36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

[merk]

Things are finally moving forward after a year of talking about it! At the time of this posting I have dry-stacked the block stand. This is the point where I need to make some decisions so I thought I would post here and see what you guys think.

The foundation is 67x78 based on the FB plans. I'm not planning to do an enclosure so I'm hoping to get an internal diameter a bit bigger than 36.

I plan to work a bit this weekend pouring the stand cores and finishing up the front span. Now I'm leaning toward an arch after looking at the post by bobmurphy

Attached are some of the construction pics. This is all part of a bigger patio project. He demolished the old patio and added barrier curbs for the new paver patio. Planning to weave the pavers into the block stand so that is the reason the stand is being done first

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

Over the weekend i poured the cores and did the front span. I notched the blocks so that I could run the angle iron along the center of the blocks. Poured a little bit of concrete into the joints to make them rigid.

[boerwarrior]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

Welcome, Merk!

Looking good so far!

When you say "I'm not planning to do an enclosure" what do you mean exactly? Are you planning on insulating and then doing a second cement or stucco finish? Either way you will still need the room outside of the dome for the insulation and outer layer.

[bobmurphy]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

Merk,

I'm glad to see someone "Local" building an oven. I do not see many people from this area on the forum.
It looks like you are involved in a big project with the oven and patio. I decided to do mine in stages. Of course the oven is first, then next year the pavers for a patio. Your progress looks great so far, nice work on the finish of your foundation slab, mine was not so pretty!

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

When you say "I'm not planning to do an enclosure" what do you mean exactly? Are you planning on insulating and then doing a second cement or stucco finish? Either way you will still need the room outside of the dome for the insulation and outer layer.

Hi boerwarrior

Yes I plan to do the insulating blanket and stucco.

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

nice work on the finish of your foundation slab, mine was not so pretty!

I can't take credit for the slab. That was done by a pro/neighbor. I'll post a time-lapse soon.

[kanoer54]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

hi merk,
i'm from the east side of the big muddy river in illinois near lebanon. if you need any refractory supplies, Hi-Temp down in Fenton is a great supplier. they are in a small and really old building, but Tom knows his stuff. they have all the rigid board, bricks, insulation, refractory mortar (unless you are making home brew), etc and can answer most of your refractory questions. they also do a lot of custom castings for the local steel mills and refineries.

good luck on your build and keep posting pics....
jon

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

Thanks! I was just researching FB board and blanket. Will check out Hi-Temp

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

I decided to go with a center support column and 1/2" HardieBacker. The board seam is centered on the column. I glued everything excessively.

If anyone sees a problem here please let me know. I'm assuming the concrete load with not exceed the limits of the board/column.

[stonecutter]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

You should not use HardieBacker for exterior applications, it is an interior product. Use Durock or a plywood form instead. Consider perimeter support for the pour, around the center column. A central support is not enough and you will get a bow in the slab.

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

You should not use HardieBacker for exterior applications, it is an interior product. Use Durock or a plywood form instead. Consider perimeter support for the pour, around the center column. A central support is not enough and you will get a bow in the slab.

Should I trash the hardiebacker and go with a standard plywood? Somewhere on this forum I saw that idea and thought it was smart (lazy).

[stonecutter]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

What's lazy...plywood? That is just standard form material, and you don't need permanent sheathing like Durock under the slab.

Cut the plwood or osb to fit to the inside of your block so it doesn't get jammed when you drop it out.

[merk]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

What's lazy...plywood? That is just standard form material, and you don't need permanent sheathing like Durock under the slab.

Cut the plwood or osb to fit to the inside of your block so it doesn't get jammed when you drop it out.

I meant that hardiebacker was the lazy route. Just pour and leave it there.

[stonecutter]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

I meant to say, don't trash the HardieBacker....since you have it already. Use it for the form, but break it out afterward, and don't encapsulate it on your block beam. Cut it to the inside, as recommended for plywood or osb sheathing.

[stonecutter]

Re: 36+ Pompeii in St. Louis

I meant that hardiebacker was the lazy route. Just pour and leave it there.

I don't know about lazy...it is less work but not in a bad way IMO. Nothing wrong with doing that way, just that the material (HardiBacker) is not appropriate for an application like that.