My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

[NCMan]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Hey KB. It's been quite awhile since I checked in on your build. I just wanted to be yet another one to congratulate you w/your build. You should be quite proud of all the hard work you have put in. I just wanted to say "nice job!!".

[kbartman]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Hey KB. It's been quite awhile since I checked in on your build. I just wanted to be yet another one to congratulate you w/your build. You should be quite proud of all the hard work you have put in. I just wanted to say "nice job!!".

Thanks NC,
Just finished up a three week outage at work, 12 hours days has worked its toll on me. Going to get rested up a bit then get started on those countertops. I just need to find my motivation .....Daughter graduates end of May don't have much time.

[kbartman]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Got started on the counter tops. I built my forms using 3/4" melamine board. I received a Fu Cheng instructional dvd with the wet polisher I purchased. The dvd is pretty informative. I noticed that when he poured the mixture into forms the particle board of the melamine was exposed. ????? Seem like the wood would swell and cause problems. Any once have any experience on this? Seems like it would need to be protected from moisture. Any suggestion?

[cobblerdave]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

G'day KB
Melamine is basically plastic coated chipboard. Tape the joints and no moisture gets through to chipboard ... No swelling . My slab on the stand was melamine with taped joints produced a beautiful smooth surface. Shame really , you only see it it if you crawl into the wood stowage and look up. No one sees it shame its possibly the smoothest piece of cement work I've even produced.
Regards dave

[stonecutter]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

I used silicon on all the joints inside the forms. I taped the top of the form once, but I don't bother with that anymore...mainly because I don't use melamine for the mould itself, only the table. But since this is your first time using melamine, its probably a good idea to tape off the top or coat it with a light oil.

[ATK406]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

. I noticed that when he poured the mixture into forms the particle board of the melamine was exposed. ????? Seem like the wood would swell and cause problems. Any once have any experience on this? Seems like it would need to be protected from moisture. Any suggestion?

That does seem strange. I thought the purpose of the melamine was to avoid water absorption by the form and to provide a smooth release surface for the concrete. I haven't used melamine for the forms myself (I'm too cheap for that). But I have used silicone on the joints and brushed vegetable oil on the surface of the plywood to keep the water in the concrete (where it belongs).

Glad to see you back on the job. You've done a fantastic job so far, look forward to seeing how you finish it off.

Good luck
AT

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

KB,

At least in one of his video, he ran a strip of duct tape along the top of the exposed melamine core. I followed this example when I did my concrete counters.

[kbartman]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Thanks Guys,
Sounds like the consensus in to protect the chip board from moisture. I think I will use frog top on that area and a little vegetable oil on the edge where I have some chipping of the melamine from a dull saw blade... The tape will also keep my screw heads clean for removal.

I will use silicone in all the corner for sealing and for a nice finished radius, at least I hope so.

I will be using 2x3 fencing material for reinforcement wire. Quikcrete showed it being used in their counter top brochure. I think It will be strong enough. I was also thinking of 3\8" rebar in addition to the wire. But I was reading it should only be used in pours greater than 2 inches, 3/8" rebar is the smallest I can find. So I was thinking of maybe some 5/16" all thread instead. What are your thoughts?

Seems like I do more thinking then work

[hubert_s]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

I will use silicone in all the corner for sealing and for a nice finished radius, at least I hope so.

KB, might be a good idea to use black silicone. I have done this before with white and it was really hard to see against the white melamine.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

I used ladder wire that is used with CMUs, the good part about ladder wire you have both compressive and tensile strength in the reinforcement. It is pretty cheap and any concrete block suppliers carry it.

[kbartman]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

KB, might be a good idea to use black silicone. I have done this before with white and it was really hard to see against the white melamine.

Yes black silicone for me...With over 40 eyeballs, I will struggle to see the black....hope it turns out ok.

I used ladder wire that is used with CMUs, the good part about ladder wire you have both compressive and tensile strength in the reinforcement. It is pretty cheap and any concrete block suppliers carry it.

Ladder wire good idea, I think I've seen some at home depot.....I wasn't considering compressive. I have some 6x6 steel mesh left over from the base, very rusty though, even what I could find locally. Didn't want any rust bleed through. Looks like the ladder wire is galvanized, much better idea.


Thank all for the help.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Sheesh, 40 eyeballs, your a youngster..........

Check Gulf's build he did a lot of face down concrete counter pours.

[cobblerdave]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Sheesh, 40 eyeballs, your a youngster..........

Check Gulf's build he did a lot of face down concrete counter pours.

Gday
There There.....always remember Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill

Regards Dave

[kbartman]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

Sheesh, 40 eyeballs, your a youngster..........

Check Gulf's build he did a lot of face down concrete counter pours.

Gday
There There.....always remember Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill

Regards Dave

40............That's when I first started falling apart, just hit fifty.......... feel like I'm eighty, especially after today's hard work.

Finished up the reinforcement wire. I was hoping to pour tomorrow......don't think I'll get there. I thought I was pretty good at caulking, till I used black.......ouch ........... three try's to get it right. I will have to let it dry over night. Hopefully it will pull away from the forms easily.

Gulf did some great work, hoping I can do just half as good............ Anyway I'm going to try to do some inlays. Heading to the craft store tonight, to see what might work. I should probably do some test pours, instead of forging on. Not sure my colorant will turn out like the brochure.

[Gulf]

Re: My 40" Inch pizza oven in Florida

........ I should probably do some test pours, instead of forging on. Not sure my colorant will turn out like the brochure.

Do do the "test pours". Take them all the way through the sanding/grinding, and final sealant steps. Make exact notes of the fourmula for your mix. That is the only way you will know what the final result will be. You never know, your recipee may be better than the brochure .

Your forms look Great! I used ladder wire also. But you might want to go against popular opinon abouit 3/8'" rebar on the form in pic #2. I would at least add one run (U shaped) completely from one wing across the front to the other wing. I had a week spot in mine that showed up when I flipped. Not bad, no body else notices it when they look at the oven, but it psses me off .

Edit:

Heading to the craft store tonight, to see what might work

I can hardly wait to see wait you come up with