42" Idaho spud

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

David, both are very valid points. I've thought about drilling holes in the basin. I wondered if they would allow moisture in from below though. Although, the storage areas under it should be dry usually. As for the slope, I did slope it away ever so slightly. And, I will be doing a framed enclosure and will further seal against water where the walls of the enclosure meet the slab.

Thanks, Alex

[MattC]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Great looking Build. I too have been lurking for a while and am getting ready to get started. Thanks for posting all those pics. I have never laid a brick before so a little clueless starting out.

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Well, spring time in Idaho can be a little fickle.

So, I decided to work on building some templates.


The weather has turned nice again and I was able to pick up what I thought was going to be all my building supplies. I got the ceramic fiber board, fiber blanket, and fire brick. Unfortunately, there was some misunderstanding on getting fire clay. Turns out the refractory dealer doesn't carry the stuff. They had some pre-mixed stuff called Sairset. I did a little quick research and it looks like it's not good for Pompeii ovens. Sadly, nobody in S.E. Idaho carries fire clay and even fewer know what it is. If any locals are reading this and have some suggestions of where to find some, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[Greenman]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

You could use the 'sawdust' from cutting your firebricks as the fireclay, it is the same material.

I am pleased that I live in a place without the snow and virtually without winter as you know it.

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Ah, winter isn't too bad... as long as you didn't plan on doing anything outside ;-) Truth be told, we need the moisture.

Yeah, I'll reclaim the fire brick sediment from my steely HF brick saw. I should, hopefully, get enough from cutting the floor bricks and first course bricks to set the floor bricks in place and maybe even make enough mortar to start on the first chain.

[RandyJ]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

I am just waiting for that to happen here. I think it snowed in may here last year.

Randy

[hodgey1]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Looking good SharpT. Give us an update.

[william]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

A good ceramics supply will have fire clay
Bill

[deejayoh]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Don't worry about fireclay! You'll be throwing it away by the bucketload when you start cutting bricks. You'll have enough from cutting your floor bricks to get you started - and then you just get more from there. Especially if you're tapering your bricks.

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Hey guys, thanks for the replies and the interest :-) I've been busy but not really much on the WFO. I did round up the materials for the homebrew. Thanks for the tip for looking for fireclay at a ceramics dealer. Capital Ceramics in SLC had some in stock and they're very pleasant to work with. And, I have been saving the brick dust from cutting the floor bricks.

When I went to the store to get my sand, I picked up a big bag of quartz sand. I hope that the right stuff??

I pulled off the forms from the hearth and stained and sealed the hearth. Heres what it looks like:

The weather forecast has been showing high probabilities of rain forever now so I've been waiting to start the dome build until I can let my hearth dry sufficiently. As DavidS suggested, I'm going to drill some holes in the hearth where the octovoid is so that the water can drain and then in case there ever is a bit of water that finds its way inside the enclosure it might help to drain.

Just as a side note, I'm also building a waterfall and pond. It will be made out of concrete and stone and that's sort of related to the kind of stuff on here that we like ;-) so here's a shot of the rain and mud I get to play in right now:

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

For some reason I lost the link to that last pic. Anywho. it's fixed. Sadly, its pouring rain right now and has been all night. Guess no working on the yard or the oven today :-(

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

I love the recessed support slab! It will protect your insulation nicely during the build.

[sharptailhunter]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Thanks, John! The recess didn't turn out as nicely as yours did but I agree with you, it should help to protect my ceramic fiber board. Also, I didn't want to pour it after the oven was built, figured might as well do it all in one pour.

I got the floor bricks cut and they're just waiting for their turn to be placed... if the rains would ever stop!

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: 42" Idaho spud

Hey Alex,

Your build is looking awesome. Nice job and keep up the good work!

Nate

[sharptailhunter]

Well, I've been busy trying to get some other things done around the yard and as such the WFO had to take a back seat. I had to put in a sprinkler system, lay sod, and worked on the water feature.


Thank you to all those friendly forum members who helped with the questions I had about the waterfall. I got sick of mortaring rocks to concrete so I decided begin working on the oven again. All I really got done today was cutting the insulation board and placing/leveling the floor bricks on the insulation.

Here's the first inch of 4" of insulation.

Here's the rest of it.

That stuff was way nasty to cut! Despite all the protective clothing and equipment, I'm still itching. As you can tell in the background, the skies were getting darker. I didn't have time to get a shot of the floor bricks down before it started to rain. So, I covered it all up and will hit it tomorrow. Centering and leveling the floor bricks took longer than I imagined. Wait, this whole project has taken wayyy longer than I imagined :-)