New Pompeii Started

[Keith Oertli]

No, just the opposite, the brick in the arch were laid up as the chains are laid up.

As the arch brick begin to intersect with the chain brick, the arch brick are cut on angle to maintain the chain angle.

I don't know if I would say this is the best way. It is just another way.

Our goal is to keep as much brick, as opposed to mortar joints, in the structure. The place where this is most troublesome is the entry arch and the last 6 or so chains.

Having a masonry saw available helps to minimize this.

[paulages]

keith,
i am assuming then, that the third way must have been the more efficient of your approaches, having learned from the first two?
are you saying then that in this version, you would essentially built the arch first using full sized bricks, then start the dome, cutting the bricks in the dome to fit as each course intersects with the doorway?

-paul

[Keith Oertli]

I am on my third Pompeii and each one is different.

All three utilize arched doorways. The differ in how the transition from the arch to the dome brick are accomplished.

the first one we cut the doorway bricks to fit the curve of the dome then cut the dome brick around the doorway to fit the door.

The second one was similar except we stuck to a standard size for the doorway arch brick them cut only the dome chain bricks to work around the doorway.

The third one we standardized on the size of the doorway bricks except for where they intercept the dome. We cut the doorway bricks so that there is no interuption in the chain brick sizing.

I guess the point of all of this is we are still experimenting and learning as to what works best. That in itself is part of the fun.

I don,t know if there is a 'perfect way'. I do know that if you can try and build the doorway with an arch. It is not any more difficult than using an angle iron. That is, if you have access to a good Masonry saw.

My experience in building my Alan Scott 'Bread builder's' oven four years ago showed that mild steel put under great heat will deteriorate quickly. If you must use an angle iron, use stainless. It cost a little more but will last forever.

I am enjoying your pictures and progress. I too am building a corner oriented oven right now and all is going well. I am trying document as I go but get carried away and forget.

Keep up the work. You will really enjoy your oven when you are done. I cook everything in my oven except bread.

Enjoy.

K.O.

[paulages]

thanks a lot. the pictures are very helpful. that's kinda how i thought it would go. i think i could figure out how to tie in the courses with an archway style opening.

[david]

Here's some jpegs of how I went about it.Hope it is of some help.

[paulages]

oven looks great!

keith,
i haven't begun building my dome yet, so maybe this will make more sense when i get there... but i'm curious about how to tie the archway in the door of the oven in with the surrounding courses, particularly the ones above it. this isn't too clear with the angle iron oriented version in the plans, either. i understand how the first few courses go up, but as they slant inward, they seems like they must fall away from the archway, if it arches straight vertically. do you just cut special bricks to fill this gap? it seems as if the arch would have to extend inward to meet each course of bricks as they continue inward. am i picturing this wrong, and it's really easier than it seems? the process of creating the arch itself doesn't seems so daunting, but connecting the two does.

does anyone have any good pictures or more detailed logistical information on how the courses around the doorway piece together, in any style doorway?

[Keith Oertli]

Pompeii Finished

This is the completed Pompeii started from this post.

K.O.

[Keith Oertli]

Thanks!

A tip on construction. I did the layout of the dome as if looking at a cutaway cross section. Then I traced the inside outline onto a piece Foam insulation board. Then I cut out the foam representation. I then cut that in half at exactly center. it looked like a curved Sun Dial.

I then located the center of the Oven floor. As I laid my chains, I was able to use the foam cutout as a template by placing it in the center of the floor and moving it around as I lay the chain. .

This seemed to make it easier in keeping the angle of each chain close to where it should be.

K.O.

[Howie]

Looks awesome! I like the shot of the inside of the dome. Sure looks like somebody knows what their doing. Good to see some pics.

[Keith Oertli]

I used a Template to build the arches.


It took just a little longer to build but worth it.

If you have access to a brick saw I would reccomend doing it this way .

K.O.

[james]

Way to go Keith. Excellent.

Did you build the arch into the oven chamber on the ground, then place it, or did you build it in place? Did you use a form?

How hard would you say it is building the arched oven chamber opening, compared with the flat opening and angle iron? Is that something you would recommend as standard practice?

Very nice.
James

[Keith Oertli]

It Worked, Here are the rest

Here are the pictures of the Ponpeii. I am almost completely done with it and should have the finished shots done soon.

K.O.

[Keith Oertli]

Attempting to upload Photos here

I will try to load them here again.

[dkoenig]

Can't view pictures

I am not sure why, but I cannot view the pictures. I get an error

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GROUP_CHECK

[PizzaMan]

Beautiful work!

You must be a pro at this.

Very nice!

Michael