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**david s** · 06-20-2016, 12:10 PM

Your design looks suitable. Regarding the mortaring of the first entry bricks to the floor, I don't think it matters that much either way, especially if you are building over floor bricks that are laid loose anyhow. The entry does not get near as hot as the dome or floor and therefore is not subjected to as much expansion.. One of the main difficulties of building it in brick is that you're stuck with the size of brick units which leads to more weight, awkward joints and a larger entry than is ideal. I actually prefer to cast the entry which gives you way more latitude in design and allows it to by made much shallower which gives you better access to the oven as well as being able to create compound curves easily. It's very like extractors vs a heavy manifold.

**joeykramer** · 06-21-2016, 03:37 AM

Thanks David. I made the form for the vent area last night. Made it the full length but thinking if I think it's too deep, I don't have to use the whole form.

For a 42" oven with 8" chimney , i recall a minimum square inch opening leading up the flue- believe it was 50 sq inches.... Sound about right ?

**david s** · 06-21-2016, 12:30 PM

An 8" pipe has around 50 sq in of area so yes that's about right, but the more volume you can get under the pipe the better. If the smoke has somewhere to collect before entering the pipe it reduces the amount leaking out the front. Think like an inverted funnel.

**joeykramer** · 07-05-2016, 12:34 PM

heres my update, got to work on it a little this weekend. i was getting to the point where gravity takes over, so i took out my IT and inflated an exercise ball for the next two courses. im not sure if i am going to use the ball as it sticks up more than what the angle should be for the last two, so i might just nix it and try to re insert the tool or just do it by feel.

**Saluki** · 07-05-2016, 07:35 PM

Joe,

If you can, you may want to see about making some bevel and tapered cuts in your bricks, you're going to hit some pretty big gaps if you don't.

**joeykramer** · 07-11-2016, 09:02 AM

progress report: did some work this weekend, finally closed it up!

feels gooooood. im going against every grain in my body not to cure it until the vent area is done. its been so long, i just want to start cooking, but i know it'll be so much harder to finish it once im cooking. im planning on curing with insulation on, not sealed tho. I'll put the insulation on and tie it down either with chicken wire of some sort, or a wire rope to to keep it down.

anybody have an useful tips for me going forward?

**joeykramer** · 07-14-2016, 10:22 AM

and if anyone is following still, my slow build continues! ran out of daylight to start the chimney transition... had to take the form out this morning to clean up the insides, still need to back fill the mortar gaps.

**the_dr_masuess** · 07-19-2016, 02:08 PM

Good job on closing the dome and getting the Flue started! It is definitely a labor of love. Keep at it and you'll finish soon enough.

**joeykramer** · 07-20-2016, 06:45 AM

labor of love is right!!!! finally made it. only thing i need to do is attach the top brick layer that holds the chimney anchor plate. (i just laid it on top for the pics)

i do have a question with that part.... I have the supervent chimeny system..... im going to use tap-con screws to fix it to the bricks shown in the pics. does the chimney just sit on top of that? how does it lock in? have you igloo builders built up one more layer of brick around that? do you seal the top of the brick to the chimney in any way? im thinking that some water might pool there.

Im going to cure this before i insulate it.

one other question, do i mortar the floor of the landing space or leave it as is? im going to finish the front with some split bricks to finish it off.

**the_dr_masuess** · 07-20-2016, 11:18 AM

My Anchor plate slid in-between the bricks and then I used a high temp sealant which has locked it in place very nicely. I didn't use any screws when anchoring the plate. SuperVent is a Selkirk product which is exactly what I used. It should twist to lock and you can build upon your arch as high as you'd like when covering the Flue. https://community.fornobravo.com/for...-journey/page9

The simple answer to your question is... Yes - use a high temp sealant to attach the Anchorplate and about the top of the chimney... in your final product you can see how Russell did it in the link provided. His chimney brick is exposed and it looks great. If you enclose your structure then it won't be seen.

**JRPizza** · 07-20-2016, 03:47 PM

Yeah Joe, I styled mine after Russell's too - he may be one of the most copied builds in the forum

You can make a crown/cap to top your chimney and give it more of a finished look. I didn't want to see my attach fasteners and the adapter, but wanted to keep the weight to a minimum so I just used one layer for the cap. I spent a bit of time on the chimney design (not that you could tell by looking) so I would have plenty of meat in the bricks to attach the vent and be able to get the cap to where I could stick it down with mortar.

**david s** · 07-21-2016, 12:40 AM

The vapour barrier between the supporting slab and the insulation is to prevent water wicking up from the walls of the stand. Holes through the slab are to allow water to escape from the insulation so you need to make holes through the vapour barrier that coincide with the holes in the slab. I prefer to add an additive to the concrete of the slab to make it impervious.

**joeykramer** · 08-06-2016, 06:04 AM

Been a little while since posting basically because I was finishing up and then I injured my knee which set me back. Insulation is on but not stucco. Fully cured and did my first real bake last night! It was a success !

Floor was 825 and walls were 915. Made 9 pies , some at 48h ferment, some at 24h. 48h was noticeably better. I kept baking in generally the same spot on the deck and am wondering how you guys move it around and how do you recharge the deck to heat back up ?

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