New Build - 42" with Santa Maria Grill in So. Cal

[ivancito]

Questions: I plan on doing an enclosure and is a 36" chimney long enough? I am sure it varies based on style of roof and what not, but can it be pulled off with 36"? I found a deal for 88 bucks on amazon (see link) but dont want to be short. Saw a few builds with 36" but i think mainly for igloos. I am alreqady WAAAAAY over budget and if I can save 150 bucks, I need to jump on it. I guess I could build an extra foot of brick chimney to make up the difference??

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NHXP1O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A22BC1FJGECFCG

Damon, I'm sure you already know but I thought 36" would be enough for my build but after I got the roof trusses in, I realized I needed another 24" to clear the chimney and also increased the draft in the oven.
The smoke exiting the front arch into the entryway looks like a mini tornado, really cool to look at.
Good luck.
Ivan

[ivancito]

Yes the brackets are heavy duty shelf brackets bought at Lowes, and í just used the ceramic fiber board against the side vertical wall and í used tapcon screws. I did this to provide extra support for my arch. Glad to be of help.
Ivan

[Damer419]

Thank you Ivan for the kind words. I often looked to your build for reference.

I have a question for you or anyone else that wants to chime in........The angle support you used as buttresses are they just heavy duty shelf brackets?? I think I want/should/need to support as well but not sure if I should use something to what you did or just use brick. I am building a house, so it doesn't have to be pretty. If I use brick would it just be a "brick stack tower" abutting my inner and outer arch verticals? Any advise is appreciated.....

BTW the first fire felt pretty damn good......i was kind of giddy watching the flames. more to come......

D

[Damer419]

Hi Nick......RandyJ gave some excellent advise when I was about on course two that I took to heart. He said if he were to do a build over again he would miter but not angle(taper) the bricks (Ive since heard JRPizza echo the same). I bought the fancy new HF brick saw and had every intent on tapering and mitering, but after attempting it a lil I took Randy's advise and just mitered all the bricks. Used up a lil more mortar but I built my whole oven with 6 bags of sand, 1 bag of cement, 1 bag of lime and 1.5 bags of clay. So mortar expense was not an issue.

I have no regrets what so ever. I cannot comment on the functionality w/o tapering, but as far as the build goes, I would do it again that way in a heartbeat. I basically wanted the dome built in 3 months and it ended up taking about 6 weeks. Mainly working on weekends and a few days off during the week.

The angle for the miter was basically the number given in the dome spreadsheet calculator in the column labelled "Side Tilt (if using Chipster's Jig)"

Hope this helps.....im in the middle of curing and might even get to cooking temps this weekend. If it does not rain too much

[Brick Oven Nick]

Hi,

i am about where you were in this picture (post #22) 4 courses built) (although, my arch and landing work is not yet built). How much tapering did you do on your bricks? I did the first 3 course without any tapering, just a straight cut down the middle to make equal sized bricks and I'm using lots of mortar. Also, the gaps between the brick on the outside are pretty wide. Did I see somewhere that we want to limit the gaps to 1/8"? Anyways, just curious how you did yours. I'd like to avoid having to do too much tapering of the brick because it sounds hard and time consuming to make all those cuts.

Thanks!

[ivancito]

This past weekend I was able to add to the ever-growing list of things I suck at.........arches. Not sure if it is my crappy templates, rush to finish, or lack of brain power but the vent and outer arch were the most frustrating part of the build thus far. I did manage to finish and believe I have cut and mortared my last brick for the oven. Outer arch is not very pretty nor is the vent .......leaning on the old principle of Form Must Follow Function. All in all I am very happy to be done with the oven and looking forward to building the house and finishing this puppy.

Onward and upward

Damon

Very nice brickwork Damon! I too was a bit frustrated with my arch and actually built it twice before I was happy with it. Just keep plugging away and in no time you will be amazed at what you have accomplished to build. Looking forward to the rest of your build.
Ivan

[SableSprings]

One thing you might think about Damon is that creosote will tend to build up in those flat vent corners and around sharp edges. Taking a grinder and making a little smoother flow from the oven into your vent will reduce that tendency. I have some build-up in the same area on my oven and when I'm baking bread, opening my door causes a change in the updraft and I often get a little sprinkle of creosote/soot onto my landing. When I'm working the oven with food I just try to make sure I am conscious of the possibility and don't leave food under the vent to admire it or check if it's done

And as Texman said, go low and slow ... good job and keep posting to let us know your progress.

[texman]

Looks Good and Congrats! Be patient now and take your time curing. Low and Slow.

[Damer419]

This past weekend I was able to add to the ever-growing list of things I suck at.........arches. Not sure if it is my crappy templates, rush to finish, or lack of brain power but the vent and outer arch were the most frustrating part of the build thus far. I did manage to finish and believe I have cut and mortared my last brick for the oven. Outer arch is not very pretty nor is the vent .......leaning on the old principle of Form Must Follow Function. All in all I am very happy to be done with the oven and looking forward to building the house and finishing this puppy.

Onward and upward

Damon

[Damer419]

Alright Joe.....best to play it safe.......Gracias

[Gulf]

If it was laid with a portland based mortar, I would give the outer arch and vent a week as well.

[Damer419]

Question: I hope to get the outer arch and vent finished this weekend. The Dome has been closed over a week. So when am I clear to start curing fires? Plans call for a week dry-time before first small curing fire, but if my dome has been dry for over a week but my vent area only a few days should I still wait another week??? I am getting a lil impatient I know and dont want to push anything, but the dome is what experiences most of the heat and at greater risk of failure, not necessarily the vent??

[texman]

i will try and pay some as well.

[UtahBeehiver]

Hey Big T,
welcome back, big raise, lol
just my way of paying forward.

[texman]

hey Russell! long time no see. Congrats on Moderator! You must have gotten a BIG RAISE! I will try and behave.