36" pompeii in WI in the winter

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Here's some pics of the forming idea my brother came up with to keep the bricks from sliding down. A simple strip of sheet metal. I block it up until the top edge sticks up about 1/16-1/8" above the inside edge of the top course. I tighten the loop against the brick by pulling outwards on the ends of the strip and hold them in place with a self-tapping screw.

This setup still allows me to us the IT to set the angle of the brick and to make sure the course stays on track. It has sped up the brick laying process as we don't need to worry about the bricks sliding. After the course is done, I remove the form and clean up the mortar joints that have been blocked by the it.

So far it has worked well. However, as the angle of the courses gets steeper (the next course probably) I don't think it will work as well. At which point I think I will try to bend the top 1/2" of the sheet metal in to match the angle of the course, and cut Vs every 1" or so to allow it to bend in a circle. I'll let you know how it works.

Aaron

[Salty]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Aaron,

That is a great idea. I am just starting my build, but I have been trying to think of a to support a whole row like you are doing. The only additional thought that I had was to cut a slot in each end of the sheet metal so you could add a screw and wingnut to adjust for each new row. Probably more effort than it is worth, but you never know.

Thanks for the great idea.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Thanks for the great idea.

No problem.....Have fun building!

[Tscarborough]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Depending upon your mortar, each brick should be self supporting, all the way to the top. I used this template at first to get it round, then eyeballed them in.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Depending upon your mortar, each brick should be self supporting, all the way to the top. I used this template at first to get it round, then eyeballed them in.

I know people have done it that way, but it seems my bricks want to slide a little. Maybe it's the mortar I'm using or something I'm not doing in the ideal way. I think it works better if you taper your bricks horizontally (like I'm not), or if the mortar joint isn't as big like on your build.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

We're finished with the 9nth course now. The sheet metal form is really proving it's mettle.(excuse the pun) I bent the top 1/2" with a friends metal brake, and then cut notches to allow it to bend in a circle, as you can see in the pics. After seeing how well the form works, I think I will try finishing the dome with it instead of the exercise ball I got. One nice feature this form has is that the tabs can be can be bent individually, if necessary, to fine tune the brick placement. It also keeps the courses level and even.

Now I have to go figure out the angles for the next two courses.

~Aaron

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Now a question. I've been throwing around ideas about how I'm going to make the vent landing arch. I am planning on a thermal break between it and the dome (something like Gulfs). I am thinking of making it one fire brick length deep,(9") with a 4" deep slot on top for the vent. This would leave 2.5" of brick on either side of the slot going over the top. Would that be strong enough with the arch being free standing, and not connected to the dome? Would I need to use some sort of buttressing?

Thanks
~Aaron

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Aaron,

This may help, I did not do a completely isolated thermal break like Gulf did but my arch is similar to yours. I cut the bricks so there was minimal contact with the dome arch then stuffed the slot with a ceramic rope then used high temp caulk over the CF rope. Look at my Picassa album for more details.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Aaron,

This may help, I did not do a completely isolated thermal break like Gulf did but my arch is similar to yours. I cut the bricks so there was minimal contact with the dome arch then stuffed the slot with a ceramic rope then used high temp caulk over the CF rope. Look at my Picassa album for more details.

Thanks Russell. I like how shallow your vent area is(Gulf's is way too huge for me), but if I'm going to do a thermal break I want to make it a complete one...or as nearly so as practical anyhow. I wonder if your outer arch would hold up if it was connected to the inner arch by insulating fire bricks at both ends of the vent slot.

Anyone else willing to chime in?

Thanks,
~Aaron

[Gulf]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Thanks Russell. I like how shallow your vent area is(Gulf's is way too huge for me), but if I'm going to do a thermal break I want to make it a complete one...or as nearly so as practical anyhow. I wonder if your outer arch would hold up if it was connected to the inner arch by insulating fire bricks at both ends of the vent slot.

Anyone else willing to chime in?

Thanks,
~Aaron

If you go with a full thermal break, I would recomend "completing" the inside portion of what I call the heatbreak arch. Even if the completing arch bricks are only 1" to 1.5" That said, I do believe that buttressing is needed. (more so, if you don't complete the heatbreak arch).
Just sayin' .

[rsandler]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Aaron,

My entry arch is similar to yours (inasmuch as it's a full semicircular arch), and I ended up doing a vent area one brick thick with a 6 inch gap in the middle and a full heat break between the vent and the oven. So, the inner and outer arches were only about 1.5" thick (I made the outer arch a little thicker than the inner arch). It seemed pretty shaky as I was putting the arch together, but once the mortar set overnight that thing was solid.

I made the heatbreak by placing a piece of cardboard between the floor bricks of the landing and those of the vent, giving me an air gap of about 1/4 inch. So far it seems to be holding with no problems, although it's only been together for ~3 weeks! I packed insulating caulk into the gap on both sides of the arch, and just left the cardboard in at the floor, figuring it will eventually burn to ash.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

Thanks, Gulf & rsandler! I think I will go with my original idea with some buttressing. I like rsandler's transition up into the vent pipe. Sharkey made something similar.

The only inconvenience of building a wfo inside that I've come across so far is that I can't start the curing fires and start cooking when I get the dome finished. There's a dust collector in the shop that exhausts outside though.....Soo maybe I could hook that up and create some mega draft. J/K I have read of people curing with a propane torch. The pompeii plans say to only burn wood in the oven though, so I'll have search the forum some more about that.

[AaronTheGeek]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

I have another question. As I am planning to use fire bricks for the vent landing floor. What is going to keep rain from blowing into the opening and seeping into and in between the fire bricks? It seems like the joint in between the landing floor and the counter top on the front would pose the most problems this way. I can't seem to find anything on this around the forum. I've thought of making some sort of door to put on the front when the oven isn't in use, but I haven't seen anyone else do that.

We got the dome closed in today and started on the vent arch. I'll post pics later.

[Les]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

It hasn't been that bad in regard to getting wet. The biggest problem I have found is that the bricks get soiled from cooking. I was going to replace mine with soapstone but heard that it gets stained just as easy. Has anyone here used granite for the entry? That would solve the wet issue as well as staining.

[Tscarborough]

Re: 36" pompeii in WI in the winter

I have replaced a granite floor in an oven entry that had crumbled, does that count?

Admittedly, it was a commercial kitchen, and almost 10 years old, but it had been in bad shape for years before they called me, and I replaced it with more granite and a written dis-allowance of warranty.