42" Pompeii in Eastern NC

[JRPizza]

I forgot to ask, were you asking about the tapers on the bricks to make the arch, or the angles that the dome bricks rest against.

[Caliea]

I was asking about the arch bricks, and how to figure those out, but I think we have it now.

We laid course #5, and are building the arch in conjunction with the dome courses. I have to say, a lot of builds on this site are super impressive and precise. My build is not one like that. So if you're into super tight tolerances, and have little patience for wonky angles, look away now. I'm posting current pictures of my build. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty thrilled it's upright and starting to look like a sphere!

We have an unexpected free day tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get a few more courses laid, and will post pictures if so.

[Caliea]

Utah, the photos helped a lot! I looked at them, pondered them, and even slept on them, then when I came back and looked again, they made sense. It gave me confidence to just go ahead and start. Thanks

[Caliea]

JR, I've been following that build and your comments made a lot of sense. Thanks for the link

[crisp]

I was asking about the arch bricks, and how to figure those out, but I think we have it now.

We laid course #5, and are building the arch in conjunction with the dome courses. I have to say, a lot of builds on this site are super impressive and precise. My build is not one like that. So if you're into super tight tolerances, and have little patience for wonky angles, look away now. I'm posting current pictures of my build. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty thrilled it's upright and starting to look like a sphere!

We have an unexpected free day tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get a few more courses laid, and will post pictures if so.

I reckon you've got some pretty tight joints and tolerances there, nice build keep up the good work

[Caliea]

I reckon you've got some pretty tight joints and tolerances there, nice build keep up the good work

Thanks Crisp - as long as everything going holds together, I'll be a happy camper! Thanks for the encouragement.

[Caliea]

We cleared the arch today! Ran out of mortar, but got enough mixed to set the inner arch, and run the course that clears the top of that arch. It's not pretty, but I think it's functional.

Won't get much done this week - husband out of town and kids to ferry around, but we have next weekend clear and are hoping to finish the dome then!

[Caliea]

Had a chance to work on the oven a few nights this week. I'm up to the 10th course, and it is still spherical!

The arch hasn't fallen, although the back side is....unique and one- of-a-kind.

[gastagg]

The brickwork looks great Caliea! Looking forward to seeing the dome finished!

[Caliea]

Thanks Gastagg! I'm not sure I'll be posting pics of the insides - there's definitely some wonky things going on in there, but I'm assuming that once the food starts rolling out, no one will be looking too closely at my joints

I've gotten the dome closed in to about a 12" diameter. I'm hoping to get it completely finished before Hurricane Matthew hits us this weekend. We have tarps protecting it from rainstorms, but all I can imagine is going out and watching the 140 mph winds ripping off my protection, and filling my beautiful masterpiece with 20" of water. Not sure I can calculate how long *that* would take to cure out!!!

On the brighter side, the kids are convinced that the oven may possibly be the safest place to weather the storm. We'll see how 4 boys fit into a 42" pompeii....

I've attached a pic of the current status. It's looking similar to my last pictures, but I want proof I got this far in case it blows away/crashes down this weekend!

[JRPizza]

Good luck with the storm! Whatever water gets in you'll be able to get back out - it will just take time and slow curing. Were you going to wait till the oven is done to put up your roof? You probably wish you had it now, but then would have to worry about it getting blown away too.

[Caliea]

I am planning on putting up metal stud walls, with durarock (or similar) as a backer board, then a stone veneer on the facade around the oven. We'll be pouring concrete countertops for our kitchen area, and I'm hoping that we can also pour a concrete slab roof (single slope, shed style) for the roof of the oven enclosure. I was worried that we wouldn't have any working room around the oven if we started an enclosure first. Maybe a mistake? Too late to worry now - My curing process may take months at this rate! We've definitely had a monsoon season since I started this project. Our typical rainfall in Sept is about 6". Locally, we've had closer to 18", and Matthew hasn't hit yet.

Is it too late to just seal it up and consider it a cauldron instead of an oven?

[Ron-NC]

Just checking in to see you guys are all right with the floods from Matthew. I realize your area got hit real hard -
ron

[Caliea]

Thanks for asking, Ron. We have some major flooding in the areas around us, and lost power for a while, but we're okay. The rivers and sounds are still rising, so there's some anxiety about how high it will get, and some frustration with trying to maneuver around the area, but overall we're doing well. My business just reopened, with no major losses, and we're able to offer free lunches to people who are displaced and without power, so I'm feeling blessed

Also - the oven is still standing and not full of water. So that's a success!


How are you doing? I know the OBX had tons of water - has it mostly subsided for you?

[Ron-NC]

good to hear you guys are ok - we live in a high sand dune area so no flooding. The lower surrounding areas got a lot of flooding but you can get around ok now that the water is slowly receding.
ron