Pompeii started in San Jose

[RandyJ]

Honestly most of what you are looking for is not that hard to find either locally or on the Internet if you look in the right places. I for one if you can afford it would say to put 4" of the ceramic board insulation under the oven. You will then have almost 0 heat loss down through the slab. I got my bricks from a place the does boiler repair. I also got my blanket from them too. As for the bricks if you get the kit you could run out of bricks depending on how you do the cuts , and then you will need to find more bricks locally any way. That is my take on it anyway

Randy

[SteveB48]

Picking up bricks tomorrow. Finally able to get back to it.

Steve

[SteveB48]

Hi All,

Spent most of the weekend cutting bricks. When mortaring the dome, do you apply the mortar to the brick(s?) and then squish it into place so there are no mortar joints inside the oven or do you hold the bricks in their proper position and force mortar into the joint from the outside? On the non-dome bricks, like the arch, what size mortar joint are you shooting for?

Finally making progress!

thanks
Steve

[RandyJ]

Hi Steve. I put the mortar on the brick and squished it in to place. I figured that would give me the best adhesion and least air bubbles between the bricks.

Randy

[Larry P]

Hi Steve. I put the mortar on the brick and squished it in to place. I figured that would give me the best adhesion and least air bubbles between the bricks.

Same here. I had some gaps inside the dome, but shallow and easy enough to tuck-point. If you're worried about your brickwork, just look up some of the ovens from the most revered builders in Napoli. Looks like you're off to a great start!

[RandyJ]

I would agree. We all see flaws in our own builds that are not. We as a whole build much prettier ovens than what pro oven builders do. Because we take time to get everything all lined up and set just so. They slap them together so they can make money. But all perform the same when done and should stand for centuries. After all most that see your oven won't look inside and the few that do won't know what they are looking at and will be very impressed that you built this.

Randy

[UtahBeehiver]

Nice brick work. Just a tip, be sure you have a plan on the type of arch, ie tapered arch, before you start mortaring in your courses. It is much easier to tie into an arch.

[SteveB48]

Thanks guys. Soldier row is mortared. I think I learned a little with each brick. Started out with too much mortar and trying to press them together. What seemed to work was less mortar, none on the inside edge, and then press the bricks together while wiggling it into position. I was taking the bricks right out of my bucket of water and then mortaring but it seemed to work better to take the brick out 30 seconds or maybe a minute before I needed it.

I do have the arch drawn out but I haven't cut those bricks yet. Hopefully this weekend.

Steve

[Novaslo]

One of my goals was to have a Mortarless inside, to my dome. In doing that, mortaring in a clean way was very difficult. I ended up using a Mortar Bag. Similar to a bag you would use to make a cake. Amazon has them for 8.00 or so. This changed the game for me. I was able to focus on a really clean joint. Put a wet brick in place and squirt in my mortar. In some cases it would be a bit wet. But as it set up, I would add thicker mortar. It was the game changer I needed to mortar quickly and cleanly. Also I was able to mix mortar in the bag by sound. All good.

[RandyJ]

If you are going to go that route then you better not taper just bevel the bricks. Or you are not going to get much mortar in to the joint, and will pretty much just have a dry stacked dome. I don't think that is such a good plan. If you are careful you can butter up the brick and wiggle it in to place and not get mortar out the front. That is my .02$

Randy

[UtahBeehiver]

Do watch the bond alignment, notice on the last pic the joints were starting to line up rather than stagger on the last dry fit course. Use a rubber mallet to set the front joint for smaller mortar seams. Also, at the end of the day mortar in a brick on the next course so it gives you an anchor for the next day's work, especially on the higher courses.

[SteveB48]

Interesting idea with the mortar bag. I've used one for grouting my travertine. I watched your build. Very nice!

I didn't pay much attention to the spacing of the joints when I set the bricks. I will when I'm mortaring them into place.

I had hoped to get the first course in last night but life got in the way. Hopefully tonight.

[SteveB48]

I haven't posted in a while but I have been making progress. Tomorrow, the final "plug" goes into the dome. Sunday my plan is to assemble the front arch and chimney mount.
I'm wondering about the shape and size of the hole in the top of the arch. My vent adapter is 6". Do I need a least 6" in both directions or can I deal with a 4" deep x 8" wide opening?
Is it square inches or minimum dimension that's important?

If all goes well, I'll be starting drying fires next weekend. There has been a lot of discussion around the need to complete the insulation and stucco before firing, both pro and con. My plan is to add the insulation but not the stucco before firing. My logic is that moisture would travel out of the insulation and the insulation would keep from getting a large temperature differential from the inside to the outside.
Well see how it goes.

I'll be picking up tools this weekend and ordering my wood next week. It's finally happening!

Steve

[Larry P]

Congrats Steve. Regarding the vent, I think you can go either way.

[RandyJ]

I would agree with Larry the vent just needs the square inches required and then make it fit the adapter plate.

Randy