40" corner build in sunny So Cal

[rosebowlpizza]

Hi Everyone,

After 18 months of lurking and learning I guess it is finally time to post my build thread. First off I want to thank all those who came before and have provided so much inspiration. Without this forum I would have never even considered attempting this. Prior to embarking on this adventure I had never puree a bad of cement, or mortared a brick. So thanks to all for all of your help, especially, Utah, Gianni, SC Chris, Dino, RandyJ, JRPizza, GulfStonecutter, Tscaraborough and too many others to remember. I have learned so much from all of you and really appreciate it.

About 18 months ago we started talking about redoing the back yard. We had an old crumbling deck that needed to be torn down. My family is from Argentina, so I have always wanted an Asado (or parilla), and also started looking at the possibility of a pizza oven. Then I came across this site and was inspired. About 15 months ago we took down the deck and spent a year with an ugly dirt patch as a yard.

Our plan is to put in a paver patio with a corner build pizza oven, an asado-which is basically a high fireplace with a grill than moves up and down to control heat, some counters, a seating bench/wall, and a small fire pit. I have attached the plan below. I hope that something in this build helps to inspire someone as so many others have done so for me.

[rosebowlpizza]

In late December we broke ground and hauled away five trailers full of dirt to level and grade the yard. Then sunny Southern California decided to rain every weekend in January and February. So we got a little delayed. When we finally had some sun we brought in 12 yards of gravel. But since we have a carport in the front half of the driveway they had to dump in the front yard. That was a long day of wheelbarrowing. Pics below are of the yard before, during the gravel pour and after.

[rosebowlpizza]

Here you can see the framing for the oven slab, and the finished pour. I purchased a HF 3 CF mixer. It has worked really well. For the oven slab, all the other foundations, steps, as well as filling cores we have poured 340 bags so far.

[Damer419]

Looks great! This will be a fun build to follow. Have fun and enjoy it!! I feel that pain of the wet so cal winter we had.......total pain in the rear!!!!!

[rosebowlpizza]

Here are the pics from the oven block stand build. Three levels of 8x8x16 block laid dry, then rebar in a course of bond beam blocks then fill every other core. We have lots of critters around here and I didn't want to provide any extra habitat so I limited the amount of wood storage underneath. We integrated an arch form into the hearth pour. Turned out OK minus the one corner. But I'm happy with it for my first attempt at building a form.

It seems I am always taking pictures at the end of the day when the shadows creep in.

[rosebowlpizza]

Here are some pics of some of the other foundation pours. The first is a 8'x8' step (landing) into the house. The 2nd shows the area where the Asado will go. There will also be a counter space here. The third shows the area that will have the sink, and a small counter next to the pizza oven. And lastly the foundation for the bench and seating wall.

[rosebowlpizza]

Here you can see my version of the IT, pictured with the pencil attachment. I also have a separate angle attachment for placing the bricks. Then the oven template. Followed by the 2" FoamGlass Insulation layer, topped with the 2" Ceramic Fibreboard Insulation. I took the idea of the foamglass from Russell, thanks Russell! He warned about how brittle it was, the dust get everywhere. But he didn't mention the smell of gas escaping from the cells when you cut it. Wow.

[rosebowlpizza]

After we poured the oven hearth, we also built up the base for the Argentine Asado. Again blocks with rebar, and every other core filled. The deck is 2" of concrete, covered by 2" of perlcrete. The support under the left side shifted during the pour, so you can see the flex in the bottom.

[rosebowlpizza]

Here is some progress made on the oven itself.

[UtahBeehiver]

Coming along. A couple suggestions, You can fill the metal heat break with scrap Ca Si board or blanket. Making width cut adjustment to each course is a fact of life but if you make the adjustments near the front half of the dome then no one ever sees them when the oven is done. Lastly, on the IT, I notice the centerline of the shaft does not intersect the centerline of the brick. This affects whether the brick is perpendicular to the center point of the dome. It is cumulative over the courses so you will need to make tilt adjustments here and there as you go up in courses.

[rosebowlpizza]

Thanks Utah for the input. I thought I had read somewhere that having the centerline of the IT at the edge of the brick was the way to go, so I actually changed it to be that way. I am a couple more courses up. Would you suggest I change the IT (easy to do) or just keep going as is?

[SableSprings]

Progress is looking good rosebowlpizza. I didn't use an IT for my build, but as Utahbeehiver noted you will be making some adjustments as you proceed. It would seem to me that if you can easily change the IT now to intersect the brick center lines...it would be a good move .

Also it looks like you might want to try to stagger your bricks more. The mortar lines are a bit more aligned between courses than they should be...actually, several of the mortar joints in your picture are almost directly in line with the mortar joints above them. Often just by being conscious of keeping these seams/joints offset when placing/sizing your smaller "adjustment" bricks (towards the front so they don't show) you can fairly easily keep most of the vertical mortar seams from aligning with those below. Certainly not a fatal error, but it will be a stronger structure with fewer mortar joint alignments.

Keep up the good work, you're well on your way to enjoying the oven this summer!

[UtahBeehiver]

Changing the centerline of the IT is up to you, but if you change now, it will be one less variable you need to worry about. Mike brings up a good issue about staggering the bond on the inside dome joints. What looks good on the outside does not mean the joints on the inside are staggered.