Elizabeth's oven

[thebadger]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Elizabeth,

I think the FB plans call for now mare than an 18" height for the "taller" version with the 36inch. I wanted between 16-18 for my 36 and ended up with 17 1/2.

Dick

I think I had about 10-11 courses (gets a little squisehd toward the top).

[dmun]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Looking good. I first thought I was seeing a double layer of splits on your floor, but realized that it was an artifact of cutting your bricks.

Your dome will progress sort of the way it wants. Once you start slinging mud, you will find your dreams of ideal geometry will fade. You're right though, you don't want much more than 20 for a 36 oven.

[egalecki]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Which brings me to my next question: does this picture look like your layout for the courses of the dome? I'm shooting for a maximum of 20 inches to the ceiling, which this is, but it's kind of squatty-looking. I'm sure that I have a half-circle in my head, which I know it isn't.

Did all your gaps work out evenly between all the courses? Mine seem to be wider at the bottom and smaller at the top. If I try to make them even, it grows too tall. This is 12 courses. How many courses should I have for a 36 ish oven?

[egalecki]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Onward and upward. I have put on the insblock layer and the floor. It's a little ragged around the edges, but nothing is wobbly or unsupported, so I figure what gets covered up doesn't matter. George's motto applies here, I think. My bricks weren't all quite the same thickness, so I kept having to pick them up and add more dust to make the floor as level as possible.

Here's the floor and the soldier course laid out. Do my angled bricks at the edge of the door look like a viable way to start my arch? I figure 4 courses like that, then go sideways with the arch, peaking at 12 inches. I'll have to use a form, but I have plenty of foam to make one.

The inside diameter has worked out to 36 1/2 inches, which is pretty close to what I was working for.

[Frances]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

Ha ha! I got some of that, too : Sourcing firebricks... "Ah, obviously what you're looking for is a pre-cast oven." No I'm NOT!!

[dmun]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

Don't worry, he'll move on soon to the reliable "when will it be done?"

[egalecki]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Well, I used the water/portland slurry onto the wet vermiculite method to pour my insulating layer today. Worked pretty well, although I hesitate to call it "pouring" when it's of the consistency you get! It worked great, I think. I won't really know until I see it dry. I taped my cove base forms from my stepping stones back together to make the form, and supported it with some of the bricks turned on their sides. It's as level as I can make it- it's hard to screed it with the texture.

If it all comes apart like a sand castle when I take the form off I'm gonna be pissed. I got cement all over my shoes and pants (the @@#$% bucket spun when the mixer started up). Maybe I'll just leave the form on until I get the floor laid and the dome started... then when I'm ready to blanket and vermicrete the outside, I can cut it off then...

by the way, my local pool supply also had vermiculite and portland cement premixed in bags. Has anyone used it that way? I wasn't sure about the ratio, so I didn't buy it, but then, after dumping and mixing this morning, I have no idea about the ratio I just did, anyway!

on to planting the last few things in the garden, and then to cutting bricks. I need to get some fireclay so I can set my floor- I'm going to use what I get from cutting the bricks, I hope. It's not easy to get around here.

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

[egalecki]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Thank you one and all.

If you're considering an oven, you should consider the steel decking- it's a permanent part of the slab. We got the eleven foot long by three feet wide sheet for about $51.00. They cut it in half at the store free. It cuts easily with a metal blade in your circular saw (and lots of really cool sparks too). It also cuts down some on the concrete needed to do the hearth because of the corrugated surface. We used 12 bags for a 64x64 (minus a corner) size.

I neglected to mention it, but we toenailed the actual forms into the support boards we'd nailed into the block. It seems to have done a good job keeping the form from expanding.

The rain did make the top look a little weird but I think it'll be fine to work on anyway, and I doubt much will be showing when I'm finished. What's showing I can always cover up with tile or something else...

[Ed_]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Wow, that slab looks like it could hold up two or three ovens' worth of weight! Nice!

[Frances]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Those overalls are great - exemplary WFO building gear! They'll rate way up there with George's unforgettable knee-vetilated trousers...

The stand looks good, too. This is not the first time you've worked with concrete, right?

[Les]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Liz - you're lookin good in the overalls, your husband reminds me of Home Improvement - you never see the neighbors face (your last name isn't Wilson is it? Great start on your oven, in regard to the weather - it gives EVERY project character.

Les...

[james]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Of course, now it's started to sprinkle. I have plastic on, but I bet I get pockmarks. Maybe I can convince people they're a design feature?

Way to go Elizabeth. It looks great -- and it sounds like the perfect weather for allowing your concrete hearth to cure. I look back and remember the first time I did a concrete project and worried about the rain, and the guy I was working with kept saying "a little rain is great for concrete."

I like your forms. Very innovative.

Keep up the great work.
James

[PizzaJNKY]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Nice hearth slab Elizabeth! My 3-year old daughter just saw it with me and said -oooh, Shiny!

[gjbingham]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

Nice! Great great great. Now the real fun starts!

[egalecki]

Re: Elizabeth's oven

This set is of the form we held up by nailing into the blocks with boards to hold up the form around the edge; the rebar under the load point and at the front; about 5 bags into the hearth pour (or shovel, as the case may be); 12 bags in and finished; and then last but not least, me with the stand, because my husband was sure you all would think I didn't really exist since all the pictures are of him. Please don't mind the overalls, they have a lot of great pockets on the front and I like to work in them...

The steel decking worked great- all we had to support was the front corner. We didn't have a lot of leakage, because I used duct tape to seal the places I could see thru and crumpled newspaper under the corrugated edge of the decking. I sure hope that I banged enough on the edges of the form to settle the concrete in so I don't see a lot of aggregate- but I'll cover it up if it shows.

Of course, now it's started to sprinkle. I have plastic on, but I bet I get pockmarks. Maybe I can convince people they're a design feature?

So now I'm going to cut a lot of bricks while I wait for the hearth to cure, locate vermiculite or perlite, and ponder on the shape of my vermicrete...