42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

[Yannick]

Hello,
I started on my project about a month ago.
Now I am at the stage where I need to position my oven and I have a couple of questions because the instructions are not too clear on that.
- How far from the back should the oven be?
Right now my guess is to place my center point of the dome at the same distance from the sides and back. So if the center of the dome is 35.5" from the left and right side, it should also be 35.5" from the back as well?

My second question is about putting the oven floor in place.
I read that I should not use Heat stop 50 because of the cement part.
I also saw a video of a guy using a clay slip, soak the brick in water first then dips the brick a 5th of the way in the slip and lay the floor.
Is the slip an appropriate method? I used to make pottery and I have a bag of powered clay. Could I make a slip with it to lay the floor down?

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

I have attached some photos of the progress.
More photos to come.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

More pictures.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

I mixed everything in the wheel barrel. It gets old afterwards.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

Building the stand. That was my first time building a wall using blocks.
I guessed the space between blocks but it worked out.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

I covered the front with top sand mix to cover the angle iron.
I ran out or mix and I need to ad another coat because when I poured the slab I have drips all over.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

I chose to use Durock boards.
I was surprise how still fragile they are. I heard crunches here and there when I first handled them so I was getting more careful with them.
I also used some cable across the frame to prevent bowing the frame.
I saw that on other pictures and I thought that was a good idea.
When I look back I think I should have left more space between the rebars and the Durock boards.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

On the second picture, I was trying to fit the layout. I think the manual is not very clear where to position it. In fact, I answered the first question of the post myself.
It made sense to use the same distance in the back and on the sides, that's why there is 2 blue lines. I moved the center of the oven 4 inches to the back.
You can see the drips on the front wall that I will address later.
The last picture is the frame for the insulating layer.
I will use Vermiculite and portland cement (5:1).
Now, I have to raise the frame by .5 inch to have a total of 4 inches (because the 2x4 are 3.5 inches).
Also in this configuration the layer will be 2 inches wider than the oven except for the front. Is that overkill? Should I frame it exactly under the oven instead?
If I can get an answer before long that would be great, I will be working on it in 30 minutes when I get home.

[Gulf]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

Looks like you've got it going on there Yannick,

I know that I did not make your deadline, but 2" wider than the dome is just fine for the vcrete. But, do put a layer of plastic between the concrete and the vcrete, if it is not to late .

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

Thank you Gulf.
No worries about the deadline at all.
I will definitely use plastic before I pour the vcrete.
I still have some 6 mil film that I used in the foundation.
I just bought the vermiculite at the HomeDepot. It was a medium size but when I looked it is super small. Looks like a bunch of dried fruit flies . Is that the right stuff? It does say Vermiculite on it.
The picture I took tonight is the frame for the vcrete secured. All that is missing is the plastic.

[Gulf]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

That vermiculite is probobably OK, but a little pricey! You may be able to price around some of your local "independent" plant nurseries for medium grade. They, usually get it in 4 cubic foot bags. Most of the time, they are little cheaper than the "big box" stores .

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

If you don't mind me asking, why the film under the vcrete?
Won't it be a problem that the oven is "floating" on the slab?

[Gulf]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

If you don't mind me asking, why the film under the vcrete?
Won't it be a problem that the oven is "floating" on the slab?

The moisture barrier is to help guard against wicking water from the concrete under your insulation layer. What do you mean by floating? These things are heavy . I don't give advice for eartquake zones or trailor builds, if you are referring to lateral movement .

[stonecutter]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

If you don't mind me asking, why the film under the vcrete?
Won't it be a problem that the oven is "floating" on the slab?

There is no bond that can be established between the structural slab and the insulating slab that is of any benefit at all. The waterproof membrane is going to stop moisture migration into the slab, and then the hearth itself. There is no way or need to establish a cohesive bond between any of the layers, a gravity/friction bond does the job.

[Yannick]

Re: 42" Pompeii oven in Gloucester, Virginia.

Ok thanks for the explanation. I appreciate it.
I did put the film tonight by your recommendation and poured the vcrete.
And you were right again about the cost of the vermiculite at the local nursery.
The 4 cu feet bag was $28.
Tonight I used 9 cu feet of vermiculite to fill up the form.
I didn't take a picture because it was night time already.