flying pizza oven?

[maver]

I'm not sure where to place this post, but I've been struggling with a serious pizza oven issue. We're going to move to a house about five miles away to solve a serious commuting issue for my wife (it's closer to my work by a little but will save her about an hour a day in combined time in the car with shuttling our kids). I initially planned to start over with a new oven (how many people here thought the - when I build my next oven - was a real plan?). Considering the material and time, I figured I'd be lucky to have an operational oven again within six months. Then a friend suggested looking into a crane.

I've found Paulages estimates of weights,

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f6/w...t=calculations

and plan to sit down with the materials list which I followed pretty closely in building my pompeii oven to get a good estimate for the block stand and the slab. The crane operator wondered about moving the crane in 2 pieces, with the hearth, dome and house first, then the slab and block stand. I did cover with PVC the four rebar posts that protrude from the block stand, and used aluminum flashing to physically isolate the hearth from the stand, so it's feasible that I could separate the two.

Anyone with experience or stories about moving a completed residential oven? I figure even if it costs a few thousand dollars for the move I probably come out ahead (considering time, materials). I've been pretty freaked out about the move from the oven standpoint - I hope I'm not straying too far from reality with this.

Marc

[redbricknick]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Maver. I am amazed that you are going to do this. I reckon it's going to go beautifully, and am eager to see the photos. It might pay to have a TV crew there or something for encouragement. And pizza. Would it be possible to perform this task with the oven at temperature?

[james]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Hey Maver,

We ship the Toscana ovens all around the states -- we've even shipped them to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (the customer was the Royal Family -- really!). They are on a re-inforced metal tray (4" angle iron welded in the center), with a layer of structural concrete. We are able to lift them with a forklift and get them off and on trucks, and you can even set then on the ground with the larger liftgate trucks.

Customers build a block stand and set the oven in place.

Your oven will weigh more, but the concept is the same.

What about moving the oven and upper enclosure by lifting from underneath the hearth, and building a new stand at your new house? You should definitely do it while the oven is fired and cooking pizza.
James

[maver]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Redbrick - I definitely planned to shoot video and snap pictures of the move, but if a professional wants to fly up and document the event, how could I complain?

James - I considered moving the hearth only, but I still have to sell my current house - not sure what to do with the pad and the blockstand to make it attractive to prospective buyers, suggestions? Besides, until I finalize my purchase of the new house (pending resolution of the small amount of LP siding hidden under the deck) I cannot really access the backyard to prepare a site for the new oven, so if it's possible to move the pad it would help speed setup and avoid having to pay to store the oven and move it multiple times (off a flatbed, into storage, back onto a flatbed for delivery, risking damage each move). Jim, if the pad is not poured in place will I have too unstable a substrate? I considered preparing a site with level compacted gravel, then pouring a "leveling layer" of fresh concrete to account for uneven bottom surface of the slab, applying fresh plastic vapor barrier, then dropping the slab/blockstand in place. I'm completely making this up, so I value any input from those with more construction/engineering background.

So if I fire the oven, then apply the door, will that make the oven lighter - sort of a hot air balloon

Wonder how many pizzas I could make between liftoff from my backyard and touchdown on the flatbed? I never used to have vertigo with heights as a child, but that could definitely slow me down now.

[dmun]

Re: flying pizza oven?

I wouldn`t mess with the crane unless you had to lift it up over something. Use log rollers to get it to the end of the driveway, then pull it up on the flatbed with the winch.

[jahysea]

Re: flying pizza oven?

I would tend to agree with James, forklift and flatbed truck rental sounds affordable, crane does not.

Marc, for the stand at the new house, what about quickly mocking something up to support the oven and hearth and building the real foundation around it? Dig trenches, fill with gravel, and quickly build a square foundation with dry stacked cinder blocks that will go inside the real foundation.

Then at leisure, build real "u" shaped foundation outside the dry stacked blocks. Use floor jack to lift each side of oven 1/4 inch or so above dry stacked blocks when placing final course of finished blocks to allow transfering weight and disassembly of inner stand.

What to do with old stand? Put some sort of cap over top of cinder blocks (redwood?), and place trash cans inside new garbage can storage space. Or fill with firewood and call firewood storage. Install peaked roof onto the nicest dog house or child play house in town.

[james]

Re: flying pizza oven?

That's a very good thought. We had to move a propane tank out of a vineyard that had no access, and we just rolled it down the row with log rollers. Less stress on the hearth.
James

[paulages]

Re: flying pizza oven?

i intentionally built mine with the hearth relatively unattached to the stand, so that it could be forklifted if i ever need to move it. personally, i look forward to the excuse to build another one...

[maver]

Re: flying pizza oven?

I Appreciate everyone's ideas.

DMUM, jahysea and James, we have a moderate grade from our front to our back yard, but more significantly I live in suburbia where the houses are fairly close together - rollers or a forklift are fairly certainly not feasible. I did get a quote for just the crane at $1300 - should be able to do both moves as we are moving to a house about 5miles away and the $1300 should include enough hours for both. I'd have to add to it the cost of a flatbed, but that's manageable. Paulages, I also constructed mine with the ability to be lifted off the blockstand - 4 rebar pegs with PVC sleeves project from the stand up into the hearth - should lift right off.

The bigger obstacle has become my wife's insistence that the pad and blockstand cannot be made into an attractive item when we sell our current house. I considered converting the area to a pit barbecue (in back) with the front half turning into counter/staging space. I'd definitely need to create a new pad/blockstand - the weight of the pad is just too much for the crane - a larger crane would require permits/street closure

Still working at it.

[redbricknick]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Hows about a Gradall? If the Gradall was delivered on a big enough flatbed, you could load the oven onto the front of it, reload the gradall, then unload it five miles down the track..

[maver]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Nick, I don't think you appreciate how close my house is to my neighbors. To prepare my site for the oven and my patio I rented a bobcat (actually won at an fundraising auction or else would have done it by hand) which barely fit between my house and my neighbors. There's no gradall or forklift that can fit between our houses that could also support the oven. The oven will barely fit between the houses, hence the crane idea. At least a crane should not have any sudden movements, unlike the risk of a slip with rollers trying to pull the oven up the grade.

[CanuckJim]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Maver,

This might or might not work. If you took the oven off the foundation and placed it on a purpose designed floor between the houses (steel plates used in road construction?) could you not use a winch to pull it to the front of the house and then pick it up. Just a thought. This is a tough problem.

Jim

[maver]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Jim, I'm interested in your idea, but am having a hard time picturing it - I understand to prepare for the crane I'll need to jack my hearth off the block stand (plan to support on 3 4x6 8' beams). You are suggesting moving the hearth/oven off to steel plates after jacking it up? Then pull the (estimated) 5000 pound oven up to the front to be loaded by a forklift? I have maybe 12 feet between my house and the neighbors on an approximately 15% grade. There is a fence as well, but that can be moved. He has an air conditioning unit that pinches us to 8 feet at one point. The other side of my house is worse. I think the crane is reasonable, and the cost is acceptable given what I need to pay to replace the oven if I cannot move it. I think my bigger problem is what to do with the old block stand and pad to prevent that being an anchor on the sales price of my soon to be old house. I can look into the cost of renting a small jack hammer. It might be easier to convert the stand into something useful.

[redbricknick]

Re: flying pizza oven?

I reckon with your masonry skill, you could knock up a quick barbie on the old slab in no time. Who doesn't want a barbeque in their backyard? It'll add value rather than detracting from the sale price.. Perhaps a couple of photos of your site will help the forum come up with suggestions..

[Unofornaio]

Re: flying pizza oven?

Jim, I'm interested in your idea, but am having a hard time picturing it - I understand to prepare for the crane I'll need to jack my hearth off the block stand (plan to support on 3 4x6 8' beams). You are suggesting moving the hearth/oven off to steel plates after jacking it up? Then pull the (estimated) 5000 pound oven up to the front to be loaded by a forklift? I have maybe 12 feet between my house and the neighbors on an approximately 15% grade. There is a fence as well, but that can be moved. He has an air conditioning unit that pinches us to 8 feet at one point. The other side of my house is worse. I think the crane is reasonable, and the cost is acceptable given what I need to pay to replace the oven if I cannot move it. I think my bigger problem is what to do with the old block stand and pad to prevent that being an anchor on the sales price of my soon to be old house. I can look into the cost of renting a small jack hammer. It might be easier to convert the stand into something useful.

With 8' of clearance you have many other low cost options to a crane @ $1,300.00. the average 6000lb rough terrain forklift is only 72" wide... United Rentals - Find Equipment - Forklifts & Material Handling - John Deere 486E 6000 lb. Rough Terrain Forklift
we rent these on large jobs and they would easily lift and move the oven and at 5 miles down the road with the soft tires you could almost drive it there..with an escort of-course. at $250-300 for the day that quite a savings..