Finally getting to building WFO in Calgary, Canada

[shanxk8]

I've already purchased my CF blanket but the CF board that I've found works out to $21/sq ft and was only 1" thick, so the math in my head made it seem rather expensive to get 3" thickness. Surprisingly even more than shipping from FB in the US to Canada.

My wife seems to have found a local Forno Bravo reseller here in Calgary, so when time permits, i will have to contact them to see if they can supply the FB board.

Perhaps i should investigate the perlite/vermiculite route too. How long would i need to wait between pouring hearth & insulating concrete? (hoping for less, not more steps with 7+ day waits)

[UtahBeehiver]

Mineral wool board does not have the compressive strength necessary to support the floor and dome, you need something in the range of 90-100 psi along good thermal conductivity value (K). If cost is an issue you can look at perlite or vemiculate/concrete mix 5 or 6 to one for base, 8-10 one for the dome but you might have to increase the thickness of the insulation.

[shanxk8]

It's been a slow couple of weekends work, but structure is now ready to have the hearth framing built. Here's a few more pics, & you can see how structure relates to the patio.

One thing i'm still sourcing is the insulation board. The one place i've found with ceramic board, it is VERY expensive, but has mineral wool board. I'd read a few posts that mineral wool board is not great, but looking for confirmation and the rationale. Might have to figure out if i can get cheaper shipping of the FB board from this site.

[david s]

The blocks are designed for mortar joints so that is why the gaps occur. Just plug them up with mortar later. Just making two concrete block piers instead of a U shape allows you to butt the blocks together with no gaps. It also allows free flow of air to keep the wood drier.

[shanxk8]

Stacked up my foundation the first time (& them 2nd & 3rd). I found that the nominal concrete block size (8" x 16") is not the actual size. Their actual size is about 3/8" smaller in both dimensions. Therefore my blocks need a gap to achieve the structure size I had originally designed. Guess what that means, unplanned work... putting mortar between my concrete blocks (vertical only)... boooo.

[shanxk8]

More photos to get to the current state. Concrete has been poured & was much easier than I expected.

[shanxk8]

Yay, figured out the forum albums & have added some better photos to my original post

[shanxk8]

It is sitting against an existing raised patio, which is ~16" tall.
Will make sense when I get the album figured out.

[UtahBeehiver]

Good on the 2.5" thick. Are you tall? I notice in the sketch up mock up that there are 6 CMU courses (48") so the oven height with hearth (4"), insulation (2" min 3-4" better) and oven floor (2.5") could be upwards of 57" +- to the cooking surface. Elbow height is a good rule of thumb.

[Gulf]

This site has an Albums section. The Help section at the bottom of the page has a link to managing albums on the site. Personally, I like Picasa. I started out with that before the forum got it's new format. I really like the options and the way it was set up. But, I don't think they are adding on new customers. I think that we old users are grandfathered in. Google Photos is what is supposed to be what is supposed to replace it. If it has any of the features that Picasa has/had, I would study on how to use it for a web album.

[shanxk8]

<updated OP with photos, thanks Gulf for pointing out how>
I notice that others have created nice albums on here. Could anyone give me guidance on how to create those?

[shanxk8]

A couple observations, the link indicated that the fire bricks you bought were splits, ie 1.25" thick. This mean they are (split) or half the thickness of a standard brick 2.5". On the floor it may be a little thin and you should consider two layers of splits on the floor. You need to be able to load BTUs into the floor for extended cooking, the dome is okay due to the 4.5" depth. On the dome, it just means more courses. Make sure you make this adjustment on the spreadsheet. Based on splits, you may not have enough bricks since 200 splits are only 100 full size. If you linked the wrong spec. then this is a mute issue.

I had just used that link because it has details about the brick make-up, and i didn't notice that page was for splits. The canadian site didn't contain a spec sheet. I most definitely got full bricks, 2.5" thick.

[UtahBeehiver]

A couple observations, the link indicated that the fire bricks you bought were splits, ie 1.25" thick. This mean they are (split) or half the thickness of a standard brick 2.5". On the floor it may be a little thin and you should consider two layers of splits on the floor. You need to be able to load BTUs into the floor for extended cooking, the dome is okay due to the 4.5" depth. On the dome, it just means more courses. Make sure you make this adjustment on the spreadsheet. Based on splits, you may not have enough bricks since 200 splits are only 100 full size. If you linked the wrong spec. then this is a mute issue.

[shanxk8]

Wow, thanks! In part i was thinking it would help me determine numbers of bricks in each course/size. I'll have to checkout that Excel file (can't go wrong with a great spreadsheet.)

[UtahBeehiver]

That's fine to use sketchup to calc all your brick angles but DJ has already developed an Excel spreadsheet to help calc angles and brick numbers. Why reinvent the wheel, use your time and brain power resources elsewhere.
https://community.fornobravo.com/for...ulator?t=18131