Starting over

[thesharkbar]

Hi all
Been a while the four week has turned into fourteen weeks and looks like i could be there for another eight to ten weeks
Im going to attempt to get some done this week end as the sports have all finished
Keep you all posted

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

Slow going at the moment as Ive been put on day shift for 4 weeks and i can only work on the oven on saturdays as sundays are taken up with the kids sports
Got the arch up and most of the first course in yesterday

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

Hi all
got around to doing some more work on the wfo
decided to go with the dome on top of the floor
finally feel like I'm going forward again
First one going backward pulling it apart to put insulation in
second one all the bricks from the floor and the dome cleaned and numbered
third one the new insulation and the last one, where I'm at now ready to start the dome again

[Greenman]

Re: Starting over

My understanding of this is that if there is a small gap between the hearth and the dome that each can expand and contract independently. The gap will fill with ash and poses no issues that I have heard mentioned on the forum.

The ovens I have built have been done this way and there are no issues with them.

As for the cons............. over to the people who have a different experience to mine. I suspect that both would work fine.

[david s]

Re: Starting over

What's the pros and cons with having the floor on the inside of the dome compared to under the dome?

Dome on top of floor means you don't have to worry about making really accurate cuts for the outer floor bricks. Forget about replacing any of those bricks down the track, they will be extremely difficult to remove and replace.

Floor inside the dome will take more time to cut and lay.

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

What's the pros and cons with having the floor on the inside of the dome compared to under the dome?

[Greenman]

Re: Starting over

I would cut the floor bricks to fit inside the dome and lay the first course of dome bricks on the insulation and mortar them together but not down.

I am sure that there are two schools of thought about this but having the floor and the dome independent of each other makes sense to me. It has also worked for me and that is where my opinion is formed.

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

Thanks Dave

First layer of dome bricks will be on the floor bricks
How thick should the layer of sand and clay mix be?

[cobblerdave]

Re: Starting over

G'day
The hearth bricks are not mortared at all. Lay them on 50/50 sand and powdered clay. Make sure the sids of your brick touch before dropping them in position. A tap with a rubber mallet and a straight lenght of wood will see them level
First layer of dome bricks are mortared on the sides but not the bottom. If you are laying them on the insulation and you concerned with water from the mortar a smear of table margerine will protect it. It will bio degrade and will not effect anything.

Regards dave

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

Hi all, back all relaxed and ready to start again
Had a wonderful time on the cruise
Ive rebuilt the base and have done the slab on the top, now ready for the insulation and start again third time lucky lol

Couple of questions i have
1 with the insulation board they told me not to get it wet, so does that mean that i dont use mortar on the floor bricks

2 since i bought seconds for the floor bricks and they are not all even height wise can i put a small bed of sand in between the insulation board and the floor bricks to level them

Thanks all in advance
Adrian

[cobblerdave]

Re: Starting over

G'day
Use any chipped brick in the front quarter of the oven. Once it's complete they can't be seen unless you climb headfirst in oven on your back and look back to the entrance.
Regards dave

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

The floor ones I have are fire bricks I picked up about 30 of them at $1 a brick and the normal fire bricks at $2.50 each
The normal ones will probably get me by for the dome, I did buy about 20-30 extra but as I've pulled it down twice now I'm slowly running out of bricks lol

[deejayoh]

Re: Starting over

What are those floor bricks made of? Are they firebrick, or something else? They look a bit different, why I ask.

Your oven looks to be on the smaller side. maybe 32 inches? If it were me, I would use standard firebrick. If you fit them inside the oven, it's maybe 20 bricks. But I know that firebrick is pricey down under - so that's probably a consideration. Why it's pricey I really don't know - given that you have about half the world's alumina reserves. But that must another thing I don't understand.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Starting over

G'day
I'd go with what you have, you've got the insulation covered now so that's the important bit.
Regards dave

[thesharkbar]

Re: Starting over

I already have the floor bricks the are 40mm and the bricks on the dome are normal size bricks I'm just wondering if 40mm is ok or should I have the same size as the dome as I've already pulled it down twice I just want to make sure before I go ahead
Just paranoid lol