36" Pompeii low-dome in Livermore, CA

[deejayoh]

Thanks for the sourcing information - I like your handles! 10-gage is a little thick, but it'll never burn through I think I saw a few folks use 16 gage, so that is what I was thinking of using. Probably depends what I can find without having to buy a 4'X8' sheet. The welding is going to be a challenge to make look good, but I need to practice and justify the cost of my welder...

JR - Go to online metals. You can get custom cuts of sheet metal and pick it up right down on Nickerson. That's where I got the materials for my door.

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

[JRPizza]

Thanks for the sourcing information - I like your handles! 10-gage is a little thick, but it'll never burn through I think I saw a few folks use 16 gage, so that is what I was thinking of using. Probably depends what I can find without having to buy a 4'X8' sheet. The welding is going to be a challenge to make look good, but I need to practice and justify the cost of my welder...

[Larry P]

I don't know how to weld either, but I have a machine and I try I need to get some steel and start on my door, so I was going to pick your brain if you had made it yourself.

Ah I was tossing around the idea of doing the same I did a welding shop class, back in junior high! In the end it was way faster to pay someone.

I will say, I was worried about the clamshell held together with 2 bolts would be too flimsy, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Actually the 10 gauge was probably too thick. The door is build like a tank, and is heavy as one too.

This is what I posted on facebook for another friend who asked about it:

Some details: the door is a clamshell made with 10-guage steel. It's pretty heavy. If there's any improvement, maybe it doesn't need such thick steel. The back piece is 3½" thick, and it's filled with 2 layers of 2" thick rigid ceramic fiber insulating board. This gives me a ½" gap which was filled with ½" square ceramic fiber rope. It's all held together by 2 1/2-13 x 4" stainless bolts, which are the only heat-conducting thing touching the front plate. I want to insulate these but I haven't figured out how. I can buy these bolts in ceramic but they're like $200 each gasp emoticon and probably not the right application.

The ceramic fiber insulation came from fornobravo.com
The ceramic rope came from minseal.com
The handles came from rivercountry101.com
The thermometer is 1000ºF with 4" stem Cooper-Atkins 2225-20 from amazon.com

[JRPizza]

I don't know how to weld either, but I have a machine and I try I need to get some steel and start on my door, so I was going to pick your brain if you had made it yourself.

[Larry P]

Larry, nice looking door! Did you fab it yourself, or hire it out?

I hired it out. One that that's not in my repertoire is welding. I'm really regretting it too. Probably take a welding class at the local community college after this is over, but didn't think about it until too late.

[JRPizza]

Larry, nice looking door! Did you fab it yourself, or hire it out?

[UtahBeehiver]

Gotta keep the SWMBO happy.........if mamma ain't happy nobody is happy.

[Larry P]

The door is... I didn't weigh the door. Let me just say, my wife will have some negative comments but I'm pretty sure she can lift it

[UtahBeehiver]

It will be worth it, nice even mortar joints and consistent tapered bricks. Big door, it will surely hold the heat, how much does it weigh?

[Larry P]

I built the form for my entry arch and started cutting the bricks, which is a whole lot of no fun. 8 cuts to taper a full brick. I only got 9/24 done, but I'm getting the hang of it so it's speeding up. I think I will start curing fires tomorrow, and let them burn while I'm cutting.

[Larry P]

A bit of a slow weekend for me, but I did get my door done. Basically it's a 3.5" clamshell, with 2 layers of 2" ceramic fiber board inside to insulate. The gap is filled with 1/2" ceramic rope. 2 1/2"x4" bolts hold it together, and they are the only conductivity to the front plate. It's a little heavy, but workable. I need to figure out how to keep the rope from fraying at the end. I foresee that being a problem down the road.

[david s]

Yes I believe the Heatstop 50 is a calcium aluminate bases mortar. It reaches full strength in 24 hrs. The chemistry is different to Portland (calcium silicate) cement which gets stronger over a longer period, up to 100 years apparently, although I think that would be overkill for curing period. Three days achieves 80% of the benefit of water curing for a week.

[Larry P]

That depends on what kind of cement you used in your mortar.If it's calcium aluminate curing is done in 24 hrs if calcium silicate a min of one week. If you used home brew the lime in it slows down the cure so leave it a min 10 days.

Thanks David, that helps. I used Heat Stop 50 which I believe is calcium aluminate. The instructions say way 24 hours, but I can be patient. I will probably be constructing my entry arch on Sunday so it's likely I don't start a fire until the following weekend.

[david s]

So here it is! There are some gaps on the inside which could use some tuck-pointing. Any advice on how long to wait to cure?

That depends on what kind of cement you used in your mortar.If it's calcium aluminate curing is done in 24 hrs if calcium silicate a min of one week. If you used home brew the lime in it slows down the cure so leave it a min 10 days.

[Larry P]

So here it is! There are some gaps on the inside which could use some tuck-pointing. Any advice on how long to wait to cure?