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

[Damer419]

A few more pics.

[Damer419]

I am very close to being 100% finished. The countertops are in.........I would never do it the way I did it again. I poured in a mold and moved to counter instead of pour in place. Because I poured onto melamine, the surface of the counter is very smooth, but moving them was an absolute nightmare. Beyond heavy.....but managed. Just need to let the concrete cure for another 2 weeks before I do an acid wash. That with a lil stucco to finish up the backside so my neighbors dont have an eye sore and I will be DONE!!!!!!!!

Had a birthday party for my 5 year old twins this past weekend where we cooked about 20 pizzas and loaded up the SM Grill with tri-tips and chicken.......beyond happy with how both performed.

[Damer419]

Progress...........pouring countertops this week........still have some veneer on the sides and a few other loose ends, but we are getting close here!!!!!

[Damer419]

Made a bit of progress over the weekend. Have the durock up, roof is done. Poured the counter landing yesterday. Hopefully pouring the concrete counters this weekend.......Hit the jackpot at Lowes on some stone veneer that was on clearance for 50% off...........That should go up in the coming weeks. Surprisingly there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Onward and Upward!!!

[Damer419]

Hi cnegrelli................I replied to your PM. Maybe I didnt do it right. But yes, that is the SM drop in without firebox. I lined mine with firebrick (see pic). As far as cleaning it out, I raise the grill to very top and I use a large metal dust pan and a 14" drywall taping knife as opposed to a broom. Seems to work a lot better for me...not hard to clean what so ever.......Easier than the WFO by far....grease has not been an issue at all.......some of the firebrick have black spots from grease drippings I guess, but other than that, no issues at all. As far as oxygen control, these pits dont have anything......its obviously open without a lid so no issues controlling the fire. Just have to move the grate up and down based on how hot the fire is. Grease drips onto the coals and fuel the fire.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the grill......I love it so far. If I knew anything about welding I would try and make myself. Very simple engineering involved.

[cnegrelli]

Damer - It appears you have the drop-in version of the SM Grill, that doesn't have a steel firebox. Did you use firebrick? How do you clean it out? From above? Is there any mechanism to control oxygen into the SM grill? Trying to figure out how to get the grease cleaned out...

[Damer419]

Slow progress here as since the oven is usable, I find my self playing with it more than working on it......from what Ive read that is a common problem.......here are a few pics

This has to change, My wife wants her backyard back.....it has looked like a tornado hit it since Thanksgiving weekend!

[Damer419]

So I was able to figure out how the steel wouldn't touch the chimney so I am good there. Here is my hybrid wood/steel house construction. I am sure with experience it would be easier to work with, but I hated that steel stuff. Maybe the 18ga made it harder, but it sucked to cut. And was hard to keep square. Framing is over soon the the finish!

[Damer419]

Question: I'm in the process of framing my house. A piece of 18ga steel studs fits across the top of my outer arch but it is touching the chimney. Is that a no no? My chimney the double lined duratech. I can't image it getting crazy hot to melt or catch fire. I know there are standoff requirements on flues with wood construction, but unsure about steel construction.

Thanks in advance

D

[Gulf]

Great looking pies, Damon.

Pic number 3 is one of those type pics that hypnotizes and hooks others into building an oven . Now that you have taisted food from the oven, it is going to be very difficult to finish. Once I did, all I wanted to do was fire and cook. I'll eventually get around to hanging the bottle opener one day .

[Damer419]

Was a monumental weekend here for me........Felt pretty surreal to watch the dome clear and the first pies go in the oven. No insulation on the oven yet so temps were hard to hold up for too long. Cleared dome back to back days and no noticeable cracks in dome (I know I just screwed myself) .....so I better wrap it in insulation before I notice any.

Made a few different pizzas and tested a few different batches of dough. My wife and I LOVE the Thai chicken pizza from California Pizza Kitchen and I found their recipe online so I gave it a go and wow was it good. The favorite in the house by far.

On to the next

[Damer419]

Dino - Thank you for the kind words and a big thank you to your build thread and your many CAD drawings. They were the baseline for my build and proved to be invaluable to me. Your build certainly lives on through many ovens that followed yours.

and thank you for the confirmation on the chimney length.....................

[Dino_Pizza]

Hi Damon,
I just went thru your build this morning and it looks awesome. Great job and congrats on closing up and starting your fires.

I do want to let you know that I used a 4' (48" x 8" inside, 10" outside) double wall duravent, not a 3'. So you might want to look into extending it as Ivan (per his post above) did. Then again, I haven't been on this forum for a while so I don't know if most are having a good draft on the 36" or not. Might depend on how large the "flue-box" area is at your landing as it transitions to the 8" duct.

Great job, your going to love your oven.
-Dino

[Damer419]

The grill is awesome Ivan.......can feed an army and is easy on the eyes. I had mine built in Santa Maria by JD Fabrications. Google them. They ship all over the US.

They have pretty simple engineering and with minimal welding experience I am sure it would be easy to make. I have never welding anything so I didn't go that route. I can PM you some detailed pics of the components if you want to get a closer look.

Damon

[ivancito]

Holy crap I cannot believe that I am starting a build thread. After literally years of lurking, taking notes, and day-dreaming the time has finally come! Don’t know if I am really excited or gonna soil my britches……or maybe both!!!! So my plan consists of a 42” oven flanked by a 48” Santa Maria (it is a California thang) grill that I had made in Santa Maria a few months ago and an equal length counter on the other side.

Here is my original sketch that I did a few years ago. Few things have changed with regards to the house, but overall the concept is the same. My son and I made an awesome lego model too J

Damon

Wow! The Santa Maria Grill looks awesome, I was thinking of adding one to the side of my oven as well. Any chance you could share any construction drawings?
thanks
Ivan