George's Pompeii progress

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Frances,
A little of both types of suffering.

Ohhh, that water is cold, cold, cold in the morning(!), which slows my exit from the warmth indoors. Once your hands get numb, the rest of your body chills quickly.

Then again, there is certainly more than just a bit of suffering in being unable to get this thing done and get to some cooking.

I can't even imagine how I can get a ceramic blanket, insulation layer, and a finish on the oven when the weather is just plain miserable. Barring a very dry winter, I've kind of resigned myself to just keeping it covered and finishing later..... Maybe Spring?

Anyway, I'm feeling for you. You've certainly got serious cold in Switzerland. I think most Americans associate your country with the mountains, snow, and skiing. Those gorgeous valleys and flatlands see some real weather too, huh?

G.

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Geeeze, the weather turned nasty here. Rain, rain, then cold and rainy. I've been working in short shifts in attempting to not get sick, or die of hypothermia. It's incredible how cold 37 degrees and damp is compared to 20 and dry. Absolutely bone chilling!

Enough crying. I've been posting on everybody else's boards about what I'm working on. Just a quick re-cap.

I completed the curing fires for the dome and no longer have to worry about freezing weather for that part of the oven. It's a mess in there 'cause I didn't even stop to clean out the ashes after the last fire.

I liked the way Ken did his vent/entryway arch so I did my best to copy his incredible work. Cutting the ledges at the top of the walls was no picnic. They were close, so I went with them.

I whipped the arch out yesterday. 37 degrees at the start of the morning, 43 by 3PM. This work seemed to be harder than hanging bricks on the dome. Perhaps my expectations were just higher. Anyway, I'm happy with the vent itself, though the arch is a little bumpier than I'd hoped for.

It was really a good feeling to drop in those final bricks. The sun came out just as I finished allowing for a few pics, and the wife came out and told me that her doctor called and said she's pregnant with my second and last child. What a great day!! Cold hands were completely forgotten. Bun in the oven and the oven's almost done. Hurray!

So.......

Any recommendations how long to let the form sit inside the arch before pulling shims? I think Dave said a week........

Once I get the forms (step stool) out of there, I plan on redoing the curing fires to get the entryway and vent ready for action.

Thanks all for your help and guidance.

George

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

BTW,
Happy Thanksgiving for those of you who observe the American holiday. Otherwise, happy Thursday. I'm taking some time off!

[biondoli]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

George if you are going to cure the vent with fires then 1 weeks is fine before you remobve the stand...are you going to load the arch? Looking at the structure you do not have any side support for the arch so if there is no load it is fine, otherwise I would reinforce both sides. Great work! Unfortunately here in Minnesota is already freezing so I stopped my concrete work waiting some good weather. Ciao Carlo

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Carlo,
The question seems to be, how much can you load the arch without reinforcing the sides. I need a chimney about 7 feet tall and I've got virtually no room to reinforce the sides.

Any suggestions?
G.

[biondoli]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

George,
looking at your last pictures it looks like you have a couple of inches on the sides...I would build a frame with rebars around the arch, one on the back and on the front of the vent, after you install it and then cast it with concrete.
To be safe I would also drill 2 little holes in the hearth slab so the rebars can fit in, no more than and inch. So you build a rectangular rebar without a base, like a soccer goal frame.
2" of reinforced concrete on the side can hold a lot of weight.
Ciao Carlo

[Frances]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Hey George, I was wondering what was happening with your oven... nice archway! Looks really good!

Congratulations about the baby, too. Children are cool!

The weather here has warmed up a bit. Now I'm being blocked by rain...

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Carlo,
Thanks for the idea. That sounds like a workable plan. I thought I was done pouring concrete........
Frances, I'm working away as weather and mortar curing allows. Glad to hear it warmed up a bit. We're below freezing here, at least a night, for the next couple of days. Then more rain......
G.

[Gentcpa]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Nice looking arch. Congrats on the new addition in a few months.

The Duratech chimney is light if you are worried about overloading the arch, plus you don't have to build a structure around it with clearance. Just watch the clearances on the anchor if you go that route.

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Thanks Julian,
Have you got any pictures of how you dealt with the anchor plate?
I'm still feeling clueless.

G.

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Hi all,

I decided that my cast vent weighed just too much to put up on top of the arches. Should I use it as an anchor or planter??? Cast your vote!

I'm continuing in my shameless imitation at Ken's fine work. I have neither the skill or patience to match his quality though. It's way too cold outside!

Here's my version of the vent transition from the arches. I'm pretty well out of full bricks now, so I'm using leftover cuttings. It leaves me with some gaps here and there, which I'm just filling with mortar.

You can see that I blew the width of one of the cuts on the final chimney anchor plate platform. I broke one of the bricks tapping it into place too. My
hands and body are just too cold to make me want to pull out the saw and cut again. Regardless, it's square and level. I have no idea if it's the right size for the anchor plate as I've yet to order one.

A few more days and I'll pull out the arch form. Then we'll see if this all needs to be done again.

Ciao for now!
George

[Kemo]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

George,

that looks pretty damn good! will you be going to duratech chimney or continuing with brick?

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Duratech. That's likely to be the most expensive part of this whole project.
G.

[Kemo]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Duratech. That's likely to be the most expensive part of this whole project.
G.

and will probably be the quickest part of the project too

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

I sure could use an easy part to this project. Sure has been fun, but I'm ready for some work where my hands aren't wet all the time.

Have you started curing your oven yet?
G.