Longmont, CO new WFO build - casted over sand

[david s]

I'm at that point in a build now. If you are trying to bond onto a polished and sealed counter top then you may have a problem with bonding. I like to clean the area with the angle grinder and diamond blade, then get it damp so the stucco will bond. You may have to look hard at the pic to see what I've done.

[cnegrelli]

It's difficult to tell what you did from the pic, but I get the gist.
I sort of did mine in a different order in that I stucco'd the oven and then poured the counter top up to the igloo and stucco.
I've now polished to 400 grit and I think the grinding pads have cut into the stucco a bit. I shouldn't really need anything there like a bead of caulk I guess.

I would llike to touch up a few spots on the stucco, mainly because I got some of the chimney caulk on it in a few places.

Is there a good method to dab some synthetic stucco on the existing in spots? Almost like a small paint brush or sponge I would think?

[cnegrelli]

I'm going to be attaching some Thin Brick veneer around the opening to my oven. It does get pretty hot at the top of the opening (where the keystone will be). Should I consider a high-temp mortar? Can I make this with the left over castable refractory mix I have?

[david s]

Outer decorative arches usually employ standard mortars. I sometimes do some tiling on the front of mine and find a quality outdoor tile adhesive works ok. But every oven design varies and basically it depends on what you can get away with. I have a 10 mm expansion joint between the outer decorative arch and the flue gallery so mine may be a little cooler there than yours.

[cnegrelli]

Well, I am done with the oven! I will be working on adding some additional counterspace/storage and a patio around it come spring. Many thanks to some key contributors here, who I leaned on heavily and have cited as I went along. But special thanks to Russell UtahBeehiver who I tended to follow especially close due to his obvious engineering brain, and near identical climate conditions, to deejayoh, Gulf and others for Counters and masonry guidance. And to david s (who Russell pointed me to for all things castable, and also some good advice on stucco). I simply did not have the time to attempt a brick build and I'm very happy with the performance and how the oven came together. I started the build Memorial Day weekend (May), and had pizza by early July (could have been much sooner but went very slow in curing), finished by Thanksgiving.

[cnegrelli]

The keystone was casted with left over refractory. The apron countertop was cast in pace, with just normal concrete and polished. It was darkened to match (roughly) the keystone.

[UtahBeehiver]

Congrats on the nice oven you build, you can now say "I built it myself" with envy from friends and family.

[cnegrelli]

I've been working on my "santa maria grill" which is built the same as this one shown here (see link at bottom to Damer419's build.

There is wood storage under mine and thus I build the stand much like the WFO's stand with CMU and a 4" slab with rebar on top. The firebox is built from CMU and will be lined with Fire Brick. The question I have is what kind of Firebrick? Unlike the WFO, there is no real objective to "hold heat". But the fire needs to burn on the Fire Brick floor. My options seem to be:

1. 1" foamglas under FB (or just not bother with the Foamglas?
2. Insulating Fire Brick (lighter, less dense, not for use in pizza ovens) - but how about this application?

[ThePizzaGuy]

What a great thread with boatloads of helpful info.

[rajhlinux]

Enclosure is only lacking some support for cement board around chimney, which I will weld today. Then the enclosure needs to be put in it's final resting spot on the stand, and fastened down well.

OMG... are you building a military tank for the US forces which is powered by wood? lol