36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Thanks for the tip on the premix. I made about 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket's worth and sealed it up. Last night was slow due to the slow mixing of the mortar. This will be a big help.

Now I need either a word of relief or some tips/advice.

I have noticed a couple cracks in my mortar, the pics make them seem worse than they are. I just need I know if I'm doing something wrong or if this is normal. I'm soaking my bricks for a few minutes and I've tried thinner and thicker mortar mixes.

I've attached a couple other progress pics.

[Greenman]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

You are starting on the fun part of the build.

Someone else here suggested mixing the dry home brew in larger batches and measuring out the mix as you need it.
I found it helped to sieve everything in the home brew mix and then run the mix through the sieve again to get everything well blended.

good luck with your build.

David

I did that and put it into a bucket with a sealing lid. Saved a lot of mucking around 'in the frenzy' of the build. I think there is still a little in a bucket in the shed. Sieving it is a good idea, gets the crunchy bits out of the fireclay and sand and like you say, it helps incorporate everything.

Good luck with your build Cubslover.

[DavidApp]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

You are starting on the fun part of the build.

Someone else here suggested mixing the dry home brew in larger batches and measuring out the mix as you need it.
I found it helped to sieve everything in the home brew mix and then run the mix through the sieve again to get everything well blended.

good luck with your build.

David

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Thanks. I couldn't find a supplier for any board. Place in Indy was spendy and could break a box. I had to buy 3 times the amount. I am aware of keeping staggered joints but didn't realize i could cut them to do so. Thanks for pointing that out.


I used the 3:1:1:1 homebrew. Stuff is easy to mix up and great to work with.

[dakzaag]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

That looks real nice. Perfect day for it also. As you move up the chains, watch that you are keeping the 1 brick on top of 2. When the brick start to line up, cut a small one or a big one to keep them staggered. Makes for a stronger dome and looks better.

I see you decided to build without any calsil. I understand, I have not been able to find a decent supplier of that stuff myself. I was hoping you would come across some distributor that I hadn't heard of. You are going to leach some heat with the pericrete, but unless you are looking for residual heat five days after the fire, your not going to notice it too much.

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Well, the floor is down and the first cause mortared. The oven opening and vent landing messed with me a bit today before realizing it was simpler than I was making it out to be.

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Since we haven't decided on an oven finish, I'm going to proceed as an Igloo. Which means cutting my floor bricks. I will also be trimming down the insulation layer to the 51" circumference (36+9+6) so as to keep the shape.

Getting started on the brick today...

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

It's the engineer in me. Constantly expanding thoughts, playing with ideas, and examining all the possibilities. Unfortunately, this isn't a medium I'm well versed in. For that, I thank you for your advice and guidance.

[dakzaag]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

You have long time Grasshopper,
Wax on
Wax off

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Good points. Trying to bring in thoughts and possibilities of all types.

Brick is still a very strong option, we shall see.

[dakzaag]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

2 things...
Thing 1, a lot of guys get to the end of the build and really struggle with the last 10 percent of completion because they get burned out. They also really enjoy the cooking part of the new oven and don't want to go back to the hard labor part of mixing and pouring concrete.
Thing 2, depending on the size of your structure, you really don't have to purchase that much of the stone and so cost wise it isn't saving very much money compared to a lot of effort in making the stone and getting the color, texture, and shape just right.

Personally you could not pay me to attempt this, but then I have a deadly allergic reaction to cultured stone, so I may be biased. If thing 1 and 2 do not seem like a big deal now and you reapply the test after oven completion and get the same results, then you should dive right into the ocean of lick and stick adhered stone manufacturing.

I only have one other comment. Wall to wall shag carpeting...ask your parents about it.

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Dave, what are you thoughts on doing stone veneer through pouring your own stacked stone via molds? The molds can be had somewhat cheap and I am not in a hurry to get the veneer up, allowing me time to pour and lay stone as I go. I know the colors need to match, but with proper mixing and proportions and if I mix 5-6 batches together, they may blend well.

I thought it'd be worth a shot and the thought of casting my own stone and applying it at my own pace is appealing.

Anyone else have opinions on this?

[dakzaag]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Yes they are.

[Cubslover]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

I have pics of actual projects with these brick, I did a pizza joint in the clinkers, it turned out great.
If they sell to you direct, and I don't know if the will, you can buy brick from colonial cheaper than any other brick anywhere. I am not sure they will sell direct, because you live in a county where they have a distributor.

I assume Lafayette Masonry is a distributor? We didn't have a chance to go over some options yet, but I really like the look of these Mohawk Clinkers

Thanks!

[Greenman]

Re: 36" Pompeii Build, West Lafayette, IN

Looks like the pics didn't quite work right. If you try the 'go advanced', go for the paper clip and take it from there it should work provided your pics are not too big.