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  • #1

    Am I crazy?

    OK, my wife is at her college reunion, my 9 year old is playing a video game (something new & different ), and the baby is asleep for her am nap. Time to stare at the plans over some coffee and let the mind run crazy...

    I am looking at my stand plans - specifically at the height parameter. A "4 block" stand will give me a 41.6" cooking floor height after all is done. I have seen some stand pics with an extra 4" block thrown in, but I was wondering....

    Would it be crazy to go with 5 full blocks? (About a 50" high cooking surface). I do plan on adding about 1-2" of height to the patio after the oven is done with mortared flagstones, so that would make the effective height 48" or so.

    I'm a touch over 6'1", so I was wondering if that extra height makes sense.

    Or am I crazy?
    "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

    -- Yogi Berra

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  • #2
    Re: Am I crazy?

    You're going to build an oven in your backyard when you have a perfectly good one in your kitchen - I think crazy is probably a prerequisite for that.


    Okay, seriously, the best way to find out would be to make a temporary table the same working height as the oven will be and do some work on it. Chop stuff or whatever but use it to work on for a little while. You'll soon know how comfortable the working height it is for you.
    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

    "Success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal." -Mike Ditka
    [/CENTER]

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    • #3
      Re: Am I crazy?

      I agree with Archena to see how you would get used to it. I am about the same height and I wish I would have built mine a bit higher...mine was on four full blocks plus about 10 inches to the cooking height...another 6 inches probably would be perfect.
      Best
      Dutch
      "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. " Charles Mingus
      "Build at least two brick ovens...one to make all the mistakes on and the other to be just like you dreamed of!" Dutch

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      • #4
        Re: Am I crazy?

        Mine's at elbow height. I didn't want to bend way over and certainly didn't want to stand on my tippy toes. So, I figured... it's my oven and I want it to fit me.

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        • #5
          Re: Am I crazy?

          Thanks guys. I'm definitely leaning toward the higher stand.
          "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

          -- Yogi Berra

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          • #6
            Re: Am I crazy?

            The design is sound enough to easily add 2 or 3 more cinder block courses. And I wish I had.

            I made my pad thicker to raise the oven a bit to a good height. Unfortunately, I did not do a thorough job of surveying the backyard and planning the paver patio. Long story. Thanks to the elevated patio height, the oven ended up lower than optimum for me. A Homer Simpson moment, DOOOOHH! My wife, 5'0" likes it though.
            Last edited by wlively; 06-09-2007, 04:00 PM. Reason: keyboard challenged.
            Wade Lively

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            • #7
              Re: Am I crazy?

              My oven floor is 45" high, which I'm hoping will be just right for me at 6' tall.

              Maver had a couple of good points on this (his post of 17 Oct 2006):

              Originally posted by maver View Post
              I think you want to pick your oven hearth height based on the level that would be comfortable to slide pizza in and out of the oven - keep in mind that to slide it in you want the peel tilted up at an angle to allow the pizza to slip off. I think this generally gives you a lower oven than what might be comfortable to look into.

              You certainly can err on the side of too high - worse case you build a raised platform at the oven entrance to allow easier work in the oven. Hard to correct too low.
              I was considering a higher floor before I read this sound advice.

              Russell Jeavons, in his book "Your Bread Oven", suggests a height to enable you to see the rear of the oven floor while standing about a yard away from the base - this way you can easily see how the fire's going without bending over, while having a beer with your mates. I think this is excellent advice!

              Cheers, Paul.

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              • #8
                Re: Am I crazy?

                Originally posted by Hendo View Post

                Russell Jeavons, in his book "Your Bread Oven", suggests a height to enable you to see the rear of the oven floor while standing about a yard away from the base - this way you can easily see how the fire's going without bending over, while having a beer with your mates. I think this is excellent advice!

                Cheers, Paul.
                A beer with your mates is always excellent advice, whether in front of an oven or not!

                Seriously though, I think I am going with the 5 block course leading to an effective cooking floor height of about 48" (after the flagstones go on the pad).
                "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

                -- Yogi Berra

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                • #9
                  Re: Am I crazy?

                  Originally posted by Archena View Post
                  You're going to build an oven in your backyard when you have a perfectly good one in your kitchen - I think crazy is probably a prerequisite for that.
                  An interesting point, and it brings me to a recent revelation. I didn't really have a handle on the size of a 42" oven until I measured the one in the kitchen. I always thought it was big at 28" wide, 14" tall, and 20" deep - but this thing is gonna be HUGE.

                  Now to make sure it's ready in time for the Thanksgiving turkey...
                  "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

                  -- Yogi Berra

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                  • #10
                    Re: Am I crazy?

                    Joe,

                    I thought I had a handle on how big my 42" oven was going to be. I have drawn no fewer the 8 scale drawings both by hand and with a computer drafting program. But I simply wasn't prepared for how huge it looked live and in person after I framed up the hearth and realized at 5'2" there was no way I was going to be to be able to trowl the structural layer by myself. What have we gotten ourselves into? Archena is right, crazy probably is a prerequisite.

                    S

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                    • #11
                      Re: Am I crazy?

                      Yeah, it's kinda funny. I was making all these little drawings and then I simply took out the tape measure and pulled it out to 42". I don't think a Turkey or a large roast is gonna be a problem. Heck, you could probably get the whole cow in there.
                      "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

                      -- Yogi Berra

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