36" Pompeii low-dome in Livermore, CA

[Larry P]

First fire today! It's raining steadily but I decided to leave my canopy up and go ahead and burn. For the most part the done has been between 300-350ºF with a couple times kicking up to 370º. The walls and floor are more around 200º.

[Larry P]

I hear you on the garden. Mine pretty much died during the build. Working full time and doing a 300 hr side job really eats up all of your free time for months. Add in a 1 year old and it is all you do. I can't wait to see the finished product. It is looking great.

Randy

Thanks! We'll be putting in tomatoes by the end of the month. I think I'll have the garden in shape by then. The curing fire stage should be more meditative than the construction stage I'm sure.

[Larry P]

Larry, the oven looks great! I love the ebony firebrick! Did you find that locally or did you have to order it? It's a long-standing discussion on the forum, but there are some good points to consider about curing after insulating. It seems to me that the argument leans in favor of curing while insulated, esp. with the point that the temp differential is less for the bricks when curing insulated, which minimizes the potential for cracks. And you're going to have (some) moisture anyway in your insulation after you stucco, so you'll need to cure some more anyway after putting up the igloo.

Anyway, your oven looks great and you can tell you value and are attentive to craftsmanship. Looking forward to hearing about your first pizzas!

Thanks! That's something to think about regarding insulating and curing. It has been something I'm puzzling over, is adding the perlcrete, and the amount of moisture that brings, after curing. But I also want to see the condition of the dome after I fire it. Maybe there's a middle ground - do a few fires and then insulate? I guess this is why it's *hotly* debated. I can say though, Saturday will be almost 2 weeks since I pulled out the form, and I'm really itching to light something on fire.

The ebony bricks were in stock at my brick yard (Peninsula Building Materials). I didn't even know they existed until I walked the yard. They stock all 4 colors of HC Muddox firebricks https://www.hcmuddox.com/fireplace-p...lar/fire-brick and only a mile from my house; very convenient! I love the ebony. They fit well with my volcano theme, and should hide smoke stains nicely.

[Larry P]

Larry, I think we are heading in similar directions. I have enough blanket to do three layers, but do not have a good mental model how to finish off the igloo. We probably want to use brick squares similar to what Gulf used in the Mississippi Queen, but have not ruled out using tile. I hope you document your finishing well so I can copy as much as possible . Also want to put up a metal roof but have a pretty minimalist structure - again will look to see what ideas I can borrow from you.

I'd say you want to take a close look at both Russell's and Les' builds. Russell did a form for the perlcrete/vermicrete dome and build it in layers. Les did a dome-shaped cage from 3/8" rebar and chicken wire and filled in the vermicrete behind it. I'm leaning towards what Les did, but skeptical I can get a good dome shape from it.

For tile, I want to do a shattered tile mosaic. I'm going for the look of a volcano, as an homage to Vesuvius. I was going to shatter the tile myself, but worried about sharp edges and chips under the colored tile. I found this source which is expensive on the black but about the same for the tiles I was going to use for colors (about $13.50/sq ft): http://www.mosaicmercantile.com/Craf...mic_c_232.html I'm getting samples to see how I like the tile.

A minimal roof is a good idea. I can see that being a real issue in the PNW with the amount of rain you get. I'm not kidding around here with the UV. In short order the sun bleaches and damages anything left outside. Considering I expect the oven to stand for decades, it's a concern. Maybe I'll consider the possibility of bolting something on.

[gastagg]

Larry, the oven looks great! I love the ebony firebrick! Did you find that locally or did you have to order it? It's a long-standing discussion on the forum, but there are some good points to consider about curing after insulating. It seems to me that the argument leans in favor of curing while insulated, esp. with the point that the temp differential is less for the bricks when curing insulated, which minimizes the potential for cracks. And you're going to have (some) moisture anyway in your insulation after you stucco, so you'll need to cure some more anyway after putting up the igloo.

Anyway, your oven looks great and you can tell you value and are attentive to craftsmanship. Looking forward to hearing about your first pizzas!

[JRPizza]

Larry, I think we are heading in similar directions. I have enough blanket to do three layers, but do not have a good mental model how to finish off the igloo. We probably want to use brick squares similar to what Gulf used in the Mississippi Queen, but have not ruled out using tile. I hope you document your finishing well so I can copy as much as possible . Also want to put up a metal roof but have a pretty minimalist structure - again will look to see what ideas I can borrow from you.

[RandyJ]

I hear you on the garden. Mine pretty much died during the build. Working full time and doing a 300 hr side job really eats up all of your free time for months. Add in a 1 year old and it is all you do. I can't wait to see the finished product. It is looking great.

Randy

[Larry P]

Yes igloo, not planning on a roof. I intend on 2 layers of ceramic fiber blanket, then perlcrete on top of that to form the dome (might use 3/8" rebar and chicken wire to shape the dome), then Quickrete SBC with an acrylic admix, then tile mosaic, then a sealer. Rain's not much of a problem here, but UV is.

You don't even want to see pics of our garden now. I ripped out a bunch of 3' tall grass this week because I was worried our grape vines weren't getting any sun!

[JRPizza]

You are going with an igloo look, right? Are you putting up a roof too?
I hear you on the yard work. We live on a little over an acre, and building an oven is an incredible eater of the clock.

[Larry P]

Oh, wanted to complement you on your awesome photography - my Wife and I really enjoyed going through your gallery.

Thanks!

I have all my insulation, but I think I'll get done curing before I install it. Maybe weekend after next, but depends on how much yard work I can get done during curing. Our vegetable garden has been sorely neglected during the oven build, and it really looks bad.

[JRPizza]

I like your wood rack! I get plenty of water under my stand, as it is at the wrong end of a gently sloped patio. I definitely need something to keep the wood off the floor. I didn't block off the rear of my corner like you did, and was thinking of making a rolling storage "cart" with a wood door bolted to the end, so when rolled in the door would seal off the entrance. That's pretty far down my list of to do's. I plan to do my first curing fires towards the end of this week. I won't have insulation for a while, but am planning on cooking something soon! Son's 30th birthday is on the 23rd, so hoping to be able to cook a few pizzas by then.

Oh, wanted to complement you on your awesome photography - my Wife and I really enjoyed going through your gallery.

[Larry P]

Plus I got a half-cord of seasoned oak firewood delivered. I made a rack inside my enclosure out of leftover 1/2" rebar and plastic rebar chairs, to keep the wood off the ground. I calculate the interior space to be about 28 cubic feet, so if I can get 1/4 cord in there I think that will be good. I have another covered rack which holds another 1/4 cord.

Hope to burn this Saturday!

[Larry P]

I build my entry arch this weekend, using ebony firebricks from HC Muddox. They are bedded in Type S mortar, and the arch is build from Heat Stop 50 with charcoal color added. Next to create a landing for the chimney plate:

[RandyJ]

I was going to also say 16 gage is plenty thick. Yhat is what I used for the outside of mine. Then I used 22 gage for the inside portion. If you are not comfortable welding you could do it like I did and secure it with pop rivets. Seams very solid so far. Also I got my metal from menards.

Randy

[deejayoh]

BTW - I used 16ga on my door and it is plenty thick, but still easy to weld. I used a crappy HF welder and it works fine.

http://community.fornobravo.com/foru...ur-door-thread