New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Yeah it's been bugging me all night. Going to tear it apart and redo it. I had it good yesterday then when it broke was rushed for time and didn't do a good job.

[cobblerdave]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day
You'll have to look at it for a long time so if it was me I'd rebuild it. Brick from both sides till you get to the gape in the middle then cut yourself a cardboard template. Cut of 5 mm to account for a mortar gape the use it to cut a Custom Keystone.
Regards Dave

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

So I had my oven vent and outer arch done when I noticed the bottom of the opening for my flue wasn't wide enough... Despite my better judgement I took out the arch forms and of course it broke I was grinding it out as it hadn't set yet. I repaired it today and failed to check my work before putting on the flue and noticed that my arch is totally out of whack. The worst part was my wife noticed but didn't say anything as she didn't think that I was done. I still have the bricks to clean up and I'm hoping that I'll be able to salvage the look when I build the support wall and another outer arch. If I can't cover it up with a decorative arch I may tear it out and rebuild. I don't think that it'll affect how it works just a bit disappointed on how it turned out.

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Yeah I want to make sure they are as clean as possible before using them. I've had to use a chisel to clean them a couple years ago and that was quite time consuming. Was hoping I didn't have to clean the shadow on them.

[Gulf]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Awesome that saves me lots of time(which I seem to have very little pf) manually cleaning those things. I am getting my forms finished and I have some time off work on Thursday which I hope to put a dent in getting the opening ready for the vent.

Just to be sure that I was undertood. Clean them with a hatchet or brick trial until the old lime mortar is no thicker tha 1/8th of an inch. The bricks in your pic looked very clean, using that standard .

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Leave them as is. The patina (those patches of lime mortar) will look great .

Awesome that saves me lots of time(which I seem to have very little pf) manually cleaning those things. I am getting my forms finished and I have some time off work on Thursday which I hope to put a dent in getting the opening ready for the vent.

[Gulf]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

These are the bricks I have that were used in a chimney. They are from 1957 and have some old mortar on them. I've got most of it off but what's the best way to clean them up?

[ATTACH]44477[/ATTACH]

Leave them as is. The patina (those patches of lime mortar) will look great .

[Gulf]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day bigT
I hate to knock anyone's work... But ... This next stage, the outer brickwork, were going to bring up the standard .
It's not you brickworks not workable cause it is. Is just its a bit cement stained.
I'm the first to admit to being "Masonry inpaired". But I didn't get to this stage without learning at least something.
2 buckets of water with sponges or cloth. A pr of rubber gloves. When the cement starts to set its the first bucket, which will be the dirty one, wash down the brick and mortar in one sweep . It will smooth things off. A small length of a garden hose and run it around the mortar joints to smooth and even them out.
Leave it for a bit longer till the lime starts to haze up and use the clean water to sponge off the brick surface not the mortar. Change this water often.
This way you'll end up with the best finish for your outer brick.
We are in the first days of spring your into autumn and winters real close. There's a lot of pressure to finish this fast and waterproof
Regards dave

Dave,

Take it from an old "brick tender". That technique works pretty good on the firebrick inside the dome. I was even surprised myself how well it worked. The haze will burn of anyway. But, that technique works best for glazed tiles, not porous brick.

For the outside face brick, there is a better way.

First, the mortar needs to be mixed to the right consistency. When a brick is set, the excess mortar may bulge outside of the joint. It may even fall to the floor. But, it should not run down the wall. That is to soupy. Second the mortar needs to be left alone for about an hour to an hour and a half. That time can vary due to temperature and humidity. Tooling the joints too early, can cause smearing. Smearing will press the mortar well in to the pores of the brick. Washing it down with water, before the mortar has set, will just spread the haze.

Mortar that just touches the outside of the face brick will be easy to remove. If it is not disturbed too early. Only when the joints are ready to be tooled, is it he time to cut the excess mortar off with a trial. After tooling or raking, use a very stiff brush to clean the joints and the face of the brick.

Only those few times when it rained before the mortar joints were set, have I needed to come back and acid wash sections of brick walls which got wet to early. Those sections would have that glaze which made them stand out drastically from the rest of the brick. Washing face brick, too early on small projects, may look okay, if there is no way to compare it to the natural color and patina of the origional brick. That advice doubles for the patina of old used brick. Even acid cleaning will not bring back the pretty white look of old lime morar.

I never considered myself as "brick layer". But, I was once, one hll of a "brick tender" .

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

These are the bricks I have that were used in a chimney. They are from 1957 and have some old mortar on them. I've got most of it off but what's the best way to clean them up?

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Question about curing. This is taken from the curing thread:

To be safe, here is a good curing schedule.

1. Let the oven sit for a week or so after you have finished the dome.

I completed my dome last week and put on the outside coat of mortar. I'm hoping I to get my vent done this week. Do I have to wait a week after I get my vent done before curing or is simply waiting a week from when I completed the dome sufficient?

[cobblerdave]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day
If you'll best get the oven finished up to a few fires that's great!
Fires... Any fires you can cook in.. Enjoy them for what they are.
Remember it not just pizza.. Lots of other things are great
Regards dave

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day bigT
I hate to knock anyone's work... But ... This next stage, the outer brickwork, were going to bring up the standard .
It's not you brickworks not workable cause it is. Is just its a bit cement stained.
I'm the first to admit to being "Masonry inpaired". But I didn't get to this stage without learning at least something.
2 buckets of water with sponges or cloth. A pr of rubber gloves. When the cement starts to set its the first bucket, which will be the dirty one, wash down the brick and mortar in one sweep . It will smooth things off. A small length of a garden hose and run it around the mortar joints to smooth and even them out.
Leave it for a bit longer till the lime starts to haze up and use the clean water to sponge off the brick surface not the mortar. Change this water often.
This way you'll end up with the best finish for your outer brick.
We are in the first days of spring your into autumn and winters real close. There's a lot of pressure to finish this fast and waterproof
Regards dave

No worries CD...Im totally masonry impaired and take all the advice I can get. Before this project I had never laid a brick before.

Thanks for the advice on how to clean the bricks. I was thinking that I would have to be more careful on the outside and wasnt sure what Id have to do to keep the bricks clean.

As far as move oven progress goes, my intent was to finish the opening and get the flue in place and do my cure fires, leaving the insulation and finishing brick for next year and cover the oven with a tarp for the Winter and finish in the spring. I may have time to do the insulation this year and to put a coat of stucco on the outside, but the brick finish like I plan to do likely wont happen due to lack of time.

[cobblerdave]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day bigT
I hate to knock anyone's work... But ... This next stage, the outer brickwork, were going to bring up the standard .
It's not you brickworks not workable cause it is. Is just its a bit cement stained.
I'm the first to admit to being "Masonry inpaired". But I didn't get to this stage without learning at least something.
2 buckets of water with sponges or cloth. A pr of rubber gloves. When the cement starts to set its the first bucket, which will be the dirty one, wash down the brick and mortar in one sweep . It will smooth things off. A small length of a garden hose and run it around the mortar joints to smooth and even them out.
Leave it for a bit longer till the lime starts to haze up and use the clean water to sponge off the brick surface not the mortar. Change this water often.
This way you'll end up with the best finish for your outer brick.
We are in the first days of spring your into autumn and winters real close. There's a lot of pressure to finish this fast and waterproof
Regards dave

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks CD and NCMan. I poured water on the bricks on the dome before applying mortar but I may have tried putting it on too thick at first. It was also pretty sunny when I did it. I do plan on insulating and then putting some bricks on the outside so it should be well covered

[NCMan]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Those are probably shrinkage cracks. Usually caused by the mortar drying out too quickly. If the surface was dry and/or you put it on too thick or too wet, it can do that. Usually not much to worry about, as long as they will be covered up from the weather later on.