36" in Chapin, SC

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

I'm not sure what you mean by saying you have the opposite of me? Information?

The opposite was about the color and ease of cutting. The low duty brick is harder to cut for me and darker in color. The 36% alumina brick cuts like butter.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Russel and At,

I appreciate your comments and won't waste another thought on brick composition.

[stonecutter]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

My low duty bricks are almost white. Didn't intend to cause you any worry....just give you the complete picture.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

I installed the floor bricks today and they did come out fairly even without fireclay/sand underneath. I had to change the herringbone pattern in quite a few spots to avoid having small pieces. I don't think I will have to grind any of the bricks, seems to be smooth enough. There are some 2mm gaps in some places between the bricks that I could not get to close up. I guess they will fill with ash.

I also got the first course of bricks cut and in place. The largest gap is under 1mm. I have never worked with brick before and don't know what tolerance is required. Do I need to do more trimming?

While the slab was curing last week I made an arch template and drew it up on the computer with beveled bricks. That worked out really well on the computer, but trying to make the cuts on a 10" saw was no fun at all and pretty much took up all afternoon with not much to show for. The problem I am having is that the saw blade just pushes the brick away for the last 2-3" of the cut. I think it might be quicker to make a new arch form and skip the beveling...

The last picture is a bird's nest discovered under a light fixture today. I have seen birds flying around our unfinished house a few times, but I did not know they had nested. I hope the birds will find the nest where it was moved outside...

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

My low duty bricks are almost white. Didn't intend to cause you any worry....just give you the complete picture.

I appreciate your posts and I was a little worried before I bought the brick. But I did not want to trim all the edges on the wire cut bricks to make a floor with small gaps. I think the higher alumina bricks should be ok for the floor. The guys at Reintjes said they sell them to pizza oven builders on a regular basis.

The bricks I bought from Carolina Ceramics were just recently manufactured and may be different from the ones you bought. They are not very dark, but a reddish hue as opposed to the yellow medium duty bricks I bought for the floor.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

H,
From what I can see your first course dome joints are very tight. As you move up in course you will need to both bevel and taper if you want to maintain a tight joint. I did this and if I were to do it again, I would focus on making the inside face of the dome tight and let the mortar fill the other gaps. You really only see the inside of the oven, the outside is covered with insulation. So spend your time making the inside face and joints the best you can especially the back half. No one ever stick their head in the oven to see the front half except you. Nice start.

PS DJ has a nice bevel and angle calculator. And Chipster, myself, and others have jigs for cutting brick with a bevel and taper at the same time.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Russel,

I have downloaded the spreadsheet. The builder who is building our house (aside from the brick oven) let me borrow his 10" wet saw. The saw head tilts, but will cut into the table if the angle is not close to 0, 22.5 or 45 degrees. I made a jig out of plywood with a fence set at 5 degrees that I can clamp to get angles between about 3 and 7 degrees, and I can slide it to the left to keep the slot in the jig aligned with the blade as the head tilts. Hope it makes sense. I will take a picture tomorrow.

I will keep your advice in mind and err on the low side for the angle so that the gap opens up towards the back. How thick a mortar joint should I shoot for between the sides of the brick?

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

If you can make the same gaps as you have now on the "inside" of the oven only you will be golden. The top and bottom mortar joints at the back of the oven could be as wide as 1/2" or so and the sides will depend on how well you bevel and taper angles are. Do not cut a whole course at once, cut a few see how they are fitting and make adjustments. Do watch you vertical joint staggers and make adjustments new the front half of the dome where you cannot see them when you look in the oven door.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Long day today. This morning, the roofers dropped a 2x6 on the loose bricks that I had carefully arranged on the cooking floor. Took me a while to rearrange them. Then, I started mortaring and it took me quite a while to get the first three set.

As I was cleaning up a little bit, I noticed that the floor brick under the ones I had mortared in was 1" too short and the brick were overhanging. I had to take my template out, replace the brick and put the template back in. I did not get the center aligned perfectly and did not feel like adjusting the first course for the third time, so I realigned as best as I could and moved on.

Setting the bricks became a lot easier after the first six or eight and I got the first course mortared in. The joints are not as tight as they could be, but I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I stopped short of the opening as I am not sure if I will make a new arch template for non-tapered bricks.

I have attached some pictures of my progress and also a picture of my cutting jig. It is a simple 3/4" piece of plywood with a fence set at 5 degrees. I can move the jig to the left as I increase the tilt on the tile saw to keep the blade aligned with the slot I cut into the jig, and the jig can pivot a bit around the bolt on the left to adjust the angle of the fence. Works pretty well.

In case anybody who is thinking about building a corner oven reads this, here is a tip: If at all possible, build the oven first and then the walls for your corner! Between the IT, a mortar bucket, water bucket, bricks and a mallet there is hardly any room for me to work.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Short day today. I decided to make a new arch template and completed the second course of bricks.

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

I only had a few hours to work on the oven today. I started the third course and mortared in the bricks for the entry arch and one neighbor each. The entry bricks need some work with the angle grinder. I then mortared in a few more bricks at the back of the oven before I had to go to work.

I have attached a picture of the Duravent chimney. I had initially planned for a larger oven and the pipe is 8" diameter. The chimney pipe is approximately centered above the oven, there was no other place to put it. I plan to have a stainless steel vent fabricated, but am somewhat unclear on how to connect to the chimney. There is plenty of height to bring the pipe back from the vent to the chimney with a 30 degree angle, but the Duravent pipe cannot be cut and I am not sure how to make it fit. I would be grateful for any suggestions on how to make the connection between the vent and the existing chimney pipe work. The whole thing is going to have to be enclosed so it does not have to be pretty.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Duravent makes 15 and 30 degree ells but they are really spendy. Some builder have done squirrel tail vents with brick/chimney liner then you could make a straight vertical connection with your Duravent. Only a suggestion, my build is a traditional vent stack right on the front. Here is one build.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/ac...d-16501-3.html

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Duravent makes 15 and 30 degree ells but they are really spendy. Some builder have done squirrel tail vents with brick/chimney liner then you could make a straight vertical connection with your Duravent. Only a suggestion, my build is a traditional vent stack right on the front. Here is one build.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/ac...d-16501-3.html

Thank you, Russel. I don't mind spending the money on the Duravent ells, but I am not sure I can get the pipe to end up where I need it. They make one adjustable section, but I think it is longer than I need.

I have a very short landing, only 13". I plan to fabricate a vent similar to nissanneill and build two angled walls on either side of the opening to set the vent hood on. I like the way aceves did his vent, and I think I can do something similar with non-insulated stove pipe. There is a Durablack product that can mate to the Duravent I already have in place for the chimney and there seem to be a lot more options available in that product line.

I'm off to Chapin to continue on the oven...

[hubert_s]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

I completed the fourth course of bricks today. Starting to look like an oven.

I had some setbacks today. I noticed that the right entry bricks are not where they are supposed to be, they overhang by about 1/4 inch. I was mad at myself until I discovered that they overhang by about an 1/8 inch on the left side, so it's only out by 1/8".

I also discovered a crack in a vertical mortar joint in the second course of bricks. I thought that was only supposed to happen after firing the oven. On closer inspection, I could see through the gap. I scraped all the mortar out with a very thin knife blade and put new mortar in with the knife. Is there a better way to deal with this?

I also noticed some other small cracks in the mortar, maybe due to shrinkage. Is there something I might be doing wrong that would cause this? I am using home brew mortar 3:1:1:1.

[stonecutter]

Re: 36" in Chapin, SC

Are you gauging each component? Clay and Portland shrink when they dry. What's your sand like? Sharp? Fine? Rounded?

You may be adding too much water to the mix, or it's drying too fast.