42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

[hodgey1]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Paul
I used precut sticks of wood approx 4-5 of them to hold the bricks in place as I went. It worked great, just keep removing the oldest one and keep moving. the length of them, of course got longer with each ring higher. ive seen on the forum people who took the time to make adjustable ones, I just used some scraps i had around to make mine, nothing fancy. Once I got to ring 9 or 10 I switched to the exercise ball, which also worked very well for me. it took a few minutes to get it aired up properly for the shape but once that was done it really went well. i adjusted the air preasure while i had the dry ccut bricks stacked on the ball, i had a plastic table cloth on the ball to prevent a puncture.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Hod,

Like the gong in the background. When you ring it all the neighbors will come over for pizza. Tip, if possible, try and keep the tapered arch bricks ahead of the dome bricks. It makes it easier to measure your tie-in bricks.

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Hey Dave, Yes, I see that, and I don't like that I can't see the inside with the ball...if I use it, I'll probably inflate and deflate. It does well with a couple of bricks at a time, then I take it out and use the IT.

Hi Joe, yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. I see it if the mortar is a little too loose, that it takes awhile for it to set vs. wanting to slide in a little.

Hey Chris, I do need to measure some sticks. I tried the hook with the bricks over the top, but that seems to want to life up the inside of the brick.

Hi Russell, we were thinking along the same line...I finished the inside arch today, started the outside arch and I'm almost finished with course 7...have a look.

Thanks for your help,
Paul

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Russell, the gong is really neat. My neighbor in northern VA had given me hers, but I saw that she could really use it on her back porch at her new house, so I gave it back to her. I bought this one and hung it on the pavilion. I have one stone pillar and may eventually get another one to use to hang it between them. In addition to the classic bong sound, it makes beautiful music when rubbed with superball mallets!

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Just finished row 8 and some more bricks for the flue. I'm going to try to preserve as much flue opening space as possible, since I'll have flues with a 12x12 interior. I'll see about this, but I may have to buttress the outer arches, as each flue is 60lbs....I'm kind of thinking that I'll need 1.5 of them, or 90lbs, plus the brick around them.

Cut out the excess fiber board around the circumference of the oven today. I'm thinking of making a portland mortar or just using mortar mix to lay between the hearth slab and the lower edge of the heat stop mortar of the oven. I also bought silonase to waterproof the edge and a few inches outward of the hearth.

[cobblerdave]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Gudday
I'm quite surprised in how much that ceramic weighs! It's a good thing you have considered buttressing for strength.
Enjoy watching you build its coming along well!
Regards dave

[hodgey1]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Hey Dave, Yes, I see that, and I don't like that I can't see the inside with the ball...if I use it, I'll probably inflate and deflate. It does well with a couple of bricks at a time, then I take it out and use the IT.

Thanks for your help,
Paul

Another exercise ball tip that goes along with what you mentioned about not seeing the inside. I found that once I dry set an entire ring and had the ball inflated to where I wanted, completing the ring went very quickly which enabled me to deflate and clean and touch up inside prior to the mortar being overly set. I would highly recommend its use on the last few remaining chains.

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Rookies....LOL... :-)

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

OK Ms. professional oven maker I'm not proud. Some of us need all the crutches we can get! And, by the way, those chains are beautiful!

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Here's the progress so far. Finished up the outer arch (it hasn't fallen yet as I gingerly removed the supports and the form). On course 9 now.

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Looking good! won't be long till your doing some curing fires. Now you start getting into the back breaking rings. The hunching over to set the bricks will start to take it's toll.

BTW I did not use home brew, I used a refractory mortar from a bucket. The stuff was so sticky I could set a 10 lb brick to my ceiling and have no worries of it falling. Just thought the picture was impressive. (like magic)

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

Thanks Faith! I've already lost some pounds Someone recently posted a link to a video of some folks building a brick ceiling. The mortar looked watery, but the bricks just held with no other support! I wonder what the difference is in the bucket mixture vs. heat stop made at home.

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

My mortar was smooth as silk so it was made with powdered mix. Perhaps the sand acts like little ball bearings and assists with the slide factor. The stuff I used was easy to work with.

[mirassou]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

I think part of it has to do with the moisture content and how I wet the bricks. I'm attempting to make the mortar like peanut butter, and just briefly wet the bricks. They seem to set quicker and better that way. If the mortar is either too wet or too dry, or the bricks are too dry, they slide.

[deejayoh]

Re: 42" Pompeii Oven in Virginia

I found if the mortar is a bit runnier, and you hold the brick for a moment after setting - it will absorb the water, dry out the mortar, and hold. I built my whole dome without using any support except the IT that way