Randy's dreams do come true oven build

[RandyJ]

My handles are made from 4" U bolts that I got from menards. I have not noticed that the handles or front get all that hot. I have 4" of ceramic board insulation inside and the handles only go in as far as the nut and then I cut them off. So there is 3.5" of insulation between them and the inside of the oven. I have never needed gloves so far so I think I am safe.

Randy

[JRPizza]

Randy, I should have asked you this a while back when we were talking door construction. Where did you get the handles you used for your door, and how hot do they and the face of your door get? Deejayoh also used solid handles and said they don't get too hot, so I am weighing spring handles for the look vs solid for cost/simplicity.

[thomasmn]

Don't mean to Hijack the thread Randy, but...Howdy Thomas! It's great that you've got Randy in the loop for your build. Have you considered making your foundation slab a little bigger...at least in the front of the oven where you'll spend a lot of time. A little more concrete pad on the other sides to help water to run away from the build base wouldn't hurt either. If you can finish the concrete to slope away from the center it will help keep the working area a lot drier.

I was also going to do something similar for my foundation slab when my wife noted that I'd be tracking in mud and dirt all the time (and she was not going to be happy). I don't know if you are planning some gravel or paver stones in front of the oven, but in the long run (IMHO) simply extending just the foundation out enough to work the oven--so you don't end up standing in mud--will serve you well (doesn't need to be 8" thick). And having some walk-around foundation area (with runoff design) will give you some good advantages against those torrential rainstorms that frequent the mid-west.

Good luck with your build and I know you'll have a great time overseas with the kids.

I certainly thought about making the slab bigger, but given that I want to build a patio around the oven I didn't want too much concrete sticking out. I was thinking of getting a couple large concrete pavers to put in front of the oven while I'm working on it. I am certainly thinking of making it slightly sloped to have water run off of it better and also have a way for water to drain out from inside the cinder blocks (Weep holes?). At this point though the slab size is probably set as it is the only thing the city wants to have inspected.

Gastagg, I will certainly start a thread when I have done some actual work! I contacted the place in Farmington that you mentioned in the other thread and he will get back to me later this week or next for the materials I need. I also picked up the plate compactor from HF when they had the 25% off as I figured I'd be spending at least that much on renting one from the Depot when doing the base for the oven as well as the big patio.

RandyJ, okay, so I think I'll stick with the 8" and go with 3/8" rebar on 6x6" grid. I was planning on having rebar stick up to where I put the cinder blocks and I'm dry-stacking the cinder blocks in the garage at the moment so I can mark on the form where the rebar needs to stick up! I was also thinking of running some pvc conduit for power so I don't have to drill through the slab later. How did you handle that for your build? I see a lot opting for mixing themselves for the slab, but checking with Cemstone the cost is not much more to have 1.5 yard delivered than it would cost in bags + delivery + mixer rental.

Okay.. I will try to start a thread this weekend as I hopefully kick off my build.

[RandyJ]

I was all over the book when I layed the foundation slab. I went 12" thick 12" in all the way around the perimeter. The middle is 6" thick. I have a grid of 1\2" rebar on a 8" x 8" grid. I live in a area that is all sand so I did no further ground prep. I may have been lucky but had no movement at all this winter.

If you do the ground prep like gastagg then you should not have a problem. Also you should be just fine with 6 ". That said a bigger pad is always nice unless you are putting it next to a patio then it is unnecessary.

OK I see. I thought your association wanted you done in 2.5 months. And I was like wow that will be fast. You can leave off wherever just make sure to water proof it so the insulation does not get wet.

I would also suggest that you put rebar sticking up out of the slab so your base has something to grab on to. It just needs to stick up a foot or so. Just make sure you know where the block voids will be that you are going to core fill. That will help make everything nice and solid.

As the others have said you should start a build thread. It helps keep all your thoughts in one spot, and makes it easier for people to help you.

Randy

[gastagg]

Thomas, I've got a 6" slab on top of 6" of compacted class II/V gravel which is on top of compacted dirt (using a plate compactor). Had no issues with winter. Also, I would suggest starting your own build thread

[SableSprings]

Don't mean to Hijack the thread Randy, but...Howdy Thomas! It's great that you've got Randy in the loop for your build. Have you considered making your foundation slab a little bigger...at least in the front of the oven where you'll spend a lot of time. A little more concrete pad on the other sides to help water to run away from the build base wouldn't hurt either. If you can finish the concrete to slope away from the center it will help keep the working area a lot drier.

I was also going to do something similar for my foundation slab when my wife noted that I'd be tracking in mud and dirt all the time (and she was not going to be happy). I don't know if you are planning some gravel or paver stones in front of the oven, but in the long run (IMHO) simply extending just the foundation out enough to work the oven--so you don't end up standing in mud--will serve you well (doesn't need to be 8" thick). And having some walk-around foundation area (with runoff design) will give you some good advantages against those torrential rainstorms that frequent the mid-west.

Good luck with your build and I know you'll have a great time overseas with the kids.

[thomasmn]

Hi Thomas glad to see you are almost ready to start. If you are not doing the stone veneer like I did 2.5 months might be do able. I don't know what your skill level is like but for sure you are going to need to just do beveled bricks not tapered. At this time of year you might get a week or two in a row when you can't work because of the weather so if you have some way to weather proof the area that will help. My guess is that you will have around 150 hours of labor maby a little more to get that done. So you might want to plan some vacation days to work on the oven. You can get a lot done in that time frame. The nice thing is that you will have the rest of the summer to enjoy the oven. If you have any questions send me a private message and I will do my best to help you out. I like the look you have set up there. Can't wait to see you get started.

Randy

The approval from HOA is in and I am going to get started ASAP. I'm already starting to doubt myself as I put down an 8" slab in my plan, but not sure if I really need that and if it changes how to reinforce it with rebar. Did you do 6"? No tubes down right?

I won't be able to use the oven if I am able to finish in 2 1/2 months as I'm going overseas for a bit with my kids, so I have to figure out when my cut-off point for not going any further is!

[RandyJ]

Hi Thomas glad to see you are almost ready to start. If you are not doing the stone veneer like I did 2.5 months might be do able. I don't know what your skill level is like but for sure you are going to need to just do beveled bricks not tapered. At this time of year you might get a week or two in a row when you can't work because of the weather so if you have some way to weather proof the area that will help. My guess is that you will have around 150 hours of labor maby a little more to get that done. So you might want to plan some vacation days to work on the oven. You can get a lot done in that time frame. The nice thing is that you will have the rest of the summer to enjoy the oven. If you have any questions send me a private message and I will do my best to help you out. I like the look you have set up there. Can't wait to see you get started.

Randy

[thomasmn]

Waiting for the HOA approval to come this week and City Approval is taken care of. I ended up going with something closer to Dino's layout for the base, but your roof stayed as I really liked the design. I'm going to stucco the entire outside once done, but leaving the option to use a veneer like yourself if I don't like the look. I have 2 1/2 months to get it done and currently working on a small project plan to see if that is even possible to achieve. Acquired most tools already like the HF saw, HF tamper, etc.

[RandyJ]

Hi Thomas. Yes you need to see what you want for a overall height for the oven. I think mine is at 44" and that seams pretty good for most so far. I could see another 2"maby but it will get pretty high after that.

Yes I am pretty sure that a 42 "oven would fit just fine on a stand the size of mine. I made it a little over sized to have room to stand as I built the oven. I wish I had some computer skills. All I did was draw out my layout on the patio and put my cutout floor on the drawing and said that will work. And then winged it from there.

Yes I am very happy with the counter and its location. I had at first thought about running the roof over the counter but I was worried about the wind catching it and wrecking something. Plus I like the look I have and it would not have been the same.

Randy

[thomasmn]

Thanks Randy, I do appreciate it. Still working on the sketches in Sketchup. I'm a bit taller (6' 4") so I am currently debating adding another course of half thickness cinder blocks to get the floor closer to 48". I plan on doing a template to mock up the height. I had a Primavera 60 at my old house and I did have to bend over quite a bit so I figure I better get the height right now. I can always build a little platform for my kids to stand on when they want to learn how to cook pizzas.

Do you think there's room enough in your top to do a 42" oven? My math and mocking up in Sketchup seems to indicate that there is just enough to make it fit.

I really like your wing with the counter top - are you happy with the location and height? Do you wish it was covered like the oven? Did you plan on doing anything else to it? It may be a stretch but I really would like to do a tandoor oven at the end of it.

[RandyJ]

Hi Thomas I how are you. I got my supplies from a number of places including Headburg, Demo Plus, Smith-Sharpe, and McGills warehouse online. I always had a good experience with Smith-Sharpe and they have pretty much all the stuff you will need. I got my ceramic board from McGills. They were very prompt on the shipping and with shipping the price still seamed reasonable. So make sure you look around a little bit.

I would love to see your design. I hope you have the same luck I did in regards to the city. Mine did not want a permit for building or fires, so I lucked out there. I hope your association is nice to deal with. But I am sure all will be good.

If you have any questions just let me know. I will do my best to help as I have had a ton of help from others here on the forum. If you want send me a Pm and I will give you my phone number, and once it warms up a little you can stop by and take a look. It might answer a few questions you might have.

Randy

[thomasmn]

That is a interesting idea. I might have to look in to that. I just got a book about cheese making for xmas. I think they have recipes for yogurt in there too. I always have whole milk on hand with a 18 month old on hand. And it would be nice to find other things to make. I think my price per pizza (or ppp)is now down to $83.33. So my last party with 12 pizzas was worth $1000. At least they keep coming down in price.

Randy

I've read over your build thread about twice now and I'm about a week or so away from submitting plans to both our association and the city here in Rosemount. My design is heavily influenced by both your corner build as well as the need for being covered here in MN! Looks like there are at least a few places to get my supplies from around here, but I'd love to hear where you had some good experience.. Smith-Sharpe's? RSI (St Paul)?

[Mullins]

That sounds like a interesting idea there gulf. I have heard that there is not much ash that sticks to the food doing it that way. I also know that my wife would not be impressed if I cooked something that way for her. But you are right it definitely expands the posability of what you can cook with the oven. I have only just begun to find what all I can do with mine.

As a side note when I opened the door last night it had been 10 days since the last fire and I made bread the day after and I for got to take a reading but I would place money on the oven being at least 90F. It has been at or below freezing the whole time. I had forgotten my cast iron skillet that I used to steam the oven in it and it was above skin temp still. Pretty crazy how long these things can hold heat.

Randy

Check out Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann for cooking in the embers. He does a good bit of it, especially vegetables (and not in foil). His book Seven Fires is very good and interesting also...

Eoin

[RandyJ]

That is a interesting idea. I might have to look in to that. I just got a book about cheese making for xmas. I think they have recipes for yogurt in there too. I always have whole milk on hand with a 18 month old on hand. And it would be nice to find other things to make. I think my price per pizza (or ppp)is now down to $83.33. So my last party with 12 pizzas was worth $1000. At least they keep coming down in price.

Randy