is a little dry - usually stuff that squeezes out between the bricks. Try mixing up some mortar and buttering it onto a spare fire brick - then scrape it off with your finger or a trowel to push into the cracks. The brick should pull out enough water to make the mortar the right consistency to stick in those gaps.

You have really cruised through your oven build and you should feel good about where you are. It took me 3 1/2 months to get as far as you have in a couple weeks!

[Xene]

Well I made it, finished the dome...well, it is done, but I'm very unhappy with the results. I rushed it, end of the day, excited to get it over...just didn't give it the attention I should have in my enthusiasm to say the dome was complete... now I want to chip it out and do it over. My husband is making me post this horrible pictures to have you talk me out of it.

SO my dome got pretty flat at the end, but I made it up to row 10 before I needed any form help. so I just cut a 20" circle of insulation board and pressed it against the top, using wedges to give me angles in the dome (I know...not the best idea - strike one for me - lazy!)

I thought I was using plenty of mortar - homebrew 3:1:1:1 - but I have giant holes underneath. AUGH. I sanded off my fingertips (through the gloves) pressing the mortar into the holes from below, and still these massive gaps...



Here is what it looked like from the outside, but truthfully I knew when I finally gave up for the night that those gaps were probably too big.

I don't care about the bumps, but the giant gaps have me concerned. That middle star section is tapered narrower, so there is probably a little locking going on there...but I seriously doubt this is considered good enough. I want this thing to last forever, I don't want it falling in later and have to fix it from inside. So with that in mind - should I just knock it out now and redo that last bit or is that mortar strong enough to hold those for the life of the oven?

If you do try to convince me to leave it and move forward with the vent, should I at least fill in those deep holes with more mortar? Looking at them, there are plenty of pockets that I think the mortar would fill and be wedged up in there without falling out on to the pizza, at least in the biggest spots.

I'm honestly ashamed to have to show anyone these pictures... especially you all, but I sure appreciate your help and your experience so very much! Thanks ~ Xene