A few questions from Austin TX

[PearlLord]

Made progress this weekend. More framing, more exterior brickwork, and started curing fires.

Seems to be drafting really well - pic 3.
Getting dark after 3 fires (100, 200, 300 F measured at the top of the dome) except for the 3 bottom rows. Curious if this is because smoke is drafting out nicely and not hovering so low or because there is still so much moisture.
My curing fires have been going for 3-4 hours. I read some advice that said just to get to the temp and let it die and others said to keep it going as long as possible. Guess I am splitting the difference.....
Chimney only loosely fitted and roof is also only partially done. Chimney seems to dent really easily. Came out of the box with a nice big dent. Probably a neat trick out there on how to remove the dents if anyone has any ideas.
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Not sure how much I will get done this week after work & potential for rain. Pain to cover with tarps now that it is so big with the framing.

Feel like I am in the home stretch but still a super long list of things to do.

Looking Awesome, great work there!

[Lburou]

That is a big milestone...Now, prepare to see cracks somewhere along the way, then move on.

Looking good!

[Lagniappe]

Made progress this weekend. More framing, more exterior brickwork, and started curing fires.

Seems to be drafting really well - pic 3.
Getting dark after 3 fires (100, 200, 300 F measured at the top of the dome) except for the 3 bottom rows. Curious if this is because smoke is drafting out nicely and not hovering so low or because there is still so much moisture.
My curing fires have been going for 3-4 hours. I read some advice that said just to get to the temp and let it die and others said to keep it going as long as possible. Guess I am splitting the difference.....
Chimney only loosely fitted and roof is also only partially done. Chimney seems to dent really easily. Came out of the box with a nice big dent. Probably a neat trick out there on how to remove the dents if anyone has any ideas.

Not sure how much I will get done this week after work & potential for rain. Pain to cover with tarps now that it is so big with the framing.

Feel like I am in the home stretch but still a super long list of things to do.

[deejayoh]

Just make sure the corner of your roof is high enough not to clock you in the head!

[Lagniappe]

Progress has been slow, but I'll take any progress.

Started on the common brick for the outside. A lot more difficult than i expected at first, but getting a little faster as i learn.

Also started the metal framing for the enclosure. It is currently 48" in front and 42" in back. 48" in front should give enough headroom clearance. I plan to have the rook extend over the front a bit. Planned on ordering a 3' chimney. Will only be about 16" above the roofline, hopefully that is not an issue since zero flammable material in construction. Sides of enclosure will be recycled tin/metal siding. Roof maybe new metal or the same as siding.

Any tips at this point? I could still change the height of the chimney or the slope of the roof.

With any luck I can cover with the insulating blanket this weekend and get my first curing fire while i work on the outside.

[Lagniappe]

Dome is closed and I am moving on to the entry & chimney.

Hit a bit of a snag, could use some advice on. The oven arch sits on top of the floor bricks and I did not cut the entry floor bricks to shape when I started the oven which was a mistake. I thought I would remove the entry floor bricks so the arch could sit on the vermicrete, but some cant be removed as the weight of the dome is sitting on them. So looks like the entry arch and chimney will also be sitting on the floor bricks.

I was thinking of leaving a heat break (you can see in one picture) and also originally thought to only do a front arch and tie the smoke collection area/chimney to the oven arch. I now realize, the only thing holding the two sides together would be the front arch and where I eventually get to the opening for the 8” chimney. Is this ok?

Option B is to have a back arch and a front arch – would effectively make it an independent “box” for the entry/chimney.

The Argentine grill also arrived – I am starting to get my dimensions right for how to build the firebox to hold it. Anyone unfamiliar with the Argentina style, the crates are V shaped and on an angle to collect the fat and avoid flareups. The wheel can raise or lower. I’ll have a Brasero on one side to hold the wood fire and then you can rake the coals under the cooking area.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

[Lagniappe]

The dome will be closed this week!

This weekend got the last course set in and the keystones cut and dry fit.

[Lagniappe]

Making progress. Left it without a tarp for a few hours and the birds decided it was a good place to lay a couple eggs. Little do they know that is not the last time they will be in the oven, just a good bit warmer in the future.

[Gulf]

Take the area in square inches of a sphere, divide by two, and that will give you the area of a dome (half sphere). Your dome is 42' ID. Add 9" for the total thickness of the brick to that for the circumference. 42"+4.5"+4.5" = 51" for the circumference. 51" divided by 2" = 25.5" for the radius. Plug that in for the first layer of insulation if it is 1" thick. Convert that number to square ft. You can use that to compare to the square footage of a roll of insulation. (usually 50 square ft) Each layer of insulation will add 1" to the radius for that layer. Figure for extra.

[Lagniappe]

Here is a pic looking down into the oven. If anyone has any advice on how to calculate sq footage of the outside dome of a 42" or thoughts on how many rolls of blanket, thanks in advance.

[Lagniappe]

I cleared the arch. Feels like a real milestone. Lots of travel and weekend commitments coming up, so may be a while until I can make more progress.

For now, I have the whole thing under tarps.

[Lagniappe]

That helps and makes sense. Once done, I hope to never have to rebuild.

Did you use a heat break? I was thinking using a heatbreak between the arches, but letting the floor be continuous from the oven to the entryway.

[JRPizza]

I cut my entry bricks to sit inside, thinking I could replace them if they got excessively stained or do as Gulf mentioned and put them in a hot oven for a little self cleaning action. What I do regret doing is building my arch on top of insulating board. I have a feeling that I will eventually get some settling and have to live with some cracks or even worse need to rebuild the vent area.

[Lagniappe]

Thanks a lot. Yes, the arch cuts were very tough to get my head around. I am finding it equally difficult to cut the bricks that connect to the arch, but making progress. Here are few more pic updates.

I am starting to think about the next couple of steps - like the entryway, whether to use a heatbreak, and dome insulation.

For the arch I already built, it sits on top of the floor bricks. The oven floor was cut into a circle and sits inside the soldier course. Any advice on the walls of the entry? Would it be stronger/better to sit on top of floor bricks or cut the entry floor bricks to sit inside?

I feel like I should go ahead and order the blanket. On the FB webpage, I see it comes in 50 sq ft rolls. Any advice - is one enough? I do plan on an enclosure and will probably fill with vermiculite or perlite after I wrap in blanket.

Hope to make some progress this weekend before.

[Rocketroy]

Looking good ! your arch is looking spot on, I completed my arch first and then I bonded the dome to it, as you get up higher in the dome you can then use the arch entrance to help clean your inside joints, rather than struggle with a former in the way. Keep up the good work, and enjoy your build.