40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

I decided to just leave the small air gap as is. I figured the fiberglass compressed against the dome and floor bricks in that small gap, if anything would increase heat transfer between the two bricks. Last time I checked glass wasn't a very good insulator.

[kbartman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Tony,
Nice looking piece of stone, looking good. I'm sure you would hate to see that piece of stone all chipped up after some oven use. Something that I did on my build you may want to consider on yours. Attached in a picture of oven landing. The stainless tubing serves as a heat break. Added benefit and glad it worked out that way, is protecting the hearth counter and brick edges from chipping and breaking. I would have some pretty severe chips at this point if the smooth raised edge of the stainless was not there. Cast iron pots and grill grates griddle etc... easily slide over the rounded edge. I'm sure I would have chipped something by now if they weren't there.

[Gulf]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

I decided to just leave the small air gap as is. I figured the fiberglass compressed against the dome and floor bricks in that small gap, if anything would increase heat transfer between the two bricks. Last time I checked glass wasn't a very good insulator.

It is the air between the strands that makes glass a better insulator. If it melts and forms a solid then it will perform poorly. But, the Rutland Black is rated to 1000 F. Ceramic Fiber rope would be better, if you can get it. The air gap will work just fine for impeding the heat transfer. But, I think that you need to consider one other possibility. All the smoke must go up your flu, since you have an inside build. You don't want smoke escaping from that joint into your home. Seal it to where there is no possible way for that to happen. Or, ( if it were me) I would just forget about a heatbreak there.

Just Sayin'

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Hmm good point KB on the added protection for the brick and hearth edges. I think (crossing fingers) that I will be ok without. I have a pretty small gap and leveled everything well. My transition area is also quite short so it won't be too hard to put things down beyond the marble/brick interface. I want to avoid dragging things across the marble as much as possible since it is pretty soft and will scratch very easily as is.

Gulf - smoke escaping from around the seam between the dome arch and the transition bricks is a concern. I have a pretty good seal already with the 1/2" thick insulation where I notched the brick up against the dome. I can't say for sure it will be perfect though. I was thinking of maybe doing something like you did with the ceramic board cut to fit over that joint on the outside, and then securing in place on both sides. I was considering using the Jaco Firestop 3000deg caulking to seal between the brick and the board. I think that would give a good seal and offer a little flexibility to the union.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Just a small update with a couple photos. Making progress with the entry way. I think it has finally come together in my mind how I want to construct it. Now just hoping that it performs the way I think it will once in operation!

Photo close up of the notched brick next to the dome with the insulation in place.

Photo which shows mostly one side of the entry about half way done. The line on the dome arch will be the inside face of the remaining entry/flue bricks. The outer arch bricks will extend to the wood form, against the outward face of the flue bricks. This will make a bit of a pocket between the two arches to help collect smoke and keep it from rolling right out the bottom of the outer arch.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Just a small update as I am probably the slowest amateur mason in the world..

Still working on the transition area but finally starting to put in the bricks at the top that will have the transition plate attached!

Three shots of 1 of the 4 pieces. On the backside of the transition area I am going to put in some AlSi board cut to fit between the dome and transition bricks and cement it in with high temperature caulk, like Gulf did with his build. I ordered 2 tubes of JACO firestop which is rated to 3000 F. That should do the trick in making sure no smoke sneaks by the insulation between the dome and transition area.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Anyone have an opinion on whether or not the 2 1/4" thickness of the brick across the top of the flue is thick enough? I designed it with the angled sides so it would support itself even if it cracked at some point. I plan on covering the top completely with 1/2" thick insulation on the top side, under the metal plate. That will stop any smoke coming up through if it does crack. The question is.. should I go thicker on the brick layer?

[david s]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

It looks plenty thick enough to me.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Just an update on the top of the flue area. Got the 4 pieces in finally. So tomorrow I can adjust the hole slightly as it got a little out of round with tweaking the bricks while mortaring them in. The side to side dimension is a tad smaller than it should be and I don't want to restrict the air flow in any way shape or form. Once that is done I can cut the outside arch bricks to wedges and build the outside arch!

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Thanks David for your thoughts. I will be happy if I can just leave as is.. looking forward to getting done cutting bricks! I figure most people use the bricks for the floor at 2 1/4" thick and I can't recall anyone mentioning a brick cracking there. There will be quite a bit of heat on those 4 bricks though!

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Still putzing along here..

Ordered some vent pipe pieces so figured I would work on the plate for the pipe connection. Got the 3/8" steel cut and ground smooth on the edges. Have to locate the hole center and drill the hole. Then weld on the ring. Figure I will put a few studs into the brick and make some oversized holes in the plate to give it a little flexibility to expand/contract. With some 1/2" ceramic insulation under the plate and the weight of the metal, I should only have to lightly snug the nuts down to make a decent seal all around.

Picked up a damper today to install into the vent pipe.. Also ordered a couple pieces of SS. I am going to tie each side of the entry to the dome with 1/8 x 1/2" SS bar to make sure it is good and stable. I also plan on running a strap from one side of the entry across to the other side to add some support against the two sides spreading apart. The tubes of sealant came in so can get the space between the backside of the entry and dome insulated and sealed. So much to yet, besides the outside arch!

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Slowly but surely...

Made some studs to hold the metal stove pipe plate down. Used 1/4" stainless screws. Ground off the screw head and notched around one end so the mortar would hold them in well. Drilled 1/2" holes about 1" deep and mortared them in.

Finished building the front arch. It is 25" across and 14" high. Have the stove adapter installed. Drilled 5/8" holes through the steel so there is a little room for it to expand and contract without stressing the studs. Took a small piece of the ceramic blanket and peeled off about 1/2" thick section and compressed that down to about 3/8" to use under the plate. I was torn between just using high temp caulking or a rigid insulation but decided the blanket would give a better seal over time. Can always change it later if that isn't the case. Some photos of the entry and flue from different angles. Still have to connect the stove pipe, put on the couple braces between the stove and entry way and insulate and caulk between the dome and entry backside. I did start up the electric heater though to slowly warm the bricks and help drive out some moisture, particularly in the outer arch and entry now that all the mortar has set.

The photo looking directly up at the flue, the front of the oven is at the top of the photo.

There will be a vertical piece of marble that will fit over the outer arch, hiding the rest of the bricks and oven..

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Yet another update! Got the vent pipe hooked up although it's just temporary until the elbow I ordered that is the same brand as the other pieces arrives. Tied the entry to the dome with 2 stainless braces. Put some thin strips of the ceramic wool blanket in the crevice between the dome and entry and cut some of the insulation board leftovers to fit. These were caulked in with the Firestop 3000deg caulking.

I should be all good to go with starting to cure the oven. I have run the 1500watt space heater for a number of days and the outside of the dome felt warm. I put some plastic wrap over it and didn't see any moisture condensation. I will most likely get some of the ceramic blanket on the dome before I start firing things up. I have a big bag of lump charcoal to start with.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Update time! Started curing the oven so.. yay!

Photo showing the spot on the dome where the two remote bulb dial thermometers are connected.

Photo of the first curing fire using some lump charcoal. Didn't have an IR thermometer so not sure how hot it got but I don't think it was terribly warm.. I could touch the vent pipe and the outside of the brick got warm but not uncomfortably so. Did not have any insulation on the dome for this first fire which I kept going for about 5 hours.

Photo of the 2nd firing. Used about 15lbs of lump charcoal and was tossing in a few very small twigs of wood here and there. There is one layer of ceramic blanket over the dome. I let the fire burn for about an hour and would move the coals around to a new location. Later on I split it in half and had the coals going on both sides. The IR thermometer was reading around 500 on the brick dome about halfway up with the top of the dome around 450. 6 hours later I let the coals burn down. The outside of the oven, below the blanket, is reading a little over 200. I can feel moisture on the outside of the blanket so clearly driving out some water! Think I will pick up another bag of charcoal and do a similar burn next time as well.

Last photo just to show the corner of the kitchen where this whole project is taking place..Finishing the whole exterior is going to be a project and a half yet!

Also ordered some more tools. Small metal long handled peel and an ember/ash rake thingy.

Also ordered some stainless sheet metal to build an insulated door. I also came to the conclusion when I am firing the oven I NEED a SCREEN to prevent embers from shooting out of the oven and setting the kitchen wood floor on fire! Soooo I ordered some stainless mesh to build one of those that will fit inside the outer arch...

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Decided to close up the oven with the old arch form now that most of the embers have burned down. Curious to see what temperature the oven stabilizes at. The inside bricks around the dome were reading low 300's. I lifted the blanket in one spot where it was moist earlier and the outside surface of the brick was reading 220 and I couldn't feel any condensation between the blanket and the brick.