39 inch Corner Build

[JRPizza]

Thanks - we did save doing the job ourselves, but probably still had close to 1K in the roof. The high quality plywood ended up costing more than the metal panels, and when you throw in the price of trim, stain, screws, flashing, gutter etc it kind of added up. It worked out to around $4.47 per square foot and we are very happy with the new living space.
As an aside, earlier in the thread chimney temperatures were discussed. We ended up using an extra 3' section of pipe we had, and now that I see the heat discoloration in the upper part of the pipe I'm glad I went with the extra length. I think the hot gasses impinging on the rain cap make that part of the vent much hotter than the rest of the pipe. I have not gotten a measurement on the cap, but it gets a little blue at the hot point of a firing.

[SableSprings]

JR, I'm really impressed how well your oven cover and entertainment patio came out. Your chimney/roof interface looks far better than mine...I was doing a "How can I make this work?" while you planned and executed the job fabulously. I'm really glad you went this way instead of spending a lot of money on the membrane and other ideas that were thrown at you by the roofers...saved instead to spend on good pizza toppings or adult beverages

Chicken looks terrific! As Joe said above, try out the spatchcock method sometime...pretty simple and also quite well suited for the higher temps of the WFO. I prefer using a 12" cast iron skillet and some left over firebricks rather than the grill version...but both are terrific. Thanks Joe for reminding me of that technique, now that Fall's heading our way I'm looking forward to some hearty dishes along those lines. JR, that flattening of the bird either in a pan or on the grill gives really great texture and flavor to the skin and meat. Also as Joe noted, the "timing for done" on the whole bird is much, much better.

[Gulf]

JR,

I really like the night shot of the oven. The lights definately make the oven a focal point. The birds look great! too. I always have plenty of beer cans on hand (lol), but I have been playing with spatchcock chicken for a while. It works great on the grill or in the oven. If you haven't tried it, you owe yourself a try. I have found that it makes the timing of the doneness of the breasts and the thighs a little closer together in the timing of the cook.

[JRPizza]

I finished off trimming the roof out, and added some lights for evening ambience. Now that I don't have to worry about the rain (still need those back walls for the windblown rain this winter) we have been firing 1-2 times a week. Been cooking pizzas then roasting the following day. Our first chickens came out beautiful - didn't have any beer cans so just roasted them laying down. Lots of fall chores to do, so will probably just cook and enjoy for a few weeks.

[JRPizza]

Thanks Russell I appreciate that! Coming from you, it's like Michelangelo saying "nice paint job"

[UtahBeehiver]

Nice work JR

[JRPizza]

I hit what to me is a major milestone, so I thought I'd make a post. I have my roof done to the point where the chimney is in and sealed. It passed my leak test today so I am done having to do the "tarp dance" every time the weather changes.
Need to put up the edge trim and gutters, then I can start figuring out my enclosed two sides, and eventually putting up the decorative finish around the dome and base. Off to fire the beast for pizza and bread tonight and ribs tomorrow

[JRPizza]

Progress on the oven has slowed to a crawl, as I have commitments during the week for the next few months, and the weekends really fly by. I have (for the time being) decided to go with a metal roof, as even though I have a low slope design (1:12), Mike and the Dragonfly Den have given me confidence to go in that direction. I replaced the pressure treated 2X4 rafters that had warped and twisted with some good quality 2X6 boards that I have notched on the ends to sit 4" high on my cross members. The pictures below only show the notches on the rafters common to the back side of the shelter but both ends have now been cut, and the boards have been stained. Need to buy some plywood decking and get that stained so I can get ready for the metal panels. I also drilled into my patio and added 2 additional uprights to the left and right of the oven to help stiffen the structure (didn't really help much) and carry some of the loads from the metal roof and ply decking.

[UtahBeehiver]

JR and Mike,

Thanks for the info and starter offers. Will get with ya when I start the process.

[SableSprings]

Yes, I agree with JR, the dutch oven is a great method to test out your levain. In fact I make up bread kits and take a dutch oven (and scales) on our road trips so all I have to do is add water the night before and I've got great bread on the road. Most folks add just a bit of DIY (dehydrated instant yeast) to supplement the first pot bread loaf and then back off to find a nice balance between them as they zero in on what works best for them and their levain/sourdough.

Lots of folks don't give the natural levains enough time and get extremely dense crumb...Ken Forkish and his "Flour, Water, Salt, & Yeast" book is also a fabulous one for understanding and using longer fermentations to your advantage. I also like that all his bread formulas are based on 1 kg flour...makes the bakers percentages very "visible" in the formulas.

[JRPizza]

Anytime! I can send it sooner than later so you can play with it a bit. You are going to need to get the culture healthy again thru several feedings, as well as getting a sense for how long the culture takes to double in size etc, so let me know when you are ready and send me your address. PM me if you like with it.
I also recommend baking in a dutch oven to start, either in the WFO or house oven, so you know if any problems are related to the dough or the environment. I have not gotten "great" bread out of the WFO yet, but know it is related to oven temperature and/or amount of steam, as my in-house loaves are fine.
I might have mentioned this before, but Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread is a great book, as well as The Bread Builders by Wing and Scott. Both of those helped me with my natural leavened breads.

[UtahBeehiver]

JR,

I just purchase some bannetons for my next step in bread baking as well as Peter R. video series. So I may be hitting you up for some starter in the near future. I am sure, like my pizzas, there will be a learning curve. If fact my last party, I felt like nothing went right, ended up with several by mistake calzones.........LOL.

[Larry P]

I've got a 6" double-wall Duravent, and I see outside temps in the 90-100ºF range when the inside is 500ºF+.

Just to clarify, by "inside" I mean the inside of the chimney, measured by shooting my IR gun up the vent, into the interior of the chimney. This while the oven was fully heated for pizza (850º - 1000º+)

[JRPizza]

Thanks Russell. My cap is supposed to be 24" min from my roof line, so the flashing will probably see more like your mid point temperature. I can get a silicone flashing on Amazon that is rated ate 350/450F continuous (depending on what reference you look at) for $94 and I can get the one for continuous 212/250F for $30. I don't mind spending the extra $$ for the silicone, but I believe the EPDM rubber ones are better for exposure to the elements. Anybody on the forum have any experience/knowledge with the elastomeric boots? I'm thinking that design is better for a metal roof as you don't need to cut slots to install them.

[UtahBeehiver]

Had a pizza party last night and checked the outside chimney temp at the height of the firing. Inside the dome was 700 F plus and outside of the chimney on the copper sleeve was abt 100 F. It was in the high 200s right at the chimney cap where the gases exhaust.