And so it begins...

[paulthenurse]

I've kind of been lurking here for a while, sort of hoping to someday maybe build an oven. Then my wife said that she wanted to have a brick patio out behind the goldfish pond and the two ideas sort of meshed. Since my nephew has 25 year old knees, a landscape company and a crew of guys to keep busy while I have 54 year old knees, a full time job and I'm in school for my masters, it was easy to decide who did the bulk of the dirty work building the patio.

Here is the site getting cleared out and a 10 inch base of crushed gravel.




Next, the lads do the patio layout...


The finished patio...


Now comes my turn...


More to follow...

[texman]

Re: And so it begins...

Welcome to the forum!
Keep those young knees and backs handy for awhile.
Texman

[boerwarrior]

Re: And so it begins...

Welcome Paul!

You do know that you'll want to remove those cross struts before pouring the concrete, right? They will be awfully hard to remove afterwards!

[paulthenurse]

Re: And so it begins...


Packing down the area. I dug the sono-tubes to four feet so they are below the frost line.


I put rebar in the sono-tubes and bent it 90 degrees where it came out of the tubes. I used some rubble and the cut offs from the patio to take up some space in the area. I also put down two layers of wire across the rubble and then laid some more rebar across that.



The finished pad off the side of the patio. Probably won't get much more done till spring. I guarantee that if I wait it will never drop below freezing all winter but if I built the base today it would drop to 40 below zero tomorrow and stay there till April.

[Greenman]

Re: And so it begins...

You have a great launching pad for when the weather warms up again for you. You are most welcome to the cold, I would not function if I had to live with those temps. Look forward to seeing your posts when you resume your build.

It would be cabin fever for me since I spend most of my time outside.

[paulthenurse]

Re: And so it begins...

Awww, winters not that bad. You just need to wear a drysuit instead of a wetsuit. LOL

[mirassou]

Re: And so it begins...

Looks great so far...keep posting pics!

[paulthenurse]

Re: And so it begins...

Spring has finally arrived. Time to start.









My next day off is Tuesday, I'll try to get the hearth poured and the cores filled then.

[NCMan]

Re: And so it begins...

Hi Paul and welcome. I know what you did w/the sonotubes is standard and customary in lots of places. I am in construction and have been for many, many years. However, I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone in the Building Dept's in those areas thinks that burying sonotubes four feet deep helps stop or prevent frost heaving. It does nothing whatsoever. I know you are doing what is customary, nothing against you. It's just a total waste of time. It does nothing whatsoever w/frost. Nothing. As a matter of fact, w/frost conditions, it is actually detrimental. Just my two cents. Good luck on your build. I have just started, also. You've come to the right place. Lots and lots of knowledgeable and helpful folks here.

[stonecutter]

Re: And so it begins...

Hi Paul and welcome. I know what you did w/the sonotubes is standard and customary in lots of places. I am in construction and have been for many, many years. However, I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone in the Building Dept's in those areas thinks that burying sonotubes four feet deep helps stop or prevent frost heaving. It does nothing whatsoever. I know you are doing what is customary, nothing against you. It's just a total waste of time. It does nothing whatsoever w/frost. Nothing. As a matter of fact, w/frost conditions, it is actually detrimental. Just my two cents. Good luck on your build. I have just started, also. You've come to the right place. Lots and lots of knowledgeable and helpful folks here.

You're right, but it is not a practice endorsed by any building dept I was familiar with in New England. Mainly because the piers are and anchor points on a floating slab. And after seasonal freeze thaw cycles, the anchor points become the weak link in the slab.

It's all moot now. The best thing that can be done now is to try and keep the area around the oven as dry as possible, and well drained.

[boerwarrior]

Re: And so it begins...

Looking good, Paul! Keep the pictures coming - a lot of us love building ovens vicariously through others!

Neil

[paulthenurse]

Re: And so it begins...

I REALLY wish it had occured to me that I could RENT a cement mixer after I decided that it was too expensive to drop a few hundred bucks to buy one and only use it for one day. Damned good thing I'm so good looking, I'm clearly not that smart. 35 bags of concrete mix by hand ensures you sleep well at night.





The obligatory "Name in the concrete" shot...

More to follow, once I can use my arms again.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: And so it begins...

Paul,

Good start, but your aches and pains are not over yet, just a different kind when you start doing the dome. Good luck and keep us updated.

[Greenman]

Re: And so it begins...

Paul - that would have to be better than a few trips to the gym! Nothing like a mixer for that job.

It is looking like a good start and like Russell indicates there are more muscle groups to get the benefit of some exercise yet.

Good luck with your build.

[Gulf]

Re: And so it begins...

The "exercise" is really good for some of us. Because, when the dome is done, it is customary to make at least one trip inside............... And that can be a tight fit .