New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

[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?

[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?

[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" .

[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 .

[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

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

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.

[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.

[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

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 bigT
My first arch was a dismal failure. I ended up with a square entrance as a result. Later I added another arch to the front of my oven in an effort to protect it from the elements. I saw another build on the forum who had built an arch from pressed clay pavers. I was amazed by the small mortar gapes that resulted from the thinner units.
I set out a piece of cardboard drew a horizontal line, marked out the width l had to span then 1/2 it. Drew a line up from that 1/2 way point then I layed out my pavers on the cardboard on one half. Using cardboard spacers to take into account the nearly zero mortar joint I needed on the inside edge. When I dry stacked the pavers till they looked right. Drew a line underneath the payers folded my cardboard in 1/2 and cut out my patern. You cut the drawn line out of your pattern otherwise it grows in size.
Cause then you then transfer it to your arch template and again cut out the line and there you have it.
I used this method and it worked, if you follow the link to my build it shows my front arch and you see the results.
Hope this helps
Regards dave

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

I redid the arch today. Tried twice and this was the better of the 2. It's not 100% but likely as close as I will get it. The brick will get cleaned up once I get my kids down for their nap

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

Here's my arch redone

[thebigt]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

On Sunday I cleaned up the bricks and also got my flue attached. I want to try one 2' piece and will add another if needed.



Regarding the curing process the curing oven thread has different advice than the Pompeii Oven plans. The plans say to start with a 300 degree fire and the thread says newspaper only for a week. Which is the best approach?

My outside coat of mortar on the dome has been on Since Aug29th, however I just completed the entrance on Sunday. I'm thinking that I should wait until this Sunday to begin curing the oven.

The weather has also began turning with us getting temps as low as -3Celcius this week and when it's above zero we've gotten rain. I'm hoping to get the insulation done this year now, but not sure with the weather. Some places just south of us have started getting snow already. I have 4"x4" page wire kicking around, am I better off using Chicken wire to cover the insulation before putting stucco on? Do I need to secure the chicken wire to the brick to hold it in place?

[cobblerdave]

Re: New 32" build in Saskatchewan, Canada

G'day BigT
The rain and the open insulation isn't a good combination. Keep it covered as the insulation will soak up that moisture .
As for the bird wire wrap it at round the oven cutting out the entrance, you end up with a big tube. Cut down from the top and fold down against the dome surface. Any baggy bits, grab the wire with the nose of you pliers and twist sideways. It really doesn't have to be tight just close enough to the dome to account for the thickness of the render. If you make it to tight the render can't get behind it.
As for curing... Thing drying. Use charcoal BBQ beads in a tin or pan full of holes on a couple of brick bits off the hearth. It will burn for hours safely unattended. Best no flames on the roof of the oven. You might not get it dry enough by what your saying but yet again you could get a warm spell? You never know
Regards dave